Week of December 25, 2006

Its Neil's first Christmas today. He got all dressed up with his first christmas suit and pictures in front of the christmas tree. He didnt get any gifts but I hope that sets a precedent for future Christmas' - no gifts, just fun and good time with family! ;-)

We tried curtailing his thumb sucking this week by tying his hands in mittens. After three days though, Neil hadnt slept well, neither had we and we started noticing a slight sluggishness in Neil's behavior. So we decided to call it quits for now - we decided to come back to this in a few weeks when he's a little older and has started on solids.

Other than that, though, he's still a charmer.. he laughs now, not just smiles but full-hearted laughs. Its such a pleasure to hear him like that (you can hear him too @ http://youtube.com/watch?v=cuYSfdY-GXM). He has also discovered his feet this week... he has started to attempt holding them. He holds his head up very well, when on his belly and when he is held upright. He has also started grasping awkwardly at things in front of him... he's learning so many things - its amazing to see him grow.

Week of December 18, 2006

Theres some progress this week - Neil has reduced his thumb sucking during the day. He uses it only when he's very sleepy and needs to put himself to sleep and sometimes when he's hungry. So I still have some hope! But he continues to suck his thumb at night - if he wakes in the middle of the night, this is the only way he puts himself back to sleep. Neil's Grandpa leaves for India this week - all the singing that Ajja has done for him will be missed - especially during Neil's bath time!

Week of December 11, 2006

Neil continues to sleep well at night waking up only once or so but I know its because he sucks his thumb. I tried curtailing this thumb-sucking for 2 nights but ended up with no sleep at all myself. So I decided to wait till the holidays to experiment with this. He sucks his thumb now during the day as well, to our utter dismay! Everytime there is lack of attention, there goes his thumb into his mouth. As much as I was hoping that this was a temporary phase, I am beginning to think its a habit here to stay! As long as someone is talking to Neil and playing with him he forgets his thumb but otherwise.... :-(

Week of December 04, 2006

Wow! Unbelievable! Neil slept the whole night on December 05! Fed at 8:30, slept by 9 pm and didnt wake up till 5:15 am! It might have been a fluke but hey, I am not complaining! He was at his joyful best after he fully woke up at 6:30 am. And this continued through the week - Neil slept most of the night and I was thrilled! Till I woke up one night at 2 am and discovered the reason behind his blissful sleep - he had started sucking his thumb and he found it at night to put himself to sleep! :-(

Week of November 27, 2006

Neil smiles and interacts so much more. Its a joy to watch him. He especially gets super excited when he's laying down in his changing station. He kicks his legs and raises his hands and does a whole lot of cooing sounds! Thats his favorite place in the whole wide world! He still sucks his fingers but its not too bad... if we distract him enough he lets go of his fingers. He seems to be following a better sleep pattern - after his bath at 6:30/7 pm, he feeds and sleeps till 11pm or so. Wakes up between 11 and midnight to feed again and then does not wake till 5 or so... that ensures a decent amount of sleep for me!

Week of November 20, 2006

The experiment and learning experience continues this week with me trying to ignore Neil's cries at night so he learns to put himself to sleep. Slowly, he is definitely stretching his intervals between feedings to 4-5 hours at night. But now, he has learnt something new - he has found his fingers and he seems to enjoy sucking on them constantly! We are worried that he may cultivate this into a long term habit, so we try distracting him. But at night with no one to watch over him, I often wake up to these sucking sounds, coz he is busy sucking his fingers! Not a sound from him when he wakes up - no cries, no sounds, just plain ol' sucking! :-(