11 Months Today...10 Month Low Down

Today is LL's 11 Month Birthday --Here's Her 10 Month Low Down 

Bedtime:
She is in the bath tub around 6:30 and asleep by 7:00.

Wake-Up:
Sleeping til 6:00-6:30

Naps:
We're still taking 2 naps a day.  The first one is around 8:00-8:30 and it last about an hour.  Her 2nd is between 1:00-2:00 and is usually around 1 1/2 hours. I also have been putting her down awake and she goes to sleep after about 15-20 minutes. 

Bottles:
She is now getting 4 bottles a day.  She is becoming less interested in her bottles and the amount she is drinking.  I always make 5oz. but she rarely drinks it all.  She is eating more solid food and it may be because of all the solid food she is eating.

Foods:

Her appetite has gotten much bigger.  She eats 3 average size meals a day along with 2 snacks.  She is still getting Stage 3 foods along with cut up fruits.  Texture is no longer an issue for her so she is trying and liking more foods.  We still have not introduced meat or cheese. 

New foods this month:

cut up bananas, and she LOVES the strawberry/banana smoothie from Smoothie King

Night Time:
It is so very nice knowing that when we put her down at night we know she's sleeping till the morning.  Stress level is gone.  Bryan and I are even going out more now.  We feel more comfortable knowing Avery won't wake up when a babysitter is here. 

Developmental Milestones & Firsts:
Nothing new to report this month.  In fact, it's been showing in the lack of blog entries.  Avery is going to look back at this month and ask why nothing was entered during her 10th month.  It really is because nothing new has happened.  No new teeth, still cruising the walls and furniture.  She did take a few steps and balance on her own.  But nothing major.  I will say that she is playing better on her own....throwing objects and going to find them, pushing toys around, dancing more to music.  She is also babbling more non-stop.

As you can see, it's becoming more and more difficult for Avery to stay still for her monthly pictures.  As soon as we put her on the chair, she immediately starts moving, wiggling and she reaches out for me.  *Sigh* this is definitely the beginning of me chasing her around and around.  I can tell her 2nd year is going to be full throttle forward.  

10 Months Today...9 Month Low Down!

Today is LL's 10 Month Birthday --Here's Her 9 Month Low Down 

Bedtime:
Between 7:00 and 7:30 pm. Her 2nd nap ends around 3:30 so she's more than ready to go down around 7:00.

Wake-Up:
Sleeping til 6:00-6:30

Naps: We're taking 2 naps a day.  The first one is around 8:00-8:30 and it last about an hour.  Her 2nd is around 2:00 and is usually around 1 1/2 hours.  I can finally say she's on a sleeping schedule because her night-time is so predictable now.

Bottles:
She usually gets about 5 bottles a day.  I've been making them about 6 oz. to see if she'll drink more.  She was only drinking about 4 oz at a time.  She's getting better.

Foods:
Avery doesn't eat much in the way of breakfast or lunch, but will chow down at dinner.  Doc said it's ok since she's getting the majority of her calories from formula now.  She has really been digging cut-up cherries, peaches, bananas, nectarines, and grapes.  She'll eat the pureed sweet potatoes & squash but no other veggie.  We're back to eating Chiobani yogurt the Honey-Nana flavor and she luuuuuvs  it.

New foods this month:
Cut-up cherries, grapes, peaches, nectarines

Night Time:
OH, GOOD LORD....Avery is sleeping ALL NIGHT LONG.  I have died and gone to heaven.  When she goes down at 7:00 she stays in her crib and sleeps til 6:00am.  We no longer feed her a bottle at 9:00.  If she does happen to cry out, we wait for about 5 minutes before going in.  Most of the time she goes back to sleep on her own before the 5 minutes is up.  If we do go in, we just put her pacifier back in, lie her down and back to sleep she goes.  It truly is the best thing in the whole world.  We feel like we've got control of our lives back.   

Developmental Milestones & Firsts:
We got our top 2 front teeth and 2 new bottom teeth this month.  She's calling for daddy when he walks in..."dada" and crawls for him.  It's so cute.  She says bye-bye and waves her hand up and down, "buh-buh".  She's also learned to click her tongue...which is so adorable because it's the first thing she does when I pick her up from her crib in the morning.  She's still cruising around walls and furniture a lot.  I pray she doesn't walk for at least 2 more months.

Momma's Mental State:
Momma is feeling so great!  Baby has been sleeping so great at night and it makes all of our lives so much better.  LL is happier during the day and so are we.  Now, we're actually planning an "out of town trip" with just Bryan and myself.  It will be our first time away from our sweets but I think we need it.  Let's hope we can pull it off.

