A Cry in the Night

Don't you wonder what goes on in those little bald heads of theirs.....? Especially when they are sleeping? I do. I watch Nicholas sleep, and I wonder if he's dreaming and about what. Does he dream about his bottle or his toys or me or his dad or the dog? What???

Sometimes, he'll be sound asleep, and he'll suddenly start laughing. It's the cutest thing. Little baby giggles in the middle of the night. Or he'll talk.....like the time he said "hello!" twice, very loudly and very clearly.

Tonight, though, he suddenly started to cry in his sleep. I mean, he let out a howl and started to gear himself up for a major crying jag. Then, about five seconds into it, he stopped and was silent. He's actually done this once or twice before.

The first time, I was flying up the stairs the moment I heard him start to wail. By the time I reached his room, all was well. Very odd, I thought. What was THAT all about....?

The second time, I waited a few seconds. This time, he kept crying, so I ran upstairs to comfort him. He was making such an awful noise -- I had never heard him cry like that. Something in his dream had obviously scared or upset him. But I rocked him and kissed his soft forehead and sang "Let it Snow" quietly.

See, I don't know all the words to too many songs, so that's why I sing Christmas carols many times. He seems to especially like "Let it Snow", and I have altered the lyrics, so it goes like this:

Oh, the weather outside is frightful....

But my baby, he's so delightful.

And since we've no place to go.....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Anyway, I'm not sure what scared him tonight, but it was THANKFULLY over in five seconds.

Did the Baby Say Something.....?

The progressive dinner in our neighborhood is tonight. We're supposed to be at the first house at 7:00. New babysitter shows up at 6:30. Since I still need to get dressed and ready, this entry will be another short one.

So, Nicholas is teetering on the edge of rolling over. He's SO close. At almost six months, I have wondered......"is this normal?" As a new parent, you ask yourself that a lot. Is this normal? Is this when he SHOULD be doing this? Or is he early [yeah, my kid rocks!]? Or is he late [uhhhh....is there something wrong with my kid?????]. It's a daily Q&A.

What is worse is when you go to social situations....like progressive dinners.....and you end up in a competition over whose kid did this first and so on. I'm sure there will be somebody at this dinner who has a kid who was rolling over at two weeks! There's always somebody who has an over achiever at home and likes to announce it to those of us with "normal" children.....

I have been told that I was talking by six months. The family joke is that I have never shut up since then! Yeah, ha, ha everybody..... Granted, I wasn't quoting Shakespeare or even making compound sentences. But I certainly knew who my "dada" was and greeted him as such. Very soon after that, I learned "papa" [for my grandfather, Papa John.....who is NOT the pizza guy] and "cott" for my older brother, Scott. I finally got around to learning "mama" after that. Seems I've been boy crazy since a very early age.....

I swear Nicholas spoke his first word around three months. However, it happened during his sleep, so I'm not sure if it counts! He was still sleeping in our room, and he was sound asleep and obviously dreaming. It was about 3:30 a.m.

Now, I am a very light sleeper to begin with and having a baby has made me a SUPER light sleeper. I'm not sure if I ever really GO to sleep -- because the slightest sound from the baby has me fully awake and ready to dart upstairs and make sure he's okay.

So, it's 3:30 a.m., and I'm in my semi-sleep state. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nicholas proclaims, "Hello!" A few seconds later, it's followed by another, louder "HELLO!" Then, he giggles and is quiet, the only sound his breathing.....and my laughing!

See, I tend to greet Nicholas with "hello!" or "hi!" Usually, I say it several times and am rewarded with smiles and laughs....or at least some wide eyes. I suppose that my silly baby was having a dream about me greeting him with my usual hello, and he responded quite clearly with a sweet and very distinctive "hello" in response.

If you are a parent or doctor or supposed "baby expert", then I'm sure you are poo-pooing the fact that my 3-month-old newborn said anything at all. But I will go to my grave swearing that he said "hello" twice in his sleep at 3:30 a.m. sometime before Thanksgiving 2006. I know it was before Thanksgiving, because that was the sad day we moved him to his room.....and mommy had a minor meltdown......

What can he say when he's awake, you might be wondering......? Well.....I've heard "ma" and even "mom" in reference to me and maybe "okay" once or twice. He often will greet me with "hi", but I haven't heard another crystal clear "hello."

Doesn't matter when he REALLY starts talking.....just as long as he says "mama" BEFORE he learns "dada"......