So if you recall a previous post, I explained that I needed to strap James down to get him to go to sleep. Like, in his swing, carseat, or stroller.
Well, while I was on vacation, and unable to fall back on my swing. . . I was forced to learn to rock my baby to sleep. And DAMN IT IS HARD TO DO, but it is possible, and it actually only takes 15 mins (unless he is in pain from teething, or not quite tired enough, or constipated, or he sneak pooed and I have yet to notice it or something, in which case it can take 30 mins or longer sometimes).
BUT for the most part, it can be done in 15 mins. But it's like . . .
5 mins in which the baby screams, thrashes, kicks his feet at you, scratches, bites, claws your eyes and mouth, cries, etc.
5 mins in which he does all of these things with less gusto, with moments of calm mixed in
5 mins in which he is calm and more and more appears to be asleep
I honestly wish I could have a video of this because it's really ridiculous.
And finally he is really asleep and it is possible to transfer him onto his side on a bed or in a pack and play, and then to sort of shake him there for a second, and finally you can leave.
So now having discovered this I am pleased to find myself developing more self-efficacy with getting him to sleep, in different locations and bed situations.
Now I rarely have to resort to crying-it-out, because I really did hate it . . . for over a month now we've been rocking our hearts out! Better than CIO, but it's still hard, and teething makes it worse. I need to do a whole (other) post on teething, too.
Expecting our Little Brother in November!
Showing posts with label Naps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naps. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Reluctantly Crying-It-Out
And yet another post inspired by an anonymous commenter . . .
Crying it out is a funny thing. People in my Mom and, even more so, my Grandma's generation, have actually expressed concern that I am TOO responsive to james. Even as a wee wee one, the word spoiled did float around the room.
In my opinion, that is ridiculous. While you can't spoil a one-month old baby, you can bet that they aren't crying for no reason either (unless you are lucky enough to have a colicky one). But until the world of teething came along, my james did not cry for no reason. People think it's funny that he doesn't even cry when he wakes up. LOL. I know how long he sleeps for and I pay attention to him, so he rarely needs to cry when he wakes up.
And when he was one, two, three months old, I very rarely left him to fuss or cry for more than a min (because I never needed to). If he was crying, there was a reason. Which nursing could usually solve 99% of the time.
But now he's 8.5 months old. And he screams if I take away a toy that he likes. And when he does fuss, or even scream, for a few mins when I strap him into his swing, it's for the same reason. He doesn't want to go to sleep. He wants to play, and he wants to play with me. He isn't hungry or wet or neglected--he is just not getting what he wants.
And when I pictured myself as a parent, I pictured myself gently nursing my baby to sleep until he dozed off, and then sneaking out of the room. Well, my baby doesn't do that. He won't sleep unless he is strapped down, so, in the swing, carseat, or stroller. If he is able to move, he is moving. Only once recently have I woken up before him and gotten to see him wake up (in the bed with us). And I SWEAR he started crawling before his eyes opened. So he will NOT nurse down. He will NOT be rocked to sleep, he will NOT sleep if he can see me. He will not sleep unless he is strapped down, and alone.
So where do I find myself then? I work hard to make sure he does not get over-tired, I keep him on a strict schedule, I do a nap routine every time, and then, yes, I fuss it out. And on days when I'm exhausted, and feel drained and stressed, and the baby is having a fussy day? Sometimes I even cry it out.
I hate it. I totally hate it. I WISH WISH WISH I had a baby that would nurse down or be rocked to sleep. But I don't. And I do NOT think that CIO is evil, and if it is, damn it, it's a necessary evil at my house or my baby would never sleep. I will very much hope that my next baby will be calmer and want to snuggle and nap with me and be nursed down and all the sweet things that other breastfeeding co-sleeping Moms do to put their babies to sleep, but . . . this baby won't do it.
I have had a post in mind for a long time about how much of a difference there REALLY is between crying-it-out and not crying-it-out. I mean, even a hardcore CIO parent wouldn't leave a kid to SCREAM for more than a few mins, I would think (unless the parent is, you know, about to snap, in which case, all bets are off), and I would think that even the most hardcore attachment parents SOMETIMES need a mental break and have to leave a kid to cry for a few minutes (right? I mean, SOMETIMES?)?
I mean, come on, I think a lot of parenting decisions are made out of desperation. Yes I'm there crying on my kitchen floor while my baby is crying upstairs. But screams turned to coos within a few mins, and then he did eventually fall asleep. And when he woke up, I felt rejuvenated in dealing with him. Which I needed to feel.
So if that makes me an awful person, ah well. As my hubby pointed out recently, james still loves me more than anything, so I guess I'm doing something right.
Crying it out is a funny thing. People in my Mom and, even more so, my Grandma's generation, have actually expressed concern that I am TOO responsive to james. Even as a wee wee one, the word spoiled did float around the room.
In my opinion, that is ridiculous. While you can't spoil a one-month old baby, you can bet that they aren't crying for no reason either (unless you are lucky enough to have a colicky one). But until the world of teething came along, my james did not cry for no reason. People think it's funny that he doesn't even cry when he wakes up. LOL. I know how long he sleeps for and I pay attention to him, so he rarely needs to cry when he wakes up.
And when he was one, two, three months old, I very rarely left him to fuss or cry for more than a min (because I never needed to). If he was crying, there was a reason. Which nursing could usually solve 99% of the time.
But now he's 8.5 months old. And he screams if I take away a toy that he likes. And when he does fuss, or even scream, for a few mins when I strap him into his swing, it's for the same reason. He doesn't want to go to sleep. He wants to play, and he wants to play with me. He isn't hungry or wet or neglected--he is just not getting what he wants.
And when I pictured myself as a parent, I pictured myself gently nursing my baby to sleep until he dozed off, and then sneaking out of the room. Well, my baby doesn't do that. He won't sleep unless he is strapped down, so, in the swing, carseat, or stroller. If he is able to move, he is moving. Only once recently have I woken up before him and gotten to see him wake up (in the bed with us). And I SWEAR he started crawling before his eyes opened. So he will NOT nurse down. He will NOT be rocked to sleep, he will NOT sleep if he can see me. He will not sleep unless he is strapped down, and alone.
So where do I find myself then? I work hard to make sure he does not get over-tired, I keep him on a strict schedule, I do a nap routine every time, and then, yes, I fuss it out. And on days when I'm exhausted, and feel drained and stressed, and the baby is having a fussy day? Sometimes I even cry it out.
I hate it. I totally hate it. I WISH WISH WISH I had a baby that would nurse down or be rocked to sleep. But I don't. And I do NOT think that CIO is evil, and if it is, damn it, it's a necessary evil at my house or my baby would never sleep. I will very much hope that my next baby will be calmer and want to snuggle and nap with me and be nursed down and all the sweet things that other breastfeeding co-sleeping Moms do to put their babies to sleep, but . . . this baby won't do it.
I have had a post in mind for a long time about how much of a difference there REALLY is between crying-it-out and not crying-it-out. I mean, even a hardcore CIO parent wouldn't leave a kid to SCREAM for more than a few mins, I would think (unless the parent is, you know, about to snap, in which case, all bets are off), and I would think that even the most hardcore attachment parents SOMETIMES need a mental break and have to leave a kid to cry for a few minutes (right? I mean, SOMETIMES?)?
I mean, come on, I think a lot of parenting decisions are made out of desperation. Yes I'm there crying on my kitchen floor while my baby is crying upstairs. But screams turned to coos within a few mins, and then he did eventually fall asleep. And when he woke up, I felt rejuvenated in dealing with him. Which I needed to feel.
So if that makes me an awful person, ah well. As my hubby pointed out recently, james still loves me more than anything, so I guess I'm doing something right.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Six Month Goals Update and Setting Nine Month Goals
So I had some goals by the time james was six months old, let's see how we're doing . . .
1. Lose (most of) my pregnancy weight.
Done!
2. Get james down to three one-hour naps per day at specific times.
Ummmm. Well he definitely naps now around 10, 1, 4 for an hour each. But then he also sometimes takes mininaps in the evening or morning, but I guess now that I think about it, we are pretty close to this goal!
3. Clean out the room across from ours so we can paint and make a room for james.
Definitely not achieved, however, we've put some work in, probably cleared out at least half of the stuff and organized another quarter or so to be ready for a tag sale. So I think with another good weekend of work we could be ready to paint. So that's still on the to-do list!
Now to set some goals for the next three months!
1. Finish cleaning out the room, plan the mural and paint it. Get furniture put together and moved in and everything ready in there, basically (though we'll probably keep james' bed in our room for 3 more months to let the paint outgas before he starts sleeping in there).
2. Clean out the garage and arrange a section to stage our tag sale from.
3. Get everything set for our tag sale, have it at the end of the summer.
1. Lose (most of) my pregnancy weight.
Done!
2. Get james down to three one-hour naps per day at specific times.
Ummmm. Well he definitely naps now around 10, 1, 4 for an hour each. But then he also sometimes takes mininaps in the evening or morning, but I guess now that I think about it, we are pretty close to this goal!
3. Clean out the room across from ours so we can paint and make a room for james.
Definitely not achieved, however, we've put some work in, probably cleared out at least half of the stuff and organized another quarter or so to be ready for a tag sale. So I think with another good weekend of work we could be ready to paint. So that's still on the to-do list!
Now to set some goals for the next three months!
1. Finish cleaning out the room, plan the mural and paint it. Get furniture put together and moved in and everything ready in there, basically (though we'll probably keep james' bed in our room for 3 more months to let the paint outgas before he starts sleeping in there).
2. Clean out the garage and arrange a section to stage our tag sale from.
3. Get everything set for our tag sale, have it at the end of the summer.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Our Schedule/Nap Update
So as you might recall, my original goal was: "I'm hoping by the time he's 6 months old, I can get him into a 3-naps-of-at-least-an-hour-at-specific-times sort of daily routine." So I wanted to give an update on how we are doing compared to when I set that goal when he was 4 months old (about 6 weeks ago) . . .
Well, we definitely have him napping at pretty specific times, which seems to work for him. This is how our day usually goes:
-Wake up around 6/6:30, nurse in bed, Daddy changes and plays with and then puts in his swing about an hour later.
-Take this first early morning nap in his swing from 7:30-8:30. Wakes up at 8:30, we get up and get dressed, nurse, play, etc.
-Second nap, we start doing the routine (change, read books, nurse, rock) around 9:30 and he falls asleep between 10-10:30.
-Third nap we start the routine at 12:30 and he falls asleep between 1-1:30.
-Fourth nap, routine and then asleep around 3-3:30. (But sometimes he skips this one and won't fall asleep).
-Fifth nap, asleep anytime between 5-6:30 (and this one is usually short, like a half hour, and he sometimes skips this one, too, on days that he doesn't skip the other one, hehe).
-Down for the night around 7:30/8.
Sooo, let's see:
-I wanted 3 naps, right now we've got 5. HOWEVER, you could sort of consider the first wakeup as sort of a false one. He nurses for a LONG time, gets changed, and then wants to play for like 10 mins and then is tired again. So we're sort of only on 4. AND he is definitely transitioning the last two naps into one big afternoon nap, I think, since sometimes he skips one or the other.
-I wanted them to be at least an hour, and I can report (nearly) relative success on this front! Typically he does nap for right around an hour--at least 45 mins and sometimes like an hour and a half. Except for that last nap, as I mentioned which can be kind of short (and if it was longer he'd be up too late anyway).
-I wanted them to be at specific times, and again, we've had great success on this front!! The only nap that can vary is the last one probably because he's going to drop it. He's definitely able to be kept awake even when he's tired, and the schedule can shift if he randomly sleeps longer or wakes up earlier, but it's basically pretty regular!
So this is my progress on the goals I'm working toward by james' 6 month birthday and I think we're doing great so far!
Well, we definitely have him napping at pretty specific times, which seems to work for him. This is how our day usually goes:
-Wake up around 6/6:30, nurse in bed, Daddy changes and plays with and then puts in his swing about an hour later.
-Take this first early morning nap in his swing from 7:30-8:30. Wakes up at 8:30, we get up and get dressed, nurse, play, etc.
-Second nap, we start doing the routine (change, read books, nurse, rock) around 9:30 and he falls asleep between 10-10:30.
