Sleep

Blanden is still struggling with the transition to his toddler bed. I think he thinks he's supposed to sleep in it, in theory he wants to sleep in it, but doesn't yet feel safe enough to actually sleep in it. He often wakes up in the middle of the night and either tries to come into our room or needs some extra TLC to get back to sleep. For a few weeks we took the portable crib down because he refused to sleep in it. But now it's back up because sometimes he asks for it -- and then sleeps soundly again.

The number-one goal for Blanden is to sleep and to sleep well, so wherever he feels he can do that (other than in our bed) we're trying to be supportive. And really, it took a whole year to transition him to his crib, so I suppose we shouldn't be surprised if it takes another year to transition him to his bed. My darling Blanden is just a fitful sleeper.

In any case, to help with this transition we recently decided he was big enough to try a pillow -- and Grammy surprised him by sending two new homemade pillow cases. One matches his quilt and room theme, and the other has on it, of course, giraffes. He calls them "pillow cakes" and likes to alternate between the two daily. He's very excited about them.

Meanwhile, my precious pumpkin Ellis is a peaceful sleeper. This is still where he can be found during large chunks of the day. When he's awake, we go for walks and on other outings and he tries out his playmat and mobile and reads books with me and Blanden, but I swear I can hear an audible sigh from my little homebody when I set him back down in his swing and he can finally relax and get cozy again.

Fortunately, he loves his bassinet just as much, although he only sleeps there at night; he naps in the swing during the day. Hey, if I were baby, I'd want to sleep in the swing too!