Be My Valentine!

Growing up, Valentine's was always kinda a big deal because my birthday is within a few days of it. To celebrate Liam's first valentines I gave him a special treat of pureed blueberries and apples for breakfast. He was already pretty full of breast milk, so he only had a couple of bites. At dinner time, when my husband and I ate the sorbet that I prepared for our dessert, Liam got some more blueberries and apples as a frozen treat. He really loves frozen fruit in those "safe-feeder" mesh bags. I think it helps sooth his teething pain and he likes the fact that he can feed himself. He slurped down his frozen treat in a jiff! I also couldn't resist dressing him in a cute little valentines shirt that I got from Target with a monkey on it, along with matching red pants and socks!

I have been trying to "teach" Liam how to take his naps without being rocked or nursed to sleep every time. He has never been the sort of baby to just fall asleep easily. Of course, many people have told me that I need to just let him "cry it out". However, whenever we've tried this Liam is so tenacious and gets himself so worked up that he will continue to cry unabated until he can hardly breath. My husband and I have come to the conclusion that Liam is what Dr. Sears terms a "high needs baby". I'm not keen on this term, but he is definitely strong willed and wants our attention 24/7.

At nap time this morning he whimpered a little bit when I put him in his crib and turned on the mobile. But after about a half hour he feel asleep. Only a half hour later he woke up again and was still tired and now also angry. I fed him and tried the process all over again. But...now he didn't trust me and sobbed uncontrollably every time I took a few steps away from him or left the room. Of course, I felt terrible for making my son distrust me. Now I worry that he will be afraid of his crib or of me leaving him. There has to be a better and less damaging way for him to learn how to sleep on his own! To make it up to him, I gave him a nice relaxing massage and I think he is doing a little better now...although he still gets upset if I'm out of sight too long.