Sweet slumber

Cole snoozing through the Fourth of July parade

Have a baby, and everyone's first question is "How does he sleep?" Maybe the fascination with this aspect of a baby life is from the fact that every parent has suffered from sleep deprivation and every parent has either forgotten this or has the magic solution on getting more Zs. As a long-time sleep-deprivation survivor, I make a point to never ask this question. And, now, a little over a year since we found our "magic solution"--being, she finally decided she was ready--I still have no patience on any type of unsolicited comment relevant to sleep. Babies are so amazing and have such tremendous and interesting developmental leaps, why focus on something as mundane as sleep? I know how they sleep--like babies. Real babies, that is.

I am apprehensive to even tentatively comment on how Cole will sleep in the future. Currently, he sleeps well at night, typically giving us one nice five hour stretch. During the day, however, anything is possible. He still can sleep all day, awaking only to eat and stretch before again, going down for a sound nap. Or, he can be awake most of the time, napping for only brief periods throughout the course of the day.

Cole definitely naps more than his sister did, but when I consult my journal from her early weeks, I see that she was sleeping five hours at this same age, as well. It was not until she was four months that we "learned about loss", as their daddy likes to say. I am trying to enjoy the sleep, especially when it occurs during the day and I can get a lot done, but I will wait until we get past the crib-transition before I really relax. Until then, I suppose only Cole knows what our future holds. And, for now, he's not talking.