Sleep, Precious Sleep

I've had a number of people check in on Mr. Finch, so I think we're due for a little update. 

Honestly, there's not much to report other than our kiddo is doing so GREAT! Mom and dad are also doing great, too, because we're all getting sleep now. About 3 weeks after Finch's surgery, we got the go ahead to do sleep training because Finch was still up every single hour every single night. We were all cranky zombies and it was time to make a change. 

There's a lot written out there about sleep training. There are a bunch of different methods. We opted for the "extinction" method (which is a strange name, but whatever) which was essentially put the kid down and don't disturb him for 12 hours, crying or not. Finch cried a bunch the first couple nights, but then has more or less (emphasis on the more or less) been good to go since. The last couple nights he's had some bouts of crying (apparently called the "extinction burst") in the middle of the night. But Cory and I have gotten quite used to it and kinda tune it out. As a friend who has also sleep trained her kiddo said, it's more like he's just pissed at us rather than feeling like he's abandoned (as far as we can tell). Whatever it does, it has given us a protocol. Because like much of parenting, we're just making it up as we go along and having something we know absolutely how to handle is pretty awesome. 

In other Finch news, he's sitting on his own now. Well, kind of. He's wobbly and he much prefers standing up (i.e. us holding him up while he stands) than sitting. He's a super roller and is now taking up as much space as he possibly can. For example, we set him down on his mat with his toys this morning and a couple minutes later, he had rolled ten feet away to the couch and was gnawing on the sofa leg.

Speaking of gnawing, Finch is now "eating" solids. I use the term "eating" loosely because I'm honestly not sure how much food gets in the belly yet. But he seems to enjoy it. Kind of. He really liked his first meal of sweet potatoes, then since has not been a fan of purees. He loves gnawing on whole fruits and such, so that might be the way to go. Either way, it's a fun little activity to occupy ourselves in the sometimes long days. Putting a melon in a mesh bag and plopping him into the Bumbo is also a great way for mama to get some things done as it keeps him occupied as he works on sucking the fruit dry.

Finch also loves swinging! Yay, we can go to the park now. When he's not swinging at the park, he's watching all the other kids. He loves observing. He's the most active smiley baby and then when we put him in the front pack or the stroller, he's all quiet and enjoying looking out at the world. 

Last of all, we celebrated Finch's half birthday! By celebrating, I mean, Cory and I rejoiced in the fact that we have kept this kiddo alive and thriving for a whole half a year! I cannot believe it's been 6 months. Some days it feels like it's been years, but then all of a sudden, you have this baby that looks more and more like a little kid every day. This truly is the longest shortest time. I'm working on enjoying the little moments and not saying "I can't wait for..." 

Every day with this kid is a joy (even on the days when it's frustrating...because parenting isn't always what it looks like on Instagram, amiright?!).

As for cleft stuff, we're still managing the nasal stent by clearing it out on occasion and massaging Finch's scar through his screams of bloody murder. The stents come out in a couple months (we're already a third of the way through the stent's life. woot!). The massages will continue for a good long while. Luckily Finch has a short memory because he'd hate us knowing how long those will go on.

And as always, here's a little gallery of the last few weeks.