Category: baby

8 Months Old!

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Not a lot has changed again since last month, which is really nice for this organized mama.  The boys and I have a great routine down which makes each day so fun for all of us.  Baby C finally got 2 teeth, and can sit like a champ.  One day I looked over at A and C playing together and C was just sitting there all proud!  Yesterday he even pulled up to stand by himself.  He is sooo motivated to be like his big bro.

He got a helmet to reshape the flat part of his head (6 months of occupational therapy helped his neck tilt but there was not much we could do about the flat spot).  He has been a trooper and will likely have to wear it for a couple of months.

Overall C is doing awesome and it is such a blessing to watch him grow and to see his silly personality continue to emerge.  He loves to be held, to play with his brother, and to be in the mix 🙂  Posted schedule below but it is exactly the same as last month!

Time Activity
6:30am Wake, new diaper and clothes, 6-8 ounce bottle, cereal, playtime
8:30am/9:00am Nap 1
10:30am 6-8 ounce bottle, new diaper, fruit or veggie (trying new foods every few days), playtime
12:30pm Nap 2
2:30pm 6-8 ounce bottle, new diaper, playtime
5:00pm Dinner (fruit or veggie)
6:00 to 6:30pm Bedtime routine: 8 ounce bottle, bath, night diaper, pajamas and pacifier, snuggle and story, sound machine on, lights off, kisses and crib

Sleep Regression

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I posted about baby C’s sleep training and how he started sleeping from about 6:30pm to 5:30 or so am; J and I were so proud and thought, “okay we did it, we sleep trained, all done!”  C slept through the night for about 11 hours uninterrupted each night for about 2 weeks.  Then, he started waking in the middle of the night again.  I went right to him to comfort him each time and before we knew it, we had regressed a bit.  I was teaching him that I would run right in,  instead of giving him a chance to practice his new skill.  Oops!  Before we knew it, there were challenges at bedtime, in the middle of the night, and early in the morning.

It took me about 2 weeks to acknowledge this, and I felt bad for how much I must have been confusing him.  Bedtime had improved and while he still cried when I left the room, it usually was for 10 minutes and then I would check on him and he would fall asleep after that.   Then all of a sudden one of our bedtimes involved 3 hours of crying on and off.  I now see that not all babies are unicorns like A and that some might need more practice and that sleep learning is really an ongoing process.  I know baby C will not cry at bedtime at some point, and that he will learn to fall asleep on his own in the middle of the night again, so here was my plan (at 16 weeks) to help him practice these skills as best I can:

Nights:

  • Put in crib after bedtime routine with pacifier
  • If crying starts, wait 10 minutes and replace pacifier
  • If crying continues, wait 15 minutes and replace pacifier
  • If crying continues, wait 20 minutes, go in and replace pacifier
  • Repeat this process for any night wakings until 6:15am
  • **remind yourself, you are teaching him an incredibly valuable life skill.  If you start picking up/rocking/bringing to bed (unless sick or something wrong), you are not giving him a chance to practice or learn, and you are just going to confuse your little guy

(Note: I talked to the sleep consultant again and she really recommended starting with the 20 minute wait time, so a few nights in I listened to her 🙂 )

So I was prepared going forward with my plan in hand – here’s how it went:

Day 1: Bedtime was at 6:30pm – cried for 10 minutes, one check, then slept until 5:55am.  Cried for 10 minutes, did a check and turned on mobile at 6:05am – no crying after that, out of crib 6:25am 🙂  A successful night!

Day 2: Bedtime was at 6:30pm.  C fell asleep all by himself, with no crying, for the first time ever!  But…woke up at 2:25am.  I waited 10 minutes, checked and gave pacifier.  Started crying again; I waited 15 minutes, checked and gave pacifier.  Fell asleep until 3:30am and woke again.  Waited 10 minutes, checked, waited 15 minutes checked, set timer for 20 minutes but at 18 minutes….he fell asleep on his own until morning.  Baby C fell asleep on his own twice, he is learning!  It was a hard night and I didn’t sleep much and felt awful the whole time, but counted my blessings for the health and safety we had while J was out of town.  Talked to sleep consultant and she said that waiting 10 minutes is interrupting C more than helping him…

Day 3: Bedtime was at 6:30pm.  He started crying shortly after I left the room – more of a fussing/crying.  I set my timer for 20 minutes this time…at 18 minutes I went upstairs to get A’s bath ready and heard…silence. I peeked in and he stopped crying, looked around for a bit, and then closed his eyes and fell asleep…..until 6:30am!  That is the latest he has ever slept in by himself, and he woke up all smiles.

Day 4: No crying at bedtime!  Woke at 4:30am…2 rounds of 20 minutes of crying 😦 then asleep until morning.

Day 5: 10 minutes of crying at bedtime, fell asleep on his own.  Woke up at 12:30am, cried for 20 minutes, fell asleep right after I went in to check on him and slept until morning.

Day 6: No crying at bedtime!  No middle of the night wakings until almost 6am!

Day 7: 20 minutes of crying at bedtime 😦 Checked on him and he fell asleep right afterwards.  Slept until morning time!

So 4 out of 7 nights there were no night wakings at all.  3 out of 7 nights there was no crying at bedtime.  Our progress is going slowly, but it is there!

Day 8: 10 minutes of crying at bedtime, fell asleep on his own before check.  Slept all night until 5am!  2 rounds of 20 minutes before checks, fell asleep for a while longer, turned mobile on and got up for the day at 6:30am.

Day 9: 5 minutes of crying at bedtime, fell asleep on his own.  Slept all night until 6am!!! Woke up and didn’t cry!!! Talked to himself until 6:15, then I turned on his mobile until 6:30am.

