Busy brains vs Busy Bodies

Never having babies before I never thought that less physical activity and more mental activity would tire a baby out. Let me explain.

This past Saturday I got up around 6:20 to get myself ready before the babies got up. See, we were taking them to the homecoming parade and it was to start at 8 am. The babies were both up by 6:45 and right at 7 we started feeding them breakfast. We had them fed, "bottled", and changed and in their car seats by 7:35. We felt this was pretty good given we also were trying to give them time to "dirty" their diaper before we left as well since changing a diaper at the parade could be a little tricky.

On the way downtown we stopped and picked us up breakfast. We arrived at the "parade spot" my husband likes at 8:05. The parade was just starting to get to this location so we quickly ate. My husband and I held the babies, passed them between the two of us, and enjoyed the parade. At about 9:10, I was holding our son and he just crashed. Poor guy did not even wake up when I put him in the car seat. We came home and put both babies in their cribs for their naps as our daughter fell asleep on the way home.

Both babies slept until we woke them at 11:30 for lunch. After they ate, we loaded them back up in the car and we all went out to lunch. The babies usually go down between 2-2:30 for their afternoon nap but it was all they could do to stay awake until 1:45. Again, they slept until we woke them at 4:30.

At nite, they usually go down around 7:20-7:40. This nite, they both crashed by 7:10.

The only thing my husband and I could liken it to was back in our college days. We remembered how exhausted we would get when we had to study for a big test or spend the day taking exams. I guess this is how the babies' felt. They had had so much mental stimulation at the parade and the new restaurant that they were just overloaded.

So, it appears that for our two, mental stimulation can be just as tiring as physical stimulation.