Coma? Growth Spurt? YOU decide!

So, I woke Smidget up at 8:30 so that we could get him dressed and out the door before 9:00am so that I could be in Riverside for my optometrist's appointment at 11:00am.

So, he was awake from 8:30-9:00. I expected him to sleep part of the way in the car, but he normally wakes up at 9:30, so I expected him to be awake before we arrived at our destination.

To my amazement, he was still sound asleep when we arrived at 10:40. I just chalked it up to waking up early and, thus, being extra tired. So, I packed him into his stroller and wheeled him inside. He woke up during the stroller ride and was awake from 10:45 until I left my appointment at 11:30.

He normally naps around noon, but he slept late, so I just knew he wouldn't sleep while I drove to Moreno Valley for lunch with Jae. Which is fine; he's a happy kid and I'm never upset that he's awake when he's energetic and happy (as opposed to tired and cranky when he's late for or misses a nap). Hell, even Cranky Smidget is happier than many babies I know, so I was perfectly happy to chatter with him while I drove.

I barely even got back on the highway before he stopped chattering and was lulled to sleep by the crappy Pop music I found on the radio. I was very surprised that he fell asleep, but car rides do that to kids, ya know? And Smidget has always been lulled by music, no matter how upset he is.

I arrived at my lunch destination just a few minutes after 12:00pm and, again, pulled the sleeping man out of the car. I added it up and he'd been awake for only approximately 90 minutes all day at that point. I began scratching my head a little, but chalked it up to his early morning and all the driving.

He stayed awake for lunch and ate a couple of mini muffins, a lemon wedge (yes, he ate it), a few chips, a couple of bites of my sandwich, and several big bites of my broccoli cheddar soup (all from Jason's Deli---I recommend it! And 10% military discount! Yum! I paid 7.13 for the half sandwich/side and soup combo! Good deal!). He drank some water and then we sat in the grass outside so I could boob him a little and chat with Jae before she headed back to work.

Normally if Smidget naps for a short period (like the drive from Riverside to Moreno Valley), he WILL NOT nap again until much later in the evening. So, I prepared myself for a long drive home with him being irritated at being locked in his carseat when he had tons of energy to burn.

Again, I barely got to the highway before he was out. Literally seconds into the ride I heard him sigh and melt into sleep. WEIRD! Now I was actually shocked. Like slack-jawed and tempted to stop and check on him except I had JUST checked him when I buckled him in and I could SEE him peacefully sleeping.

We got on the road at 1:30. At this point he'd been awake for a grand total of 3hrs cumulatively all day. Which is RARE for him. By 1:30, he's normally been awake for at least 5 hours and is normally just going down for his first nap (between 12pm and 1pm he goes down).

Anyway, I watched him closely as I drove the next 40 minutes to Cabazon to cancel an order at Zales (I ordered a cross pendant, but my in-laws got me one for my baptism, so I no longer needed to buy the one I'd put on hold until Hubby could look at it). So, when I parked (I got primo parking), I open the back door and he's SOUND ASLEEP AGAIN! Like didn't wake up when I un-buckled him. Like didn't wake up when I transferred him to the stroller or wheeled him inside. In fact, he didn't wake up until I entered the store and the sales woman greeted me and used my name (and his--apparently his cuteness is memorable).

He fussed a bit and wanted to be picked up, but I just finished my business and then wheeled him back to the car to drive home. I kissed him and hugged him and got a kiss in return before I snapped him in.

Again, I was sure he'd be awake the rest of the drive home (about an hour left). NOPE! He went BACK out. We were there less than a half hour, so we got on the road a little after 2:30. He slept the ENTIRE ride back. We hit town around 3:30 and I stopped off at Jamie Lou's house to check on her cats and get her mail. I carried him in, but he never lifted his head from my shoulder while I was inside. I didn't have to do much since the food and water levels were good and I'd just emptied the litter, so I just grabbed mail, petted the kitties for a minute and put Smidget back in the car to head to the water company, post office, and then home.

