Hello, stranger!

Yeah, it's been awhile. So long that I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just start from the beginning:

1. Jason is now 3.5 months old! He's grabbing his toes, babbling, lifting his head while doing tummy time, and sitting up with only a little bit of support. It's amazing how much he's grown in the past month. I'm amazed to see him doing something new every week. He's so much more alert and oh, so curious, wanting to look at every little thing. Never in a million years would I have imagined that he'd grow up this fast.

2. BUT, there is a downside and that is sleep...The baby that used to only awake one time a night for a feed is now a sleep monster! I think we're in what the internet and the boards call the 4-Month Sleep Regression. He now wakes up 2-3 times between 7pm and 9pm and then wakes up at least 2 more times during the night for feeds. That is, if we're lucky he wakes up only 2 more times. If the stars are not aligned and the gods hate us, then we're looking at a wake up every hour. Anyone have any advice on this?

3. Sleep training...we're seriously considering doing sleep training. We were using the recommendations provided by the Baby Whisperer book and shh/patting to get him to sleep, but now he's beyond that and it really isn't working anymore. I would prefer having to resort to Ferberizing, but it may come down to that because he will not go back to sleep unless we pick him up and rock him for at least 5 minutes. Since I'm at home, I can do this 3-4 times per night, but once I have to go back to work, this isn't going to be feasible. Plus, my arms, wrists, and back are killing me.

4. Naps...let's not even get into that one. 30 minutes on the dot and he wakes up. Sometimes I can catch him right as he begins to stir and get him back to sleep, otherwise, forget about it. This is the same guy that used to sleep for 2+ hours for his naps. Oh, and did I mention that he only takes naps in his swing?

5. The next big thing we have to tackle is weaning him from the swaddle. We already tried going cold turkey and that did not work. The little guy was out of control...arms flailing, legs going every which way. It was almost comical watching him on the video monitor. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep that night. So, I'm trying to nap him with only one arm in the swaddle, when I can actually get him to nap. I have a feeling this whole weaning process is going to take a long time.

6. And we're looking for a nanny. Not an easy process. We have a three interviews set up this week and we're hoping that one of them is a success. Two of the three responded to an ad I put in the local parents network forum and one of the three came with a recommendation from a parent. Crossing my fingers that we'll find a great nanny for Jason.

And, I could go on and on, but I won't. So for now, this is what has been consuming my life and rendering my unable to post regularly. I hope everyone is doing well and I send good sleep vibes to all....