All the way!

Luc rolled all the way over for the first time on Saturday morning!! He kicked his legs, did a little shimmy, and ended up on his belly, one arm still pinned beneath him. I was amazed! He seemed a little surprised actually and just stared down at the play mat for a little while. Of course he flipped back right before Sonepheth could get the camera ready! I waited and waited for him to do it again and finally managed to get a shot of him (still on the camera, but I'll try to post it later).

In other news, he has recently started to laugh a new laugh. He completely cracks up, giggling like crazy! Oh, what a sound, it just melts my heart! He loves it when we bounce him or lift him up high or play peek-a-boo, or sometimes he just laughs when we laugh (which of course makes us laugh even more in return). He's also very talkative these days. The large vocabulary he once had (at around 4 weeks) has been replaced by lots of 'Mmmmmmmmm!' and his favorite, 'Nnnnnnnnnnnn!', with the occasional 'ma' or 'na', and the very rare 'ooooooh'. He sure is noisy though! Sometimes he'll just 'Nnnnnnn!, Nnnnnnn!' over and over and over. He does get very quiet when he's being held, he really just wants to be a part of everything we do. I marvel sometimes at how he seems to be just listening and learning from our conversations... I really have to start watching my choice of words though!

We weighed him at home the other day and he is 15 1/2 pounds now! His weight gain has slowed considerably in recent weeks, but he's still in the 75th percentile for his age. He is a big, healthy baby. He's alert and active and happy and everyone comments that he seems older/ advanced for his age.

He hasn't been eating very much lately, he just snacks throughout the day when we're together, nursing for about 5 minutes at a time every two hours or so. But when he's with Granny or Daddy, he happily gulps down up to 5 ounces at a time from the bottle! I'm having to add an extra pumping session to make enough milk for him. And my supply seems to be dwindling, which has me a little worried.

For the past two nights he hasn't nursed in the middle of the night at all. I haven't decided whether this is a good thing or not. It's good that he can sleep through the night. And it's good that he soothes himself to sleep. This means that he will likely be a good sleeper as he gets older. But it's bad because it means I worry that he's not getting enough to eat. It doesn't seem like he's making up these missed feedings during the day. And I miss having him next to me at night, and I wake up anyway, and it's harder for me to get back to sleep. And I worry that I won't have enough milk if and when he starts needing more again. Ahhhhh!

I had been thinking that we might try to phase out the overnight meals sometime after we start solid foods, or when he grows out of his cosleeper, or at 6 or 9 or 12 months (or whenever seems like the right time), but maybe he's ready (already!?)... I guess I'm not. And I'm only realizing it now. I kind of don't want him to sleep through the night yet.

There's a lot of conflicting information out there about babies and sleep, advice from friends, family, doctors, people on the street, etc. Some say 'stop the cycle... you'll be sorry... you're only creating bad habits...let 'em cry it out'. Still others talk about the benefits of 'nighttime parenting' and reconnecting with your baby after being at work all day. I've been leaning towards the latter, knowing that I need the closeness as much as he does (or did) at night, and feeling good that I'm able to bond with my baby, respond to his cues and comfort him, maintain my milk supply, and get a good night's rest all at the same time. And I have no idea why I was even thinking about the what the other camp has to say... but I guess I have been (though I would never use the cry it out method).

Well, maybe I've been thinking too much. I know what I need to do. Relax, for starters, then do what comes naturally, allowing Luc to guide the process, and being supportive of his needs, whatever they may be (all the while secretly hoping that he's not really ready to not need me just yet).