9 Months Today...8 Month Low Down

Today is LL's 9 Month Birthday --Here's Her 8 Month Low Down 

Bedtime: Between 7:30 & 8:00 pm.  She is getting SO much better with sleeping.  After putting her down for the night, she usually wakes up about 2 hours later for a bottle and then will sleep for 7-8 hours straight.  Can I get a woot-woot?

Wake-Up: Lately she has gotten into the habit of waking around 4:30am.  At first, I didn't think anything of this because she was finally sleeping for 7 hours straight and I was so THANKFUL to be getting solid sleep.  But, now I need to think about how to break this. Hmmm?  

Naps: I think she is trying to transition into 2 naps a day.  She'll take her first nap between 8:30-9:00 and it's approx 1 1/2 hours.  Her second nap is around 12:30-1:00 and usually 1 1/2 hours. Her naps have finally gotten so much longer.  For SO long her naps were only 30-45 min long.  Man, I love turning this new sleep corner.

Bottles: She usually gets about 5 bottles a day.  I've been making them about 6 oz. to see if she'll drink more.  She was only drinking about 4 oz at a time.  She's getting better.

Nursing: NO MORE.  She was done at 7 Months.

Foods:  She has been eating so much better.  We found out that the Chiobani Yogurt she as eating was giving her a lot of gas and we think it was keeping her up at night.  As soon as we stopped giving her that, she stated sleeping better.  Coincidence?  who knows.  She eats some 3rd stage foods, and every time I give her a bite of my baked potato or sweet potato, she makes a horrible face and spits it out.  She only eats 1 1/2 containers of  stage 2 foods.  She's just not a big eater.

New foods this month: Gerber Wagon Wheel Finger foods/ Carrot and Apple flavor

Night Time:
She was sleeping with us at night just because we were both so sick of getting up 4 times a night to walk to her crib. So much easier to turn over and pat her back to sleep.  But for the last 2 weeks, she's been sleeping like a freakin' champ in her crib.  7-8 hours of solid sleep.  Like I said before, we stopped giving her the yogurt and she started sleeping better.  We even experimented one  night to see if that was really bothering her...and sure enough the day we gave her the yogurt, she was up off and on all night.

Developmental Milestones & Firsts:
It has been a slow month for milestones.  It seems that all of them hit at once last month.  I thought for sure she would have gotten her top two teeth, but they're not here yet.  Lots of drooling and I think I see them coming down.  She's walking a lot between furniture, along the walls and when we hold her hands.  Not sure if that means she'll be walking soon.  We got her a few "walking" toys that she seems to like.

Momma's Mental State:
It's amazing what sleep will do to your mental state.  For the first 8 months of Avery's life I was so sleep deprived and had the worst dark circles.  I pray very hard that Avery keeps up the great sleeping and that it only gets better.
There are 2 things that I was completely naive about and didn't give 2 thoughts about while pregnant....Infant sleep and recovery "down there".  Both things knocked me for a major loop.  I'm so glad both are behind us. knock on wood

Guess What????

8 Months 4 Weeks

LL slept for 10 hours STRAIGHT last night.  Yes, you are looking at the sweet face of a girl who is well rested with 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep... in her crib... all by herself.

"Yep i did it, Momma!  Slept 10 hours straight in my own crib!"

We are in complete shock.  This is the first time she has slept the entire night.  I went in her room around 1:30 am to check on her and she was sound asleep with her head facing the opposite end of where we put her.  Who knows, she may have woken up and played a little in her crib, but she never cried out.  I'm still shaking my head.

8 Months Today...7 Month Low Down!

Today is LL's 8 Month Birthday --Here's Her 7 Month Low Down 

Bedtime: Between 7:30 & 8:00 pm. We were putting her down at 7:00 pm but she was waking up after about an hour and was getting harder to get her back to sleep. 

Wake-Up: Anytime between 5:00am -6:30am

Naps: For the most part, LL is taking 3 naps.  One around 9:00, then again around 11:00-12:00 and the last one around 2:00-3:00.  Some days they are 30 min. and some days they are 1 1/2hours.  

Bottles: LL is strictly a bottle girl, now.  No more nursing.  She never drinks more than 4oz at a time and I try to feed her every 3-4 hours.  I'm amazed when I read about other babies drinking 6 & 7oz at a time.  I wish she would, I think maybe she would sleep better.

Nursing: NO MORE.  I really think LL weaned herself from me, rather than the other way around.  She was so ready to move on. 

Foods: She's not really interested in eating solids.  I mean she will take a couple bites but then turn her face.  I'm not sure if it's her teeth or what.  I'm actually tired of trying to figure it out.  She's just not a big eater.

New foods this month: yogurt...Chiobani Greek Very Berry Yogurt for children.  She loves it.

Night Time: Guess what??? This month of sleeping has been horrible.  Surprised?  Me neither.  Some nights she slept til 3:30am then til 6:30am.  Other nights (most nights) she was up 4 times.  Again, there is no consistency.  We have always had a diligent nighttime routine with her...and I guess we'll keep up the routine.

