Trip to the Doctor

Everything looked good. We saw the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Holly. She confirmed he’s meeting his milestones. His weight: 17 pounds, 90^th %ile; length: 27 inches, 97^th %ile. He got his shots but I left so I didn’t have to see that. He’s been a little fussy today, but I’ve been giving him Tylenol. We asked Holly about Erik’s sleep issues. She said sometimes kids get fussier before a developmental burst. However, she thought we should give him less help going to sleep, to help him be a better sleeper in the long run. No more swaddling, and no more walking with him till he’s drowsy.

I tried it Holly’s way for his first nap. Here’s what happened: I hold him, he quiets, I lay him down, he cries or screams, I wait five minutes and then pick him up. Repeat for 75 minutes. Finally, I swaddled him and he went to sleep. So I decided to go the route I used to calm him at bath time.

For his second nap, I swaddled him, held him until he was calm, laid him down and immediately put my hand on his chest and gently jiggled him. This jiggling has really helped the transition in the past. I stayed there, committed to jiggling him for an hour if necessary. I figure, it’s less invasive than holding him and then when he falls asleep, he’s already laying down. I also closed my eyes so there would be no eye contact. I don’t know why, it just felt right. He fussed, cried, momentarily screamed, calmed, and did this for about five or ten minutes. I peeked and saw his eyelids were closed, kept jiggling until his breathing changed. Hooray! A moderate success!

So now, if this continues to work, I’ll have to decide if the next step is to not jiggle, or to not swaddle. Tough call. Who knew that Psych 101 would come in so handy? Thank you, Dr. Rose.

On a non-Erik note, does anyone have a good recipe for mashed plantains?