Trying to figure this whole parenting thing out.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011: Slumber party

I rarely get to see Gavin sleeping. Sometimes he nods off in his carseat, but watching him while he's in his crib is usually out of the question. We've tried before, tiptoeing into his room at night only to wake him up and end up with a tired and pissed off baby. But yesterday morning Gavin was still snoozing dangerously close to the time Stacy has to leave for work and she nurses him in the morning. "I'm going to have to wake him up," Stacy said to me. I was not 100% behind this plan. As I said, it's been my experience that you never wake up a sleeping baby, you just thank a god you may or may not even believe in that the baby is sleeping at all. But since he's been sick it was especially important that he nurse this morning since we've been trying to pump him full of liquids (I am happy to report that as of today he's doing much better and is back at daycare after missing a week). She Stacy opened his bedroom door and crept in. I followed. The only light was that from the hallway. He did not wake up. He kept snoozing away, on his side, legs crossed at the ankles (he was in one of those sleep sacks with feet), his head at the end of the bed (we'd propped the head of his mattress up a little bit to elevate his sick head, but he'd apparently spun around some time in the night), his arms jutting out from his body toward up, little hands curled into fists. And his little chest rising and falling with his slightly rattling inhales and exhales. It was dreamy, in the most literal and furative way. "Do you have to wake him up?" I asked Stacy. He just looked so peaceful, but she said yes and started to stroke his back and hair. He did not stir. She then gently plucked him from his crib, his eyes popped open and still he didn't cry. He was perfectly amiable about being yanked out of slumberland. He didn't even fuss when Stacy changed his diaper (which was mostly dry, hence the need to get as much liquid in him as possible). So clearly there are exceptions to the don't wake a sleeping baby rule. But I still wouldn't press my luck.

Lisa and Brenden left to go back to California on Sunday. Sad for us. I think Gavin dug having a little playmate around. At one point he wanted to get into his crib and then indicated that he also wanted Brenden in his crib. After they were zipped in (he has a crib tent to keep out the cat who actually never goes in his crib. We should have gotten a tent for the changing table, which is where the cat is almost always lounging) Gavin started to jump around like they were in a moon-bounce house. Granted, Gavin's jumping is not very advanced yet so he doesn't really leave the ground with both feet at the same time. Still, he had a good time knocking around in there until Brenden stepped on him. I would have loved to take them to Pump It Up but their open bounce didn't coincide with Gavin and Brenden together time. Alas.

We did go to Play in Rochester. The boys had lots of fun. We'd taken Gavin there once before and he really liked it then, too. This time he was even more daring and confident. He totally owned the toddler play section. Lisa and I took the boys to the big kid section and crawled around up there with them. The boys loved it but Lisa and I got very hot. I took Gavin down the big slide and we cralwed through tubes and little passage ways, Gavin right in front of me. I was scared that he'd end up tumbling down an opening or something, though he probably would have been fine. I was likely more freaked out than he was. Actually, he wasn't freaked out at all, so I definitely was. While we were there the fire alarm in the kitchen went off (they serve cafe type food there and something that was being made was burning). Gavin did not like this. It was about the same volume as a home smoke detector and since it was in a much larger area it wasn't ear splitting or anything, but he kept saying, "Loud," and was very concerned. Thankfully the alarm didn't last long. While on the toddler play area an older girl (maybe 4) was goading a younger girl (maybe a two) to say, "Poop." "Say poop," she said. The younger girl twisted her torso and face away as if in shyness. Gavin was behind them waiting to climb up the structure. He turned to me and gave me a look like, "Mom, they're in my way." "Say poop," her older companion said again. Gavin turned and looked right at me and said, "Poop," with a look on his face like, "See? I can say it. What's this little girl's problem? It's not like it's hard."

Lisa took some really good pictures at Play and I am hoping she uploads them soon and sends them to me so I can post some. I miss her and Brenden very much and really wish our boys lived closer.

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