Maddox has this new thing where he likes to be picked up and held… all of the time. This means nights are no longer sacred, the Pack n Play is just not an interesting place right now, and Mom and Dad get a little bit less done because their arms are occupied with baby.

Here’s how it goes: he falls asleep, we put him down, he wakes up a few moments later and realizes he’s not being held anymore. So he starts to cry pathetically until someone comes to reassure him that he’s not all alone in the universe.

As a result, today Mads is strapped to Mom in his sling, and Mom is trying to use her computer around him. It’s okay, but I kind of wish my arms were longer. Possibly, it’s time to invest in a laptop stand like Jon’s.

In any case, we’re going to have to move Mads to his crib at night. He constantly talks to himself in his bassinet, which is difficult to sleep through. It’s going to be tough on Mom – I have spasms of anxiety because I miss him if he’s not in the same room – but getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep will make it easier to enjoy the new 45 minute nighttime feeding sessions. (He used to feed for about 15 minutes each time, but he’s hungrier now).

Mads is changing so much each day – new habits, new expressions and new sounds. Hopefully, he’ll acquire the useful habit of sleeping at night soon.

Jon and I have discussed how it’s impossible to be mad at him, even after being up half the night, because once you pick him up he’s just so little and adorable that you can’t be upset anymore. I suspect this is a built-in baby defense-mechanism, and find human genetic programming very clever in that respect. Well played, Mother Nature. Well played.

Tags: cuddles, feeding, sleep, sling