Creepy Baby Eyes

18 Weeks

There's been lots of changes this week. The most noticeable of them all is your eye hand coordination skills. You are now able to grab something with your hand and bring it to your mouth. I've been giving you your teething toys because you seem to like munching on things including your fingers.

There are times when you are trying your darnedest to fit both fists and your soother at the same time. Of course it hasn't worked out in your favour as of yet but that doesn't stop you from trying.

The other night I woke up to a very loud sucking noise but I was so exhausted I thought I must be dreaming it so I went right back to sleep. But the noise continued and my mind started to incorporate the noise into my dreams so once again I awoke. I looked around the bed room but there was nothing I could place the noise to. Not until I glanced over at the video monitor and saw you staring right at me. You were wide awake, fist in mouth, head cocked back ward to get a better look, and staring straight into the video camera in your crib. The loud sucking noise was you trying to inhale your hand through your mouth! It was so loud. But you were totally content just laying there staring at the camera, sucking away.

I woke your father up to watch the entertaining scene before me. The camera has a night option so it turns everything into shades of white and black. It's a little creepy sometimes, because your eyes are completely black with white centers. So of course you freaked your father out a little. He looked into the monitor and said "uh, that's really creepy. How does he know where the camera is and why is he looking at it!?" I was pretty sure that you were not actually staring at the camera because you knew we were on the other side. I'm fairly certain you were looking at the green light on the camera while entertaining yourself with your fingers. So there you were, fingers rammed into your mouth, staring at us with your creepy black eyes, whilst we stared back and low and behold you put yourself back to sleep! You went to sleep on your own! You have never done that! Babies don't know how to relax themselves and fall asleep. They have to be taught! But not you! I was so excited! Of course you haven't done it again since... but it's a start.

You graduated from your swimming class. You were so excited to be there the other day that while we were in the change room putting your bathing suit on you were giggling so loud a little girl in the next cubicle was laughing and telling her mom that there was a happy baby in the change room. Happy was an understatement.

I started you on a bed time schedule to help us all get to bed sooner and with as little anger and screaming as possible. You are getting increasingly vocal, let alone difficult about going to bed. So at 9:00 you have a nice long warm bath, followed by a massage, dressed in your PJ's, swaddled tight, fed and put to sleep. The first night was full of angry screams, the second night only a slight vocalisation of discontentment and every night since instant sleep. It's been great! You don't fight it any more. You feed, close your eyes and allow yourself to be rocked to sleep. Hopefully soon enough I will be able to just put you to bed and you'll fall asleep on your own. Speaking of sleep... I'm pooped!