What can Clayton do now?!

Clayton is full of firsts these days. For the last week and a half, I've been working with him on sleeping independently, as well as making his sleep times more scheduled (Thanks, Jenn and Ashley for helping me with this difficult Mommy task). He can now fall asleep without my help. The key to him falling asleep without tears is to lay him down when he is getting drowsy but not full out tired (rubbing eyes, fussing). It is important that I watch the clock after he wakes up from a nap so that I can put him in bed within a couple of hours. When I lay him down, he usually watches his mobile for a few minutes and then turns on his side and drifts off to dream-land. I'm so proud of him! I often have withdrawals from holding him when he sleeps, but I now realize that Clayton getting quality sleep is more important that my selfish desire to hold him. I'm also more productive. If you're wanting to help your child sleep more independently, I totally recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. Click here to read more about this great book.

His second accomplishment is rolling from his back to his tummy. He started rolling independently TODAY!! When I have things I need to do around the house, I often lay him on his activity mat (or in one of his many toys: bouncer, jumper, or exersaucer) with some toys and let him play. Every time he rolled today it was when I was out of the room. I would come to check on him and be totally surprised to find him in a different place. I started trying to catch him on tape this afternoon, but he wouldn't do it while I was watching. Finally, I resorted to hiding around the corner and he did it twice for the camera. It is so cute!! Here are two videos of him rolling. In the first one, he rolled to his tummy before I had time to turn the camera on - stinker! In the second video, I catch him while taping from the hallway. Enjoy!!