Baby Pope vs. the Ottoman of Slumber

I am very grateful that Brynn is a sound sleeper. Right now a crew is running a wood chipper out in our cul de sac to get rid of a dead cottonwood tree and she is sleeping through it. I'm particularly grateful right now, because Jen just ran out to get some supplies on her first solo trip, so it's me and Brynn until she gets back. I do not have the Power of Milk on my side when it comes to soothing babies.

Fortunately, I have had decent luck finding motions or techniques that get Brynn to settle down. However, in this last week (Brynn's a week old!) I'm coming to believe it is more the length of my soothing attempts than the efficacy of any particular technique. One I have found is the ottoman for the gliding rocker given to us by our friends the Klings. The ottoman also glides, so it make a perfect rocker for Brynn. We can set her on it and with one finger or a foot keep the ottoman rocking. That's the Ottoman of Slumber in the title. Brynn, of course, is the Baby Pope. We have this one particular cap for her than when it stands tall on her head and she is swaddled up in blankets makes her look rather papal.

Huh. The wood chipper just stopped, and now Brynn's getting a little restless in her slumber. Go figure.

So, anyway, the Lever also seems to be an effective technique. Rather than rock her back and forth, I rest her legs in the crook of my arm and hold her head away from me and swivel my arm like a level. This works even better if her head is turned. That is her traditional sleeping position. Her head is usually turned directly to her right. If we start her out in the crib with her head to the left, generally it's going to end up facing right.

Last night was a pretty good night. We (read: Jen) only got up twice to feed her at about an hour each time, and she didn't feed for the crazy four hour chunks that she has recently. We actually woke up feeling refreshed today. Jen actually got enough sleep to put a dream together. Again, I'm grateful that she slept so well, since today will be my first day back at work. Granted, it'll be a half day, but with my sleep-deprived brain, going back and being effective will take some focus.

Yesterday was also Brynn's first bath. She was not a fan. It'll be a while yet before we have bubbles and rubber duckies and smiles. This time around it was shrieking outrage, despite the little terry cloth duck finger puppet. Ah well, we'll enjoy each phase as it comes. She is such a sweet baby, and we are so blessed. She may have a sixth sense about when we're sitting down to eat and and fuss accordingly, but she is not colicky or alien looking or a light sleeper. I'll take feeding each other over the baby instead of sleepless nights or walking on egg shells.