baby's on the move

I got up with Oliver (our 18.5 year-old mini dachshund) at 4 am this morning to take him potty and eat breakfast. As he's entering his twilight years, he sleeps more and more. Jason said he's still around because there's still food to be eaten. Heh. And wow... he does love his food.

For about a year now, he's been waking up anywhere between 2 am and 5am - not (I suspect) because he has to potty, but because he wants to eat. He's limited in his physical abilities, which means we have to carry him from the bed, and set him on the grass (usually it's in the dark) and then when he's done with his "business" (thankfully - he gets right to his business), we carry him back inside.

He will not settle down if we attempt to put him back in bed with us unless he's been given breakfast. He's trained us well. Jason once said that one of his biggest hesitations in having a baby was the lack of sleep. After a year of taking Oliver out (Jason is often the one who gets up to take him out, especially, I've noticed, now that I'm preg-oh), Jason has credited Oliver with preparing him (to a small degree) to be the father of a newborn. Heh.

So this morning, I was already awake, having just made my third trek to the loo, when I heard Oliver wake up. Jason seemed to be sound asleep so I took Ollie out. Once we returned to bed, I was pleased to note that I had two full hours of sleep left before the gentle music of the alarm clock went off. Just as I got all settled in, the baby started doing some major movements. Usually he's good for one or two good pushes, or kicks... but he just kept going. He's big enough now, in my 6th month, that I can sometimes feel him on opposite sides of my tummy simultaneously. Jason had his arm draped across my tummy, but I could tell by his breathing that he was asleep. With each movement, I couldn't help but smile and chuckle silently, wondering what my funny baby was up to so early in the morning. (Maybe he's trying to tell me something right now... I just felt a good "whomp".) Heh. It seems like he was at it for a while before he (and I) settled in for more sleep.

Yea for sleep! ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz...