Micah Update

Micah has had a tough time adjusting these last few weeks. We aren't exactly sure why. At first, he basically just ignored Samantha / pretended she didn't exist. He was never mean to her, but if you asked where the baby was, or if he wanted to kiss her etc, you just got a blank stare. He wouldn't go near her. He was also SUPER Mommy clingy. No one else would do and he would LOSE IT if I even left the room. His sleeping got worse as well. Up until the day we brought her home, he has been sleeping about 11 hrs at night (7:00-7:30ish - 6:00-7:00 amish), plus a 2-3 hr nap. Now, we are lucky if he takes a nap at all. Even if he does, he cries FOREVER before falling asleep. He also cries when we put him to bed at night...for over an hour every night since she has come home. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he cries for another hour+.

His reaction (the first few days) to having Samantha anywhere near him:


He is improving though. He kisses her all the time now (on his own) and tries to share his toys with her. Lately, when he does puzzles, he likes to give everyone in the room one piece to put in. He always makes sure Samantha gets a turn. He also will now go to my Mom, Dad, or Cory, but he still gets really nervous if any of us leave his line of sight.

His sleeping, however, is another story. We spent the first 4-5 nights lying with him, but anytime we even moved he would start screaming again. We would be in there for over an hour, and he wouldn't fall asleep. So, the next 4-5 nights, we tried going in every time he got off his bed (he lays right by the door and screams into the crack under it), and putting him back on without saying anything other than "Mommy (or Daddy) loves you." It seemed to help at first. He fell asleep after 20 min or so, but then it just got worse (2 hrs).

We took him to the doctor to make sure everything was fine. He is perfectly healthy physically. So, since then, we have just let him cry it out. And cry he does: kicks, screams, hits the door etc. Every night has been around an hour, a few have been closer to two. (Although last night was only 35 min, so maybe we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel). We have tried everything. Lots of primary songs at bedtime, long baths, getting him ready for bed in the living room instead of his room, special "sleeping only" books, re-introducing the white noise, prayer, setting up a new bed (the bottom of the bunk bed someone gave us), practicing sleeping during the day.....nothing seems to be working. If anyone has any ideas, we are open to suggestions. My parents leave on Thursday, so it is only going to get tougher as Cory works most evenings, and I can't pay attention to all three of them at the same time. Wow!

We took a fun trip to the beach and Micah decided he liked just laying face first in the sand:




Trying to get him to sleep at nap time. We pulled him out of his room for a few days so Noah could get some good rest.



More fun activities with Nanna:

Painting with water:



And another fun muffin time meal:



Otherwise though, Micah is just a joy. He would rather learn about numbers and letters and shapes than play with any toy. He knows almost the entire alphabet. I think he only misses "J" and "V." He recognizes shapes everywhere...the park, on our walks, at the beach...even octagons and pentagons! He can count to six consistently, and occasionally to eight. He just absolutely loves learning. It is so fun to watch him.

He also understands A LOT of what we are saying. For example, I have been talking to my mom about my Dad coming down on Saturday. Saturday morning, I asked Noah if he knew who was coming to visit. This was the first time I had mentioned it to the boys. Noah said "Nanna" I started to explain to him that Grumpa was actually coming, but before I could, I hear this voice from across the room "Bump-pa." I'm not exactly sure how he knew that, but he did!

He loves books. He will "read" to himself forever....20+ books in a row. He also loves to be read to. His favorite books are animal books. He can name animals I didn't even know existed.

He is also super sweet and obedient. I rarely have to ask him to do / stop doing something twice. He almost never has a timeout. He loves to just randomly give kisses/hugs. He says "I love you Mommy" multiple times a day, and tries really hard to sign "I love you," although it ends up looking a lot more like "west-side." He is not a cuddler though (unless he is sick). He just has too much energy. He will kiss you 10+ times in a row though.

It makes me so sad to see him struggle so much at sleep time. I hope things get better soon.