Benjamin has thoroughly enjoyed his Thanksgiving break, especially because he's seen Dad for more than 3 hours a day for a few days now! We've played rolling games and scooting games and Benjamin even got his first taste of sweet potatoes. He usually gives a disgusted face when he tries something new, but this time it was more like a gag...I'm pretty sure he would have thrown up too if we kept feeding it to him. But we thought they were great!
We also decided that the break would be a perfect time to start training him to sleep through the night, since his sleeping patterns have become horrible (imagine a night where you're waking up at least every hour...it's become a little more than we could handle). So last night was #3 (hopefully the last) in letting him cry a little and learn how to fall asleep on his own. I'm a pansy when it comes to letting him cry, however, so I finally found a philosophy that agrees with mine- "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. She's also a Brit, so it's fun to read, and obviously I can trust her more. :) I put him down now before he's totally asleep, and he's gotten the hang of drifting off on his own. I also wait five minutes once he starts crying before going in and soothing him (not picking him up). We repeat this cycle until he falls asleep. Surprisingly, just after the first night, it's only taken once each time to get him to fall back asleep. So we've already seen great improvements in his sleeping habits.
Oh, so while I'm mentioning this book, I should mention the baby temperment quiz, which was a lot of fun. The five types are: Angel Baby, Textbook Baby, Touchy Baby, Spirited Baby, and Grumpy Baby. I guess I've always assumed Benjamin to be somewhat touchy/sensitive, but was surprised to learn that he was overwhelmingly a "Textbook Baby", meaning he's pretty normal in development and is fairly easy to predict and calm. I'm guessing here, but if I were to decide what his cousins are, I'd have to say that Sarah is Angel Baby, and that Natalie and Andrew are both "Spirited Babies". Of course I don't live with them, so you guys would know best.