-Third nap we start the routine at 12:30 and he falls asleep between 1-1:30.
-Fourth nap, routine and then asleep around 3-3:30. (But sometimes he skips this one and won't fall asleep).
-Fifth nap, asleep anytime between 5-6:30 (and this one is usually short, like a half hour, and he sometimes skips this one, too, on days that he doesn't skip the other one, hehe).
-Down for the night around 7:30/8.
Sooo, let's see:
-I wanted 3 naps, right now we've got 5. HOWEVER, you could sort of consider the first wakeup as sort of a false one. He nurses for a LONG time, gets changed, and then wants to play for like 10 mins and then is tired again. So we're sort of only on 4. AND he is definitely transitioning the last two naps into one big afternoon nap, I think, since sometimes he skips one or the other.
-I wanted them to be at least an hour, and I can report (nearly) relative success on this front! Typically he does nap for right around an hour--at least 45 mins and sometimes like an hour and a half. Except for that last nap, as I mentioned which can be kind of short (and if it was longer he'd be up too late anyway).
-I wanted them to be at specific times, and again, we've had great success on this front!! The only nap that can vary is the last one probably because he's going to drop it. He's definitely able to be kept awake even when he's tired, and the schedule can shift if he randomly sleeps longer or wakes up earlier, but it's basically pretty regular!
So this is my progress on the goals I'm working toward by james' 6 month birthday and I think we're doing great so far!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Naps Again (Sorry)
So yeah sorry the substance of my blog lately has been: Allergies/Rash, Photo Spamming, and Naps. I'll try to write about something more interesting soon. Oh wait, I totally posted about maple syrup and baby led weaning so I am golden, never mind all that.
Maybe I'm just self conscious because this is like my 3rd or 4th post about naps. I just feel like as soon as I think I've got it figured out it changes. Maybe this is parenthood, though, when 1/4 of your mental energy is focused on naps?
Anyway.
So I thought his naps were going sort of like:
9:30, 11:30, 2:30, 5:30
But then a lot of times he would wake up at like 6:30, eat a lot, get diaper changed, be awake and playing for like another 15 mins or a half hour, and then be tired again. And then fall asleep at 7:30 and sleep until 8-8:30 so is that a nap too? Don't know what to consider that.
THEN, we had a couple of off days where we were out and about, and then his "natural" nap schedule seemed to reestablish even differently and now I'm not even sure what he's doing. I guess something more like:
Wake up 6:30
Sleep 7:30-8:30(or 9 sometimes!)
And 9:30-10:30 (or 10-11)
And 1:30-3?
And 4/5-6/6:30
And then down for the night between 7 and 8.
So basically he's starting to take a few LONGER naps, which is great. Maybe soon now he'll start to take a few less? I'm going to try to write down his naps for a couple days and see what EXACTLY he's doing.
And then they'll probably be yet another post about naps.
Maybe I'm just self conscious because this is like my 3rd or 4th post about naps. I just feel like as soon as I think I've got it figured out it changes. Maybe this is parenthood, though, when 1/4 of your mental energy is focused on naps?
Anyway.
So I thought his naps were going sort of like:
9:30, 11:30, 2:30, 5:30
But then a lot of times he would wake up at like 6:30, eat a lot, get diaper changed, be awake and playing for like another 15 mins or a half hour, and then be tired again. And then fall asleep at 7:30 and sleep until 8-8:30 so is that a nap too? Don't know what to consider that.
THEN, we had a couple of off days where we were out and about, and then his "natural" nap schedule seemed to reestablish even differently and now I'm not even sure what he's doing. I guess something more like:
Wake up 6:30
Sleep 7:30-8:30(or 9 sometimes!)
And 9:30-10:30 (or 10-11)
And 1:30-3?
And 4/5-6/6:30
And then down for the night between 7 and 8.
So basically he's starting to take a few LONGER naps, which is great. Maybe soon now he'll start to take a few less? I'm going to try to write down his naps for a couple days and see what EXACTLY he's doing.
And then they'll probably be yet another post about naps.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Regular Naps?
So since I wrote last about trying to get James' naps better arranged, I've had a lot of success!