Day 10: No crying at bedtime!  Slept until 4:50am…cried 20 minutes, gave pacifier, fell back asleep until 6am – turned on mobile and he played until 6:30am.

Day 11:  No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 12: No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings! No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 13: 20 minutes crying at bedtime, check, fell right asleep.  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 14: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

So in week 2, 5 out of 7 nights no night wakings (an improvement from last week).  4 out of 7 nights no crying at bedtime (an improvement from last week).

Day 15: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings! No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 16: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 17: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 18: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 19: No crying at bedtime!  Night wakings at 3, 4, and 5:30…what the heck?  I think he did not get enough milk during the day 😦

Day 20: No crying at bedtime! No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 21:No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

In week 3, 7 out of 7 nights there was no crying at bedtime!!!  6 out of 7 nights there were no night wakings! An improvement again in both areas from the week before.

Day 22: No crying at bedtime!  Night wakings at 3 and 5…fell back asleep from 6 to 6:45am.

Day 23: Started crying at bedtime and was refusing parts of bottles during the day…offered 3 more ounces and he fell right asleep.  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 24: No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 25: Started crying at bedtime, fell right asleep after 2 more ounces.  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 26: No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 27: No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

Day 28: No crying at bedtime!  No night wakings!  No crying in the morning and slept in past 6!

5 out of 7 nights no crying at bedtime, and 6 out of 7 nights no night wakings.

We are all sleeping so great now and getting the rest we need 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Our Newborn Experience

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I can’t believe my little baby turns 3 months old tomorrow.  I was so nervous about what our newborn experience would be like – would I have baby blues again?  Would A get used to becoming a big brother?  Will I be able to figure things out, a second time?  Baby C had his days and nights confused for weeks, most of the things I used to do to comfort A didn’t work for him, and sleep deprivation with a newborn and a toddler in the house was a whole new level of exhaustion for me.  But I didn’t have baby blues, A adjusted pretty fast to his new role, I got to know sweet baby C, and we all figured out how to sleep again.  All four of us are healthy, well taken care of, and most importantly – so loved.  J is the most incredible husband and dad, A is our little bff, and C – C is the sweetest, most perfect addition to our family.  We are complete, and I thank God over and over every day for this life.

Writing my silly daily notes of our newborn time together was very cathartic!  I hope that someone one day can benefit from my craziness, and read that part of my blog and see that it is okay to be confused, overwhelmed, sad, happy, and excited all at the same time.  It is bittersweet to watch my little baby sleep in his crib in his big boy pajamas and to see his special personality emerging.  I will cherish the memories of our first 3 months, and am excited to see what the future brings us.

Transitioning to the Crib

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**Please scroll to bottom of page for my update on DockaTot** There are so many different ways of going about this, but if you don’t start your baby in the crib from Day 1 (I did not) there is going to be a transition period.  My babies at least weren’t born loving their cribs – why would they enjoy a large flat cage when they could be snuggled in the swing or better yet, cuddling with me?!  I have let both kids sleep pretty much wherever they want at some point or another, but there comes a time where I make the crib happen – the sleep is more restful in there after a certain point, it is safe, and it becomes a space they love.  Well, at least A loves his – C is yet to be determined 🙂

With A, we started with nights at about 10 weeks.  I remember working on crib naps for a couple of months, but it wasn’t until about 6 months that he started really napping in the crib.  As a newborn at night he slept in the Rock and Play next to my bed and we both loved that thing.  But I was going back to work and felt like it would be better for him to have his own space so that I wouldn’t disturb him as I got up and got myself ready, so off to his room he went.  For about a week he didn’t sleep quite as long stretches in his crib, but he got used it and I will never forget at about 4 or 5 months, if you tried to rock him near his crib he would arch his little body away from you trying to get in his crib – once you put him down he would roll over and pass out and even now if you say it’s nap or bed time he sprints to his crib.

I made a little “nest” in his crib to transition him, which when describing this to a friend recently I realize there are actually products that do this for you, I don’t know why I decided to create a makeshift one myself!  Anyway, I put towels under the mattress so that it was at a bit of an incline, then I rolled towels tightly under the sheet into a “U” shape that sort of snuggled his feet.  After a few days, I took the “nest” away – A also started to roll to his side, and then his belly, and he loved to sleep like that so I think he rather started to enjoy the flat expansive surface!

Sweet baby C is the noisiest, gruntiest little guy and J and I decided to move him to his own room at 7 weeks old; I was sad and it felt too soon but at the same time, the 3 of us were barely sleeping and sure enough once he was in his own room we all started sleeping better, so moving to the crib does not necessary mean less sleep.  This time around I have a fancy thing called the DockaTot – it is like a tiny little snuggly bed for baby, and I put it right in is crib.  I will probably keep it in there for a few more weeks until he starts rolling.  C requires help settling down for the night in his crib, but he is getting more used to it each night and once he is asleep for the night, he gives us a good 6 hour stretch usually before his next feeding.  I’ll update once the DockaTot is gone to let you know the final results of the crib transition!

**Update: So the DockaTot website states that it shouldn’t be used in the crib, however I figured it would be fine since you can use the DockaTot for cosleeping in your own bed, so I didn’t see the difference between putting it in the crib, especially when C was too young to roll.  However, one night I was reading online about how babies might get too hot in the DockaTot and that overheating is a SIDS risk and I just didn’t want him sleeping in it anymore so I went to his room right then and there, took it out from under him, and that was that.  He didn’t wake up, and he slept clear until 6:20am so at 13 weeks, bye DockaTot.