The baby is on a nap strike. I don't know what the deal is, but it's making Orion and I a little nutty. She fights, and fights, and fights sleep, and when she does finally conk out for a nap, she sleeps for half an hour at the most. That is NOT enough nap time for a little baby. What this means is that there is about a 15 minute sweet spot in the evening when she's willing to go out, but not so tired that she's sleepy-crazy yet. We have to pay close attention and make our sleep-inducing moves right then. You know; nursing, rocking, bouncing, whatever it takes. Because, of course, babies don't just roll over and fall asleep when they're tired. Oh no, they need to be coaxed. If we're too early we're just wasting our time. She'll close her eyes for a minute, fake you out, and then *pop*! Eyes open, big grin, like, "Sucker!" But if we miss that window of opportunity then we're fucked. She gets sleepy-crazy and cries and hoots and fusses and moans. All with her eyes closed. This goes on for a good 45 minutes to an hour before she either passes out, or escalates to hollering. I'll be glad when this stage passes.
Her brain must be growing like crazy at the moment and she doesn't want to miss anything, so she refuses to sleep, even though she's so obviously tired and looks punch drunk. I also think she's doing some teething. There's nothing poking up yet, but they can feel it long before any teeth show. She's all drooly, and she chews on her fingers like they're Chick-O-Stix. She's been a noisy, slurpy, fist-sucker from the beginning, but finger chewing is a recent addition.
Fortunately, we hit the window tonight. She's passed out on Daddy's shoulder and will be out for the night (except for one or two feedings). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll get 3 nice long naps tomorrow. Is it really so much to ask?
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