So his naps over the last week have been like . . .
His first morning nap he goes down about an hour after he wakes up in the morning, usually between 8:30-9:30. After he first wakes up in the morning, I feed him, I pump, I get dressed, and then I start the nap routine basically right away (change diaper, read books, nurse, rock to sleep).
His second morning nap he usually gets tired between 10:30-11 and falls asleep between 11-12 (after the routine).
Then he has his one and only long awake period of the day, and goes back down between 2:30-3:30. I think part of my main problem before is that I didn't realize that there was this one part of the day where he was willing to be awake for more than an hour or an hour and a half. So I would try putting him down at like 1 or 2 and it would be like an hour of effort and he still wouldn't be asleep. Now I just keep him up at this time and he is generally happy about it, which is great.
Then his final nap is pretty late--around 5, sometimes as late as six--I'm thinking that soon we'll be able to drop this nap and just put him to bed a bit sooner. As it is now he just can't make it until 7:00--he's usually ready to lose it by 5/6--hence the last nap (which is sometimes only 20 mins but he NEEDS it, LOL!).
And finally he goes down for the night between 7 and 8.
I do the pre-nap routine pretty much every time and it seems to be helping a LOT at calming him down before his naps. So there is now relatively little pre-nap fussing (woohoo).
He's still only sleeping for a half hour, 45 mins tops, but hopefully as he transitions to fewer naps, he'll sleep longer. He doesn't seem tired so I guess 1/2 hour is enough for him (just not enough for me, LOL!).
I am increasingly able to rock him to sleep and then put him down in his cradle, instead of having to put him in his swing. It used to be that he wouldn't nap unless he was in motion, so this is an improvement! Sometimes I still resort to throwing him in the swing and letting him fall asleep there, but these naps are fewer and fewer every day!
So our nap situation is working out great, and I'm enjoying the routine and the predictability and relative freedom that comes from knowing that he needs/wants to nap at certain times and be awake at others! :D
So his naps over the last week have been like . . .
His first morning nap he goes down about an hour after he wakes up in the morning, usually between 8:30-9:30. After he first wakes up in the morning, I feed him, I pump, I get dressed, and then I start the nap routine basically right away (change diaper, read books, nurse, rock to sleep).
His second morning nap he usually gets tired between 10:30-11 and falls asleep between 11-12 (after the routine).
Then he has his one and only long awake period of the day, and goes back down between 2:30-3:30. I think part of my main problem before is that I didn't realize that there was this one part of the day where he was willing to be awake for more than an hour or an hour and a half. So I would try putting him down at like 1 or 2 and it would be like an hour of effort and he still wouldn't be asleep. Now I just keep him up at this time and he is generally happy about it, which is great.
Then his final nap is pretty late--around 5, sometimes as late as six--I'm thinking that soon we'll be able to drop this nap and just put him to bed a bit sooner. As it is now he just can't make it until 7:00--he's usually ready to lose it by 5/6--hence the last nap (which is sometimes only 20 mins but he NEEDS it, LOL!).
And finally he goes down for the night between 7 and 8.
I do the pre-nap routine pretty much every time and it seems to be helping a LOT at calming him down before his naps. So there is now relatively little pre-nap fussing (woohoo).
He's still only sleeping for a half hour, 45 mins tops, but hopefully as he transitions to fewer naps, he'll sleep longer. He doesn't seem tired so I guess 1/2 hour is enough for him (just not enough for me, LOL!).
I am increasingly able to rock him to sleep and then put him down in his cradle, instead of having to put him in his swing. It used to be that he wouldn't nap unless he was in motion, so this is an improvement! Sometimes I still resort to throwing him in the swing and letting him fall asleep there, but these naps are fewer and fewer every day!
So our nap situation is working out great, and I'm enjoying the routine and the predictability and relative freedom that comes from knowing that he needs/wants to nap at certain times and be awake at others! :D
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Reconnoitering Naps
Reconnoiter is my family's language for "rearrange." My Mom is famous for her constant reconnoitering of any and all loose objects and different areas. If you put something down in my parents house, you can expect it to be moved at some point . . .