He awakened for 5 minutes while we were in the Water Company office paying the bill, but fell back to sleep in his carseat while I was selecting music on my iPod to listen to on our drive to the Post Office. Apparently Susan Tedeschi is NOT a good treatment for narcolepsy. Neither is Green Day or Flogging Molly---all of which were tried on the ride to the Post Office. Volume was up and I sang along----believe me, my singing can wake the dead, that kid was OUT!

When i got to the post office he was awake again just long enough for me to post a package (sorry Jenny, not yours...yours was sitting at my house where I forgot it this morning)---then, when I put him in the car again, he fell asleep AGAIN for the ride back to our house.

It was now 4:30 when I pulled into my driveway. He had been awake 30 minutes that morning, 60 mins at my appointment, 90 minutes at lunch, 30 minutes at the Outlets, 5 minutes at the Water Co, and 5 minutes at the Post Office. So, counting up, we're talking 210 minutes---that is 3.5 hours ALL DAY. Um, thats totally reversed from his normal sleep count! Normally he sleeps for less than that during a day!

So, when we got home at 4:30, I nursed him while I checked e-mail. The kid FELL ASLEEP NURSING and didn't wake up until Hubby got home at 6pm. He was awake for less than an hour and then fell asleep nursing again. He awoke for a few minutes and when I refused to let him nurse again, I just let him lay across my lap and patted his back and he FELL ASLEEP AGAIN!

2 hours later, he did the same thing, fell asleep laying on my lap.

The kid has fallen asleep in my arms TWICE without nursing before today---today he did it twice in a row. And the kid is STILL sleeping.









This is either going to be one hell of a growth spurt or he's in the beginning stages of being sick. No fever and no symptoms other than sleepiness. Gonna keep an eye on him tonight and in the morning and see how he does. If he's still worrying me tomorrow afternoon, I'll start considering other options...


However, the main 3 signs of growth spurts are:

1. Feeding more (he ate lots of solids for lunch and has been nursing a LOT more the last 3-4 days---demanding boob almost constantly and biting when its not coming out fast enough or replenishing quickly enough to keep him filled).

2. He's been napping more soundly the last few days. Normally he's a fairly light sleeper, but he's been sleeping a little longer at a stretch, sleeping later in the mornings (til 11am yesterday!!!) and staying asleep even when the doorbell rings, phone rings, or I start talking (which normally has him on high-alert), vacuuming, etc.

3. He's been fussier and crankier. I thought it might be teething, but it is also a sign of a growth spurt because growing so quickly doesn't feel that great either, I'm assuming. Yes, he might still be teething, but I'd lay money on his fussiness being because he's just extra hungry and tired because his body needs more than he knows how to give it.

He's peeing and pooing normally and has NO other strange symptoms besides exhaustion and hunger and a little extra fuss (like he's ever REALLY fussy, haha...he's such a good kid).

So, this ridiculously long post is just to give you a run-down on his day. Now he's sleeping (with no diaper because I'm not tempting fate when I want to go to bed...he can just sleep on a towel. he holds it when he sleeps now, so as long as I get to him when he starts to wake up, he should stay dry all night). Hell, he might night-train before he day-trains! He slept all night last night dry! (i fell asleep with him diaperless in MY bed last night! i was SOOOO exhausted that i put him on the potty to pee and picked him up and took him to bed and forgot to re-diaper him...when I woke up the clean diaper was on the bathroom sink where I'd left it---I found it after he crawled out of the covers to come to me when I was getting dressed and woke him---I asked him if he'd taken off his diaper and I realized what had really happened...ahh the life of a mother! We forget to diaper our kid because we're too tired to see straight! HAHAHAHA.

So, off to bed---when Smidget wakes up to pee tonight, I hope to remember to put a diaper ON him before I put him back down :D

G'night all!

Love!