Drinks, Apps, and Naps

Last night our friends Sophia and Tyler had an "appetizers and drinks" party at their place. We went, and took D with us, knowing it'd be a bit of an adventure-- he's been going to bed around 9ish the past week, and the party started at 8:30, meaning he'd certainly be up past his bedtime which could throw his whole sleeping thing off. But we also wanted to enjoy his young age and easy portability while it lasts, and get to hang out with friends, so off we went.

The evening went really smoothly, actually. We arrived at their place a bit early, both so we could borrow their oven to bake our brie dish and also so I could feed D on time rather than listen to a hungry screaming baby on the car ride over (a mistake we've made a couple times). Once there he was in a great mood, enjoying being ogled at by everyone. =P At one point I put him in the sling and just carried him like that for most of the evening, surprising everyone with how comfy he looked and how well he slept in spite of all the noise form everyone's conversations. We had a great time, not leaving till about 11:30pm. I worried about what it'd be like getting him to sleep once we got home, but after eating again he went to bed pretty easily... I think it's safe to say that all 3 of us were pretty exhausted by that time (nearly 1am).

Normally D and I spend the majority of the time during the day hanging out downstairs, and when he napped it'd be in his bouncy chair, bassinet, or in the sling. Occasionally we'd nap in bed together, or I'd let him sleep on after a feeding. The past few days I've been swaddling him for naps more often, and putting him down in his basket upstairs (where he sleeps at night). I've also been more proactive about putting him to sleep (such unfortunate connotations with that term) when he starts to show sleepy signs (usually after being awake for 1-1.5 hrs). Perhaps b/c of these things, or maybe just coincidence, he seems to be napping better, sleeping more consistently for 45 mins or so. This afternoon I put him down for a nap at about 4pm, expecting him to wake in half an hour to eat, and had to do a double take when I woke up a bit ago and realized we'd slept for 2 hours (which may be more making up for last night than anything). I'm hesitant to call this better napping a breakthrough, as I don't want to jinx it, but I certainly am grateful and hopeful.