Anyway, James' nap situation has been slowly deteriorating over the last few months. Until yesterday, he basically took all his naps in his swing downstairs in the living room. When he was younger, this was awesome because he could just hang out in there while he fell asleep, he was right there if I needed to check on him, etc. But over the last month he started being increasingly fussy before his naps--he would get distracted by me being around, and he is trying to stay awake more and more because he wants to be with me all the time, now. Furthermore he only sleeps for a half hour, 45 mins tops, usually 4-5 times per day.
So we got our new couch yesterday (pics to come!), and with that came "reconnoitering" the living room, and with that I decided it was time to reconnoiter James' nap situation.
I moved his swing upstairs, and pulled out his cradle which we haven't been using much for awhile. I also started doing a "pre-nap routine" of change diaper, read books, nurse, rock to sleep (or nearly), and then put in the cradle (if possible), or else the swing. For the past two days, I've been doing this at every nap-time, and between that and the move upstairs, I'm happy to say that I've basically eliminated the pre-nap fussing. I find that by filling it up with a predictable routine, he is able to start relaxing BEFORE he's in his swing, so that helps.
For all of his naps yesterday, I was able to move him from the swing to the cradle mid-sleep. So far today, he woke up when I tried to move him for his first nap so then I just let him sleep in the swing. BUT for his second nap, I am happy to report that I was actually able to PUT HIM DOWN in his cradle (first time ever!), though I did rock him to sleep first--but I don't mind that because it only takes five mins!
Anyway, I'm hoping this reconnoitering of his nap schedule will mean longer naps in the long run. I'm hoping by the time he's 6 months old, I can get him into a 3-naps-of-at-least-an-hour-at-specific-times sort of daily routine, so I think this is a good start of transitioning to that. He sort of DOES nap at specific times, but it does depend on when he wakes up in the morning and how long he naps for, too.
Anyway, James' nap situation has been slowly deteriorating over the last few months. Until yesterday, he basically took all his naps in his swing downstairs in the living room. When he was younger, this was awesome because he could just hang out in there while he fell asleep, he was right there if I needed to check on him, etc. But over the last month he started being increasingly fussy before his naps--he would get distracted by me being around, and he is trying to stay awake more and more because he wants to be with me all the time, now. Furthermore he only sleeps for a half hour, 45 mins tops, usually 4-5 times per day.
So we got our new couch yesterday (pics to come!), and with that came "reconnoitering" the living room, and with that I decided it was time to reconnoiter James' nap situation.
I moved his swing upstairs, and pulled out his cradle which we haven't been using much for awhile. I also started doing a "pre-nap routine" of change diaper, read books, nurse, rock to sleep (or nearly), and then put in the cradle (if possible), or else the swing. For the past two days, I've been doing this at every nap-time, and between that and the move upstairs, I'm happy to say that I've basically eliminated the pre-nap fussing. I find that by filling it up with a predictable routine, he is able to start relaxing BEFORE he's in his swing, so that helps.
For all of his naps yesterday, I was able to move him from the swing to the cradle mid-sleep. So far today, he woke up when I tried to move him for his first nap so then I just let him sleep in the swing. BUT for his second nap, I am happy to report that I was actually able to PUT HIM DOWN in his cradle (first time ever!), though I did rock him to sleep first--but I don't mind that because it only takes five mins!
Anyway, I'm hoping this reconnoitering of his nap schedule will mean longer naps in the long run. I'm hoping by the time he's 6 months old, I can get him into a 3-naps-of-at-least-an-hour-at-specific-times sort of daily routine, so I think this is a good start of transitioning to that. He sort of DOES nap at specific times, but it does depend on when he wakes up in the morning and how long he naps for, too.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Our first normal week
This week was our first "normal" week--no days off, no holidays, and no holiday preparations.
James was at work and I was at home, trying to pick up after Christmas and get Little James and myself into a routine.
I recorded what James was doing so that I could pick up any patterns. I already knew:
-That James usually naturally fell asleep "for the night" between 11 and 1 (usually closer to 11 or 12), and that he would sleep usually for 5-7 hours after that.
-Then he would wake up between 7 and 9, eat, get changed, we'd both "get dressed", come downstairs, settle in (have tea, start fire, do a couple chores)
-Then he would want to be changed again, eat again, and go down for his first nap about two hours after he woke up. I put him in his cradle swing downstairs for his naps.
