Blanket Cocoon

Joanna just went down for a nap. Oliver grabbed the iPad, pulled all the pillows and blankets off of Andrew's and my bed, and he wrapped himself in a blanket cocoon. He's bundled up and watching Sesame Street videos somehow. Oliver is, apparently, better at electronics than me.  

I guess we're going to have a lazy morning today!  Time to go pour a cup of coffee.

More Blanket Fort Fun

The moment Andrew got home from work, he sprung into action to entertain our little guy. He decided to build a blanket fort. He made one model and then decided it wasn't large enough. So, he got more blankets and sheets to make another. It really put my blanket tunnel fort to shame. Oliver really loved watching him build the fort, and he stood by the entire time. After it was built, he crawled in and out repeatedly and generally enjoyed himself. His interest in the fort waned after only a few minutes, but the actual building of the fort kept him happy for quite a while.

Andrew's Blanket Fort, Attempt #1:

Andrew's Blanket Fort, Attempt #2:

Fun in the Fort:

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 21: Blanket Fort

Who hasn't built a blanket fort as a kid? My sister and I used to love draping blankets over the couches and onto chairs. It was our hideout.

A few months ago, some friends of mine posted pictures of a blanket fort that they'd built for their son, who's younger than Oliver by a few months. Before then, it hadn't occurred to me that little ones could enjoy an activity like this, too.

Today, I decided to build Oliver his first blanket fort. I was better at doing this when I was little. I ended up with a blanket draped from the couch to the coffee table, and it made a blanket tunnel. Oh, well! I showed Oliver his blanket tunnel, and he got really excited. He got down on all fours and crawled through it as fast as he could. He came out the other end, beaming, and yelled, "More!" He did it a few more times. Occasionally, I'd pop my head through and yell, "Boo!"

He tired of the game after about 5 minutes or so. That seems to be about average for him and new activities. I guess one can have just so much fun with a blanket fort by yourself. After he tired of it, I left the blankets up just in case he changed his mind. He climbed up onto the couch and almost climbed onto the blankets (which would have sent him crashing to the floor). Luckily, I stopped him in time. I realized that it wasn't safe for me to leave those blankets up!

This free activity earns a B in my book. I'll definitely play blanket fort with him again, and I'm sure it will turn into a game of pretend as the blanket forts become more fort-like and less tunnel-like. It's easy to set up, free, and fun for a short while. On the other hand, while Oliver had fun, his interest waned quickly.

Update: As it turns out, my husband is significantly better at building forts than me (here is a look at his fort). My blanket tunnel fort has been put to shame. Oliver loved watching it get built, but he didn't enjoy playing in it for long. I'm not going to change my B grade for this activity, but I can see how promising building a fort can be.

Oliver's Bed

I decided to post a couple photos of Oliver's bed and the way I have the blanket set up. He's been sleeping very well with it. In fact, all week, he's been sleeping for a 7 hour stretch before waking up for his feeding. Then he sleeps for an additional 3 hours.

As you can tell from the picture, there are no tucked corners for him to get stuck in. It was the safest blanket layout I came up with (thanks to a tip from my 2nd cousin, Heather).

P.S. In case anyone is worried, there are socket plugs in the outlet behind the crib, and, although you can't tell from the perspective of this photo, the crib is about 18 inches from the wall so he can't reach it.

Sleeping Like a Baby

With more frequentcy, Oliver's been sleeping from bedtime (7:30pm) to 3:30am in a stretch. Last night, he woke at 11pm, which is too early for his nighttime feeding. I rubbed his back, whispered some soothing words, and left. He fell asleep after five minutes or so, and then he slept until 4am. I'm pretty sure 7:30pm - 4am is his longest stretch between feedings. After that wake-up, he went back to bed for another two hours (which is his norm).

I'm very happy when he only gets up once at night. I have a rule that he doesn't get fed before midnight after he goes to bed for the night. Basically, if he wakes up at 10pm or 11pm, or even 11:50pm, he gets a back pat or a back rub, and that's it. If he wakes up after midnight, he gets a diaper change and nursed. Many nights, he gets up at 1am and then again at 4am. It really helps me, though, when he skips that 1am feeding (which has happened 3 times in the last week or two).

I'm thinking about extending the midnight rule to be the 1am rule, just to give him a push to sleep longer and soothe himself to sleep. I think, at this age, it's not terrible to have him go 5.5 hours between nursings.

In other news, he's outgrowing the last of his sleep sacks. I'm entertaining the idea of letting him use a blanket, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. A friend of mine told me she tucks the blanket under the matress so her baby can't pull it out.

I know mothers always used to put babies to bed on their stomachs and then drape a blanket on their backs. Once the back-to-sleep rule started, blankets were no longer used because babies could accidently cover their faces with them by throwing their hands up. Ollie rolls over and sleeps on his tummy now, so I'm thinking I could just lay him on his stomach and lay a light blanket over his back, with the bottom of the blanket tucked under the mattress. Is this an OK idea? I think I might post the question on Facebook to see what other mommies think.