Sleeping Smiles

So when The Frog was first born, he pretty much slept the whole time we were in the hospital. It was quite awhile before I got to see what his eyes looked like- probably over 12 hours. (but I didn't keep track, sorry) Something particularly interesting to me is that babies spend a lot more of their sleeping time in REM sleep than we (adults) do.  Now, not much is known about what REM sleep actually does for our bodies/brains, but we do know that this is when people dream.

Which leads me to my first question:  What on Earth could a brand new baby possibly be dreaming about?  Since my dreams seem to stem from things I've lived or read about or seen (except usually with some really bazaar twist) the only thing I can think of is life in the womb- darkness and lots of loud heartbeats, breathing and the occasional gastrointestinal noise.  And I thought my dreams were weird...

And now, that he's been alive awhile, he doesn't sleep as much as he used to, but he still sleeps a whole lot.  As far as I know, he still can only really focus on objects about a foot away from his face, and even then it's not entirely a consistent thing.  (give him a break, he's still perfecting it)  So what are his dreams like now?  Lots of blurry movements?  Eating? (since that's basically what he does when he's awake) And we all know where he gets his food from...  And then how's his memory doing?  Does he still remember the womb to have dreams about that?  I wish he could talk.  (but that's a whole other post)

My last thought about The Frog's REM sleep is that it's so funny to watch him (besides the occasional, freaky, eyes-opening-and-rolling-around) because he sometimes exhibits a bunch of facial expressions that I don't usually get to see when he's awake.  For example, he has not yet learned to smile on command (you know, to show emotion), but I've seen him do it in his sleep a number of times and let me tell you- if you thought he was cute while looking dazed and confused, that is nothin' compared to when he flashes his gummy reds.  I simply can't wait!

As a result, when I can see that he's moving through some faces, I can't help but take PeeWee Herman's advice to "take a picture, it will last longer."  Therefore, I often find myself hovering over his face with a camera, hoping to catch the cuteness more permanently.  It's quite tricky, though, as I usually only get a quick flash of a smile and my camera is slow.  Most of the ones I tried to get are either shots on the way into a smile or on the way out, but I still think this on is cute enough to show off anyway.

Anyway, I dedicate this post to cute pictures of a sleeping Frog.