-He will sleep for 1-2 hours, then wake up and want to eat and be changed again.
After that I wasn't quite sure what happened. The evenings are a little unpredictable--he sometimes will eat for a long time and then just sleep for a few mins and then be up again . . .
But during this week I recorded what he was doing, and basically the rest of the day follows a similar pattern:
--Sleep for 1-2 hours
--awake for 1-2 hours: eat, change, "play", change, eat
--back to sleep for 1-2 hours.
So normally if he gets up at 8, he'll take his first nap at 10, his second nap around 1:30, and his third nap between 3-4. He'll sleep each time for at least 45 mins, usually an hour, sometimes longer.
The evening is still really unpredictable, but I'm glad that the whole morning and afternoon are becoming a little more predictable.
The only problem I'm having now is trying to establish an earlier bedtime. The times I have gotten him to fall asleep around 7-8, he'll wake up many times throughout the night, or else wake up again and not go back to sleep until 11/12 anyway . . . I have some ideas for improving that, though.
My goal is to have a pretty good schedule by 12 weeks. So, 5 weeks to go!
Anyway, it was really nice just being home with him and doing chores and starting to establish what our normal life will be now together!
James was at work and I was at home, trying to pick up after Christmas and get Little James and myself into a routine.
I recorded what James was doing so that I could pick up any patterns. I already knew:
-That James usually naturally fell asleep "for the night" between 11 and 1 (usually closer to 11 or 12), and that he would sleep usually for 5-7 hours after that.
-Then he would wake up between 7 and 9, eat, get changed, we'd both "get dressed", come downstairs, settle in (have tea, start fire, do a couple chores)
-Then he would want to be changed again, eat again, and go down for his first nap about two hours after he woke up. I put him in his cradle swing downstairs for his naps.
-He will sleep for 1-2 hours, then wake up and want to eat and be changed again.
After that I wasn't quite sure what happened. The evenings are a little unpredictable--he sometimes will eat for a long time and then just sleep for a few mins and then be up again . . .
But during this week I recorded what he was doing, and basically the rest of the day follows a similar pattern:
--Sleep for 1-2 hours
--awake for 1-2 hours: eat, change, "play", change, eat
--back to sleep for 1-2 hours.
So normally if he gets up at 8, he'll take his first nap at 10, his second nap around 1:30, and his third nap between 3-4. He'll sleep each time for at least 45 mins, usually an hour, sometimes longer.
The evening is still really unpredictable, but I'm glad that the whole morning and afternoon are becoming a little more predictable.
The only problem I'm having now is trying to establish an earlier bedtime. The times I have gotten him to fall asleep around 7-8, he'll wake up many times throughout the night, or else wake up again and not go back to sleep until 11/12 anyway . . . I have some ideas for improving that, though.
My goal is to have a pretty good schedule by 12 weeks. So, 5 weeks to go!
Anyway, it was really nice just being home with him and doing chores and starting to establish what our normal life will be now together!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Ooooowww Update
So in my previous post, published at 9:30ish pm, I'd said that James had been nursing non-stop for three hours . . . Yeah so, this went on with only a few breaks to sleep for 5 mins, be changed, or cry inconsolably, until 2:20 am.
Holy crapola. Today we tried REALLY hard not to let him sleep for too long during the day. We woke him up from both his long naps (and we had to try REALLY hard), but he fell asleep (hopefully "for the night") around 7:30 tonight, so so far, it has worked!
Now we just need to get me to sleep and I'll be ready to face a new "day" (ie, whenever he wakes up next).
Sorry all my recent posts have been whines. Hopefully I'll write something of substance soon.
Holy crapola. Today we tried REALLY hard not to let him sleep for too long during the day. We woke him up from both his long naps (and we had to try REALLY hard), but he fell asleep (hopefully "for the night") around 7:30 tonight, so so far, it has worked!
Now we just need to get me to sleep and I'll be ready to face a new "day" (ie, whenever he wakes up next).
Sorry all my recent posts have been whines. Hopefully I'll write something of substance soon.
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