Sleep Hatred

ACK. How did it get to be December already with no more posts?

Anyway...what is with this thing my son has against sleep? Why doesn't he realize how precious it is to get sweet, sweet sleep? When Rachel got to be a toddler, she started to really fight going to sleep, first with naps, then being wired at night when it was time to go to bed. I finally had to stop forcing the nap issue because it was such a battle every day and because she'd drop like a rock at night if she hadn't napped in the afternoon. We had some rough late afternoons and evenings while going through an adjustment period, but now, if we get her to bed between 7:30 and 8:00, she does pretty well. The longer we push it past 8:00, the more she starts to lose it.

With Ben, he just hates going to sleep. He'll hang in there and cry, sometimes getting more and more upset to where he starts just screeching/screaming and I have to go in and calm him down and try to get him back to a place where he may drop off. He does that even when his eyelids are heavy and red and he's obviously exhausted. He's been sick with a cold (his 2nd or possibly 3rd), and he's so worn out, but still with the fighting the sleep.

Is this a boy thing? Moms of boys and girls, did you notice a difference between your girl baby and your boy baby and how they'd go to sleep? Or am I just cursed to have kids who will fight with everything in them to avoid dropping off peacefully?

A Tale of Two Babies

Rachel at 5 1/2 months

Ben at just over 5 months

It's funny - I think they looked almost like carbon copies when they were newborns and brand-new infants, but already I think Ben is looking different than Rachel at the same age. I'm not sure if it's because Rachel looks like one of us and Ben looks like the other (and if that's the case, which one resembles who), or if it's just that they're each a different blend of the two of us.

Rachel's First Ring Pop

Rachel got a ring pop from my mom in her Halloween trick-or-treating bucket. The flavor? Blue Raspberry, or couldn't you tell?

The First Cold

Ben caught his first cold last week. Poor little guy was miserable, coughing a lot and sneezing and just feeling generally lousy. Even his eyes looked duller - see evidential photo above. I could tell he was starting to feel better when his eyes again began to sparkle and he tried to give me big wet kisses.

Of course, then *I* got the cold, but mine wasn't as bad and I was just happy that he was feeling better again! I hate when my kids don't feel good.