Mason Shoma

So, this is a new position we tried out today that was surprisingly comfortable. I’m kind of kneeling and leaning forward on a pillow. It looks a little awkward, but it felt really nice. I had a nice long (monitored) nap in that position. I’m not saying that it is going to me my favorite way to sleep, but it is nice to have options.

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I loved to be carried! If didn’t worry about Mommy and Daddy’s arms getting worn out, I would demand to be carried all the time. Okay, if I’m honest, there are days where I do demand to be carried all the time.

I like it when Daddy cradles me in his arms. His forearm fits right under me so my head rests on the meaty part in the nook of his elbow and he can hold on to my leg with his hand. His other hand pats my back to get me to relax or to sleep.

I like it when Mommy holds me up against her chest. I’m too big for her to comfortably hold me sideways, so she holds me vertically, which I just love. I can rest my head on her chest and hear her heartbeat. That heartbeat was the the rhythm of my daily life for 9-months and it still soothes and calms me.

Even though we have positions that work for us, that doesn’t mean that we can’t try out new ones.

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https://vimeo.com/559649016/21f3b754e1

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When Daddy is off from work, he spends every waking moment with me. He always leaps at every chance to take care of me. He changes as many diapers as he can, he bathes me, rocks me to sleep, naps with me, and does everything but breast feed me. He even encourages Mommy to leave the house, nearly pushing her out the door, so that she can have some time to herself. She usually just pops into a nearby cafe and has a decaf coffee while reading a book. She is usually back way before she has to be because she just can’t stay away from me. But it is good for her to recharger her batteries in a cry-free zone for a bit. I think everyone deserves some time during the week where they don’t have to worry about breast milk, burping, and poopy diapers.

It is tough to read newborns. We can’t really show many emotions. We can cry in frustration or anger, and maybe give a few looks of satisfaction and peacefulness, but we can’t laugh, smile, or show any sign of enjoyment. So, I’m going to forgive Mommy and Daddy for not knowing whether I am enjoying myself or not in the above video. They are obviously are enjoying my “Rocket Man”. We won’t ever know if this is fun for me or not.

Some nights are like clockwork. I go to sleep and then I wake up 3 hours later hungry and ready to be nursed. Some nights are very peaceful and I sleep for 4 or nearly 5 hours before I wake up. Other nights I don’t ever fully go to sleep.

No matter what kind of night it is, naturally, Mommy has to wake up to nurse me. She she rarely ever sleeps more than a couple of hours at a time. She has Daddy there to help with the bottle preparing, burping, and rocking back to sleep, but she still has to do the bulk of the work. I feel sorry for her, but I just can’t help the fact that my tiny tummy can only hold 3 hours worth of food.

Mommy is often worried about Daddy getting his sleep, especially when he has work the next day, so she doesn’t wake him up to help. She tries to let him sleep, but he wakes up sometimes when he hears me. Let me be clear, I’m not a sudden full-volume crier. I don’t just wake up screaming my head off for milk. I kind of whimper and Mommy wakes up with that. So sometimes Daddy doesn’t notice that we are up. However, there are times when it is not a nursing cry, but an “I need to be held” cry and he wakes up before Mommy to rock me back to sleep.

Daddy tries to do what he can.

Even if he can’t breast feed, he wakes up and stays up with Mommy for support or just to be available to be tagged in. I think that’s what makes Mommy and Daddy a strong team. Sometimes they play man-to-man with one of them up with me while the other sleeps, and sometimes the play zone defense, with both of them up, each manning their strongest position.

Nobody gets a full nights sleep around here, but we are all fine with it. We’re in this together and we are making do with the little sleep we get.

“It was a rough night.”

Well, you know how the day started. Let’s talk about the rest of it. Daddy went off to work with dangerously little sleep. Mommy was left alone with me, the both of us with very little sleep as well. This was not a formula for an easy day.

Mommy did a great job pushing through sleepiness and weariness and got to the afternoon without too much incident. Bathing me was tough, but we managed. Then around three in the afternoon it started. By “it” I mean the first signs of what might be colic.

I cried. By “cried” I mean I nearly screamed my head off. I could not be soothed. It was a different cry than my usual cries of communication. Mommy and Daddy have learned the cries for my needs: sleep, diaper change, nourishment, cuddling. This was something else. All you parents out there who have had a colicky baby know what I am talking about. I have to admit, I freaked myself out with my crying.

Poor Mommy did everything she could to calm me down, but nothing seemed to work. Even when my feeding time came around, she fed me and I ate well, as I usually do, but it did not calm me down. She texted Daddy about the situation at home and he suspected that it was colic. Apparently my aunty was a colicky baby and Grandma had told Daddy about it. He let Mommy know about it and she was able to find more information about it. Apparently it is not commonly found in Japan baby-care literature as much as it is in America. She found a few things that worked a little better, but I was still pretty much screaming until I ran out of juice.

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But then I eventually mustered my energy and started all over again. I feel sorry for Mommy. I also feel sorry for me. I don’t know what was happening and I didn’t like it.

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I was just so…uncomfortable. I don’t know how else to explain it. I could not be soothed.

And that is how the afternoon went. Frantic fits of crying followed by energy-depleted moments of sleep. There was guilt-filled sighs of relief when I wore myself out and could not cry anymore. Mommy made use of these brief windows of silence to gather her strength and do quick searches about how to deal with a colicky baby. Then she braced herself for the looming storm that would not let up.

Since this was her third week of motherhood, she handled it like a champ. She did everything she could, knowing that sometimes everything is not enough for a baby. I appreciated the fact that she was in this with me, trying to help me find my own way to calm.

