Proto-Crawling

Over the past week or so, Dominic and Alexander have started scooting backward, and as part of their self-soothing sleeping ritual, they have started rocking, rolling and scooting all over their cribs. As a result, in the last couple of days both Dominic and Alexander have started proto-crawling by pushing themselves up on their arms and then getting their knees under them. We expect crawling to start any time. (We better start baby-proofing!)

Alex (left) and Dom work on their proto-crawl.

Snuggles, Hugs and Kisses

Both Dom and Alex have started doing the bashful snuggle into one parent’s chest after having given the other parent a great big grin, and they both will give you hugs around the neck sometimes – especially Alex. Every once in awhile Alex will also give you a kiss on the cheek (which feels a bit like he’s testing just to make sure milk doesn’t come out of cheeks too), and Dom has given a kiss or two himself.

Napping

Napping has been a bit chaotic the last few days. One boy sleeps only 45 minutes and the other 2 hours at one nap. The next, they might switch or both might sleep 45 minutes. Plus, this causes them to end up on different schedules. When the boys take short naps, I’ve been working to resettle them to sleep with varied results. With the current chaos, Mom hasn’t been able to catch a good nap with her sons.

Sleep Update

Alexander slept through the night again! Dominic awoke only once just before 3 AM! (We are still sleep-nursing them at 10 PM.) They both woke up a few minutes early this morning and softly babbled to each other until Mom got up at 6:30. Mom got a pretty good night’s sleep.

Reasons I Keep Putting Off Stopping the Night Nursing:

1. That nagging worry: Are my boys getting enough milk? Will I be starving them?
2. The hope that they’ll start sleeping through the night on their own (and Alexander seems to be doing this).
3. The dread of several miserable and exhausting nights and days for me and the boys.
4. How easy it is to simply nurse them and pop them right back in bed.

Dom: Hello, world!

Next week they will be starting solids, and if they haven’t stopped nursing on their own, I’ll be taking the plunge. I am looking forward to the prospect of a full night’s sleep.

Update: Dom is now getting his second tooth on the bottom!

[Photos all from today.]