Sleep, eat, repeat

(part of a post from last Friday, 1/19/07)

Boy, was I worried for nothing! Luc is not, I repeat not, sleeping through the night. He has been waking to eat at least twice a night (more often three or four or even five times) for the past week or so. I am attributing this change to an overdue growth spurt. I say overdue, because all the books and doctors will tell you that growth spurts occur at 3 and 6 weeks, then at 3 and 6 months. But he is definitely having one now, at almost 4 months.

I'm glad that the overnight waking seems to be happening in cycles. It's obvious to me that he is waking so frequently right now not because he's having trouble sleeping and needs comfort, but because he's actually hungry. In the middle of the night when all is quiet and dark, he eats more than he ever does in the daytime. He is becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, and during the day he gets distracted very easily. He'd rather be looking around the room, or playing with his toys, not snuggled into me nursing. And if he hears a loud noise while nursing (dogs barking, Daddy sneezing, phone ringing, etc.) he'll abruptly turn his head to see what's going on (usually he lets go first, sometimes not... Ouch).