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When Daddy came home from work he found a very worn out mother and baby. I had worked up the strength to cry again by that time and he quickly held me in his arms, giving Mommy a well-deserved reprieve from Mason duty. Mommy did all the work, but Daddy swooped in to close, and finally found some peace.

Sorry, Mommy, for the rough afternoon. But trust me, it was no picnic for me either. I wish I could say it won’t happen again, but I’m not sure if that is true. One thing that is for sure, is that things are a lot better around the house when all of us are home. I hope we all get a good night’s sleep tonight.

*Update June 1st, 2021, 6:29 a.m.: We did! We all enjoyed a good night’s sleep!

Today has been one of those days. It all started last night. For some reason, I just couldn’t get to sleep. Well, actually, I could get to sleep, but I couldn’t stay asleep. I wouldn’t let Mommy or Daddy put me down. I would barely let them sit down while carrying me.

Daddy had the first shift and was practically carrying, rocking, and singing to me the whole time until my next feeding. For the most part, even when I have a hard time sleeping, I would sleep peacefully as long as I was in Daddy’s arms. He would rock me to sleep, try to put me down a few times, and if it was not going to happen, he would sit on the couch, swaying and rocking to keep me asleep. This time I made him stand the whole time. Even then I would cry, twist, and fuss. Daddy finally handed me off to Mommy when it was feeding time and I started to try to suck on his arms.

Even Mommy had a hard time getting me to sleep. I usually sleep right after feeding, especially when I get my supplementary bottle of formula, which I have recently only been getting at night. But this time I could not be put down. I at least let Mommy sit down on the couch with me on her chest, and I managed to sleep a little, but I woke up a lot.

Even though it was Mommy’s shift, Daddy emerged from the bedroom, worried about the two of us. He joined us on the couch. We all had short bursts of sleep, but none of us had long stretches of deep peaceful sleep.

I woke up around 5 a.m. for my next feeding and thoroughly drained the energy from Mommy. Daddy took his shift and let Mommy sleep on the couch. I was not crying as much anymore, but I still had a hard time going to sleep. Before we knew it, it was time for Daddy to go to work. He left for work barely having 2 hours of sleep. He has a changing work schedule and it just so happened that this was his third 12-hour work day in a row. Sorry, Daddy. Good luck.

It was a rough night.

Yes, my neck is hanging out over the edge of the sling and my head is upside down. No, it doesn’t hurt. Yes, it looks a bit weird. No, I’m not going to stop. Yes, I kind of get a head rush, which may be why I go to sleep quickly this way. No, this was not planned, it just sort of happened. Yes, it is a useful discovery because I go to sleep faster and longer this way.

There is a lot going on when I sleep. For one thing, I’m growing. Along with eating, which I do very well, sleeping helps me grow into big boy. I don’t always sleep well, but I am growing regardless. But besides that, I’m actually quite a busy sleeper. There are all sort of things that I do when I sleep.

I try to nurse when I sleep. I must be having dreams about nursing because my mouth is doing its sucking motion.

I also check my surroundings when sleeping. It is the time when I am the most vulnerable. So I occasionally open my eyes and look around while sleeping.

I also conduct other baby bodily functions when sleeping. It is just more efficient this way. This is a very common one. I think I do this one the most.

I’m still not getting any traction from my feet when I do tummy time. My legs are gearing to go, but I’m not getting anywhere. You might point out that my arms aren’t doing anything. You might also feel the need to mention that tummy time is not time for me to do what looks like horizontal stair climbers, but is time for me to strengthen my neck so that I can hold up my head. These are all valid points and I will look into them. But in the mean time, I’m just going to remain frustrated that my feet are moving but I’m not going anywhere.

It seems like I like more space above my head when I sleep. I often shimmy down in my crib and chair to make some space above my head. I don’t think I’m claustrophobic or anything. I just like more space above me. You may recall that I did the same thing in the baby bed at the hospital. A lot of that had to do with my weight pulling me down toward the foot of the bed since it was angled. But somehow I still manage it on my level bed at home. Go figure.

Today I helped Daddy get ready for work. Mommy was up with me a bunch last night, so Daddy took care of me as he got ready for work. I helped him by making his day so much brighter by being such a good boy early in the morning. He usually does not enjoy waking up early for work, but did not mind it today. It was nice that I got to see him before he left for his 12-hour shift.

Mommy and Daddy have a lot of different ways to hold me. They change the way they hold me based on my moods, my needs, and their present physical ability. But even with all the different ways to hold me, we seem to have found a way that works for all of us.

I’ve got fuel, the engine is running, the wheels are turning, but I’m not moving anywhere. This is what happens when all you have is two-wheel drive. I’ve got to learn how to shift into all-wheel drive and then I’m really going places!

Sleeping

Awake

Somewhere in between

I am not a light baby. So Mommy and Daddy’s arms get really tired holding me for a long time. Our solution is a sling. It is a simple baby carrier for babies of all ages. I think most babies like to be tucked completely into the sling in a little bundle, but I like to hang my head over the edge. Trust me, for me this is much more comfortable.

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Whenever I am put on my tummy, I try to lift my head up. There is so much more to see in the world when I lift my head up and look around. It is much easier to do that when I am on Mommy or Daddy’s chest than when on the floor. But at that angle, there are some natural consequences to all that abdominal flexing. Like the title of this post says, “Heads up!”

Sometimes when Daddy holds me, he sits me up at a more upright angle. Since I can’t quite hold up my head, I kind of get scrunched down. Mommy says I look like a little king in his thrown. “King Mason”…I like the sound of that. It does make sense. I do rule over this tiny kingdom of mine and have two faithful subjects that tend to my every need. King Mason, indeed.

https://vimeo.com/558129706/2795b8c4dc