Looking Around

Monday night--or I should say Tuesday morning, about 3:30a--Charlie awoke for his middle-of-the-night feeding. Some nights he goes straight through to 6:00 or so, but for a three-week-old awaking in the middle of the night is to be expected.

Normally Sylvia feeds him, wraps him back up, puts him back in his crib, and off to sleep we all go. Early Tuesday, though, Charlie was unsettled after he ate. He was fidgety, and kept squawking when Sylvia tried to put him down. He wasn't exactly crying, and didn't seem to be in pain from gas or anything else. Not knowing what else to do, Sylvia decided to bring him to our bed, partly so she could try to go back to sleep and partly because sometimes lying next to his mommy will calm him down.

This time it didn't work. He kept squirming and squawking, so that by 4:30 we all three were wide awake. I finally heard Sylvia's voice: "Close your eyes. I'm going to try something." I closed my eyes and heard her lamp switch on. The effect was instant: Charlie stopped his fussing and silently looked around the room. He just wanted to look around! We laughed at his wide-eyed expression: he reminded me of a scuba diver who has just dived into the clear waters surrounding a coral reef, eyes wide, head turning slowly from side to side taking everything in.

Lucky for Charlie he's cute, so these little escapades in the middle of the night are quickly forgiven. He looked around for awhile; I managed to doze with the light on; Sylvia finally turned it off after Charlie went back to sleep about 5:00a, his world explored for now. Who knew that all he needed was a little light therapy!