Sleep.

Actually, lack of sleep, would be more accurate for this post's title. You may remember that right around 5 months I was really excited that Ezzy started sleeping 7-8 hours through the night. Well, like all things baby-related, that was just a short (but blissful) phase. Not too long after I wrote that Ezzy started waking up every 2-3 hours throughout the night, and would want to nurse for an hour each time. Pre-Ezzy, eight hours was the minimum amount of sleep I needed to feel good. Anything below 6 hours and I wasn't even functioning. Nowadays, six hours is pretty much the max amount of sleep I get. And it's not even six straight hours. It's six hours of sleep spread out over a nine hour span. Naps have been pretty rare too. And lately my naps are a sleepy tango between dreamland and groggy awakedness (yeah, I know that's not a real word) where I'm always half listening for Ezzy to wake up. Honestly, this sleep deprivation is way worse than when Ezzy was a newborn. Even though he woke up every few hours, he still slept a lot throughout the day when he was a tiny baby. Now he'll wake up before 7 and be up for the day, getting by on just a few 20 minute cat naps here and there.

In case you've been wondering why there haven't been any new blogs for the past week or so, it's because I've been in a zombie-like barely-functioning state over here. I consider it a good day if I manage to make dinner, wash the dishes, AND shower. More likely it's a combination of just two of those things.

All of this is likely the result of Ezzy going through wonder week 26, also known at mental leap 5 - The World of Relationships. Ezzy is exactly 26 weeks today, but wonder week 26 actually begins around week 23. There's a whole book about wonder weeks, which I haven't read. I only know about them from reading what other mommy bloggers who have already been through this stage have to say. If you're interested, here's a chart explaining all of the wonder weeks. So far the wonder weeks have been pretty accurate and right on schedule. Basically they outline mental growth spurts, when babies become super fussy and clingy and refuse to sleep because there's so much going on in their brains. It's probably similar to knowing you have to give a huge presentation in front of tons of important people in the morning, so instead of sleeping you lie awake worrying and planning - or in Ezzy's case, you scream and fuss until someone puts a boob in your mouth. In this particular wonder week, Ezzy is learning about distances, which sounds really simple, but it's a pretty big deal for babies. He's starting to learn that even though he can't see something, it still exists. Apparently before, when Joe or I left the room, Ezzy would just forget about us. Now he knows that we do still exist, he just can't see us, which usually makes him pretty upset. It's around this time that babies start to have fun playing peek-a-boo, and also when they start getting stranger anxiety - both are true for Ezzy.

On Saturday night and Sunday morning Joe gave me a much much much appreciated break. I really can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate Joe. On Saturday night, Ezzy fell asleep around 9:00, and then woke up at 11:00, just as I was getting ready to go to bed. I fed him for about 30 minutes, put him back to bed, and he promptly woke up again just as my head was hitting the pillow. Joe took over and walked Ezzy around for 2 or 3 hours while I slept. Best. Dad. Ever. And then Sunday morning he took Ezzy on a little sunrise nature walk to the reservoir near our house while I slept like a baby. I didn't even know they had left the house, that's how deep I was sleeping. I spent Sunday feeling rested and productive while Joe walked around like a zombie with (I assume) a greater appreciation for the coffee maker we just bought. By the way, a coffee maker should be on every soon-to-be mom's registry (if she doesn't have one already).

Now that Ezzy is 26 weeks we are (hopefully!) on the other side of this wonder week. Last night he went to sleep before 7:00 pm and didn't wake up till 2:30 am. And he's actually napping right now. Fingers crossed this trend continues!