Goodbye April

Choosing a name this time around has been a very different process than last time.  With Joseph, we weren’t enthusiastic about many boys names, and there were only a couple that we both liked.  Danielle originally suggested that we put the name Joseph on the list, and it grew and grew on me.  Ultimately we decided on another name, and we both felt like the matter was settled for the month leading up to his birth.  But we ended up changing our minds when we saw him in the hospital.  Now neither of us can imagine having named him anything other than Joseph.

Before we knew we were having a boy last time, we had a long list of girls names that we both liked.  The problem with girls names for us was the exact opposite – there were too many really good ones.  So with this pregnancy when we found out it was a girl we dug out the old list, and then added a bunch more.  The first version of legitimate contenders was 39 long.  After a month we narrowed it down to 20, and then to 10.  For a couple months it was at 6, and then recently we narrowed it to 4. 

After so many months of pondering and debating, I think we both tired of the finalists a bit.  Last week Danielle added two names, one of them hadn’t even been on the original 39.  Then we pulled another one back on the list:  we’re going the wrong direction and until yesterday we were back to 7. 

Now we’re back to 6, and that is because one name has been permanently crossed off.  One of my favorites was the name April.  There was a good chance that she was going to be an April baby, our second, and we both like the name a lot.  But the appeal has worn off a little if she isn’t going to be born in April, and as of today it is now certain that she is going to be a May baby.  Anyway we need to whittle the list down, so we’re removing April and it looks like we’re taking a list of 6 names with us to the hospital.

I haven’t blogged much this week about the regular daily activities, but it has been a really nice week.  Play dates with Susan and Cameron Tuesday and today were lots of fun.  Wednesday night I went to a Nationals game for one of my last nights out with the guys before the baby.

The baby prep continues:  we’ve got the Georgetown University Hospital parking slip in the car, and I now take my phone charger and camera with me whenever I leave the house, in case I’m not coming back.

As for Joseph’s sleeping, it was an interesting 24 hours.  Last night he again took his clothes and diaper off and wet his crib.  He was still playing at 11pm and I went in to check on him and discovered the mess.  I cleaned up and changed him and spent a little time holding him with the lights down in his room.  I had a real melancholy feeling while I was snuggling him.  He is so sweet and affectionate, especially late at night when we go in for that last hug to get him to go to sleep.  But it really dawned on me last night that this is the end of him being the baby of the family, and as excited as I am for the new baby I felt a little sad too.

After I put him down I heard him talking and playing quietly until midnight, and he was up at 6am.  I’ve been reading a little about sleep guidelines for toddlers, and the goal seems to be about 13 hours at this age.  So his 6 hours last night is pretty bad.

It does seem like his late naps are a real problem – yesterday he napped from 4:00 to 7:00 and after that he was just too wired to sleep.  When I put him down a tad early for his nap, say at 3:00 or even 2:30, he just plays in his crib for two hours.  Today I did something radical, I put him down hours earlier, right after lunch.  I figured either he’ll crash or he won’t, either way I don’t want him napping late and staying up all night.  To my great surprise it worked – he fell asleep in 20 minutes and slept for 3 hours.  Tonight he was out by 9:00 and is now sound asleep.  Hopefully I’m on to something.