More baby tales

Karsten will be 5 weeks old in just 2 days and I can't believe how fast the past month has gone. I have realized that when people say that the time goes faster when you have kids is true. Pretty much every day it feels as if I wake up and 5 minutes later I'm crawling back into bed.

Karsten's colic is now getting under control. Brice was recommended a book by one of his co-workers called The Happiest Baby on the Block. It gives a pretty fool-proof way to calm babies with colic and it works amazingly! The first step is to swaddle the baby really tight with arms to the side to keep the arms from flailing about (which he does quite a bit when he is angry) and then doing rocking, bouncing, laying on the side or stomach and sucking on a nook. He is getting so used to the tight swaddling that now all I have to do is lay him on the blanket and he quiets down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a colicky baby because it really has been a godsend for us.

Karsten is also starting to have the beginnings of cooing. He is now making small noises and his tired cries sound much different than the loud, angry cries he had before. I have found that during the day he likes to nap right on my shoulder as I try to carry him around (he is actually napping on my shoulder as I type this). It's difficult to put him down because the minute I do, he wakes up and ends up being more tired in the end. I have hoped that all of this being awake during the day would come out to sleeping more at night but it has not. I think he is going to be an awake at the crack of dawn baby because the past few nights when he has gotten up for his 4 or 5am feeding he stays awake for almost 2 hours and it is impossible for me to get him to sleep. Hopefully within the next few weeks he starts to stretch out his sleeping hours a little more so we can all start getting a few more hours of sleep in a row.

Of course, I can't end my blog posting without a few pictures to brag about our pride an joy!

This is proof that the swaddling makes a happy baby!

This is what happens every time he goes in his swing.

I call this my abominable snow baby.

All decked out in his Old Navy Baby overalls.

This is what happens when he falls asleep in his swing with a bib on and then moves his arms around while he sleeps.

This is prior to falling asleep in his swing.