Naptime!!!!!!

I know I shouldn't post this. It goes against everything I would ever advise any new mom. The last thing you should ever admit is how much your baby slept. Because if it doesn't happen again for six weeks, people might think you are rested that whole time and then you risk not getting any more help.

But alas, Max has naturally gotten on the most wonderful sleep schedule. And it was so fantastic that I absolutely HAVE to shout it for everyone to hear. Max took a 3 hour nap today. Yes, a full 3 hours!!! It was pure bliss. It's too bad you have no way of knowing in advance when they are going to give you an amazingly long stretch of sleep. Then, I could have been looking forward to it all week.

But because I didn't know he was even capable of napping for that length of time, I kept checking on him every 10 minutes. I would just look at him in awe as if I was about to get punk'd. It was such a fascinating rarity, that I was beside myself trying to figure out what was going on. I've heard of babies that are good nappers, but had never seen it from my baby before today.

It's working out very well for me that he went to bed around 10pm every single night this week. Except usually his daytime naps are no longer than 20 minutes. So the fact that he napped for 3 full hours has blown me away. I can't even believe that happened.

Maybe I'm going on and on about this, but I was also surprised that his nap was in the swing. I put the sound of the water on along with the vibrations and swinging on level 6. Maybe that is the key to a rockstar nap. Lots of movement and ambient noise. Oh, and the tv too. And the howling meow of the cat. And the phone ringing probably helped. Lots going on...

Max loves his sleep sheep that my parents gave him, and I rely on it quite heavily these days. When Max wakes up for his middle of the night feeding, I'm pushing the whale or ocean button as fast as I'm whipping out my boob. The speedy recovery of these necessities takes us back to a blissful slumber faster than ever. God bless the sheep sleep. Now I wish I also had the portable-sized one to take with us everywhere we go.

Oh yeah, except for when Max takes the biggest poops of his life. Seriously, why does my baby need to take such big dumps in the middle of the night. I dread that fffeeehhhhhhddddd sound rumbling in his diaper. It's not because it's gross or stinky that I hate it so much. It's because I actually have to get out of bed to hose him down. Yes, that is my schedule around 4 or 5 am. No, not the REM cycle, but a full on baby butt bath.

I don't understand how moms make their babies sleep through the night at this age. Do they just let their baby sit in a pile of #2 for the rest of the night? Or do their babies only pee in the night? I've heard of some babies that only poo every few days. We have NEVER had that problem. Constipation is not in Max's vocabulary. But neither was daytime sleepy before today.

It was a good day. And a good night. And we are ready for a good day again tomorrow for his first July 4th!

Baby Max asked me if we could start the day at the Ritz Carlton tomorrow. Like any reasonable mother, I said yes. He then told me that he would like to enjoy sunset on a boat. And like any reasonable mother, I said yes. And lastly he asked if we could time it so that he could watch the fireworks show from the Pacific Ocean. And like any reasonable mother, I said yes, of course!

So if we don't do all those things, it's because he changed his mind. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Goodnight! Happy 4th!