BlastOliver: Ezra's Zzzzzzzzzzs

It is 10 p.m., and young Ezra slumbers at last. Though for how long, it's tough to say.

Getting him down tonight was a lengthy process that began around 7:00, and has gone on more or less continuously since then. Ash took the first shift, as she often does. It goes like this: nurse, doze, wake, nurse, wake, doze, wake, doze. We finally get brave enough to lay him, ever so gingerly, down in his crib. Thrashing and grunting ensue almost immediately. You'd think we'd laid him on a bed of jellyfish, or something.

Repeat process. Same result.

Then we play the bath card. I'm not sure if this really helps him get ready for sleep, but it at least makes us feel like we're getting somewhere.

After another nursing session, Papa takes over. We bounce gently on our exercise/birthing ball, and I go through an increasingly consistent repetoire of "lullabies." Here's how the playlist is shaping up: "All the Pretty Horses," "Danny Boy" (or my own half-remembered version of it), "America" (Simon and Garfunkel), "Sweet Baby James" (though, with apologies to James Taylor, we go with "Sweet Ezra James"), "Sounds of Silence." Lately, I've been throwing in "Father and Son" (Cat Stevens) and "Jesus the Mexican Boy" (Iron and Wine). By then, he's usually curled around my shoulder and fast asleep. At last, I very slowly, very gently, set the child down in his crib. Thrashing and crying ensue. Repeat process.

Anyway, the kid finally consents to sleep eventually. We are a bit worse for the wear, though. Tonight, we're experimenting with trying to ween him away from one of his night feedings. I'll let you know how that goes.

We've been entertaining a few different philosophies on how to gradually reduce this madness. We're hopeful we can avoid the trauma of a full-on cry-it-out method, but who knows. Any tips are surely appreciated -- post them in the comments or email us at blastolives@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, we're instituting a little poll. We've been getting widely varying opinions on which parent Ezra resembles most. I won't tip our hand as to what we think, but we're posting baby pictures of Mama and Papa below -- What do you think? Vote in the poll in the top left column of this page.