Developmental Milestones & Firsts:  Let's see... so much has happened for LL this month.

1.) Pulling up and standing
2.) second bottom tooth
3.) sitting up/playing sitting up
4.) babbling consonants 
5.) stopped nursing
6.) sleeping without sleep suit

Momma's Mental State: I'm feeling the same mentally as last month.  Tired and worn out.  

Good Bye Magic Sleep Suit....Hello Footed Sleeper

7 Months 3 Weeks

We are finally finished with the Magic SleepSuit!  I still can't believe we had her in that thing for so long.  She seemed to really like it so we were afraid to stop using it in fear she would retaliate and wake up all night long.  Well, guess what??  She was already waking up all night anyway so buh-bye snowsuit!

4 Months Old!

Now, we're onto the footed sleeper and she loves it!  She turns over onto her stomach now and sleeps much better and for longer stretches.

 Yes, and we're even pulling up and biting the sides of the crib, now.  I hate to lower the crib, because we're still patting her back to put her to sleep.  Once that is dropped, our backs are really gonna be sore.  But, she's definitely getting much better at falling asleep by herself so hopefully she won't need patting much longer.  We shall see.

So SICK of these articles!!!!!

7 Months 1 Week

Have you seen the May issue of American Baby?  Am I the only one that is SO SICK of these sleep articles???? It seems every month each baby magazine puts their own spin on these "sleep" articles. 

NUMBER 1: ALL babies sleep differently...YES, it's great to have a sleep routine but if your babes is programmed to wake up in the middle of the night.....THEY WILL WAKE UP NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!!!!!!!!!  At least, this has been my experience.

HAHAHAHA..........The 3-Step Solution You'll Thank Us For Tonight.  The only 3 step solution I'll be thanking you for tonight is...

Step 1: Put ice in a glass
Step 2: Pour whiskey and coke in glass
Step 3: Stir & Drink

The only thing I like about this article is this cuties PJ's....they are adorable!

I've been doing the bottle, bath, book and bed routine since LL was 3 months old!  She falls asleep fine...it's the staying asleep that has me going batty.

I have to say that we are in the middle of trying the last paragraph in this article (see below).  Its called the "Sleep Lady Shuffle".  It's where you sit by the crib and comfort baby before naptime, bedtime and during night wakings.  We already do this for naps and bedtime and she is falling asleep on her own.  But we plan to start it for the night wakings next week because that is when hubby and I will be in town for the next 3 weekends IN A ROW!!! It's supposed to work in 2 weeks.....we'll see!

7 Months...6 Month Low Down

Yesterday was LL's 7 Month Birthday --Here's Her 6 Month Low Down

Bedtime: between 7:00-7:30.  We moved her time back to her original bedtime.  We are so confused as parents.  We are forever going back and forth and experimenting with poor LL.  The bottom line...at this point in the day, she is tired and needs to go to bed at 7:00!

Wake-Up: Anytime between 6:00am and 7:30.  She is so all over the place.  There has never been consistency to anything LL does.

Naps: For the most part, LL is still taking 4 naps.  Depends on when she first gets up in the morning.  But I can see how she is trying to transition down to 3 naps.  Her first morning nap has become a long one...around 1 1/2 hours. Her last nap is around 3-3:30.  I won't let her take another one after that.

**On a side note:  We have been putting LL down in her crib while she is still awake for all naps and bedtime.  We stand over her crib and pat her stomach and hum and she goes to sleep on her own.
Sometimes it easier than other days, but she's getting the idea.  The goal is to just put her down and leave her to fall asleep solo.  I'm so jealous of moms who can do this with their babes.  We're hoping this will help with nighttime wakings and longer stretches of sleep.

Bottles: LL has been getting more bottles per day.  I would say around  4-5. I still pump a lot just to keep my milk supply up.  But for some reason, my left boob decided to become lazy and stop making any milk.  It all happened when LL was sick a couple weeks ago and stopped nursing/eating.  I should of pumped more then, but I didn't.  Now I know!

Nursing:  LL nurses about 2-3 times a day.  One time in the 3am area and the other first time in the am.  

Foods: LL JUST started eating 3 times a day.  I was only giving her solids in the am and pm, but she's been looking at the high chair in the middle of the afternoon and whining. 

New foods this month:  potatoes, cherries, apricots, pineapple, puffs.  I'm considering incorporating soy yogurt.  Anyone else try this?

Night Time: This month of sleeping has been horrible.  Back to square one with her.  I have officially given up on trying to figure her sleeping out.  She is back to waking up 45 min into her nighttime sleep and back up again around 11:30...sometime up at 1:30 or 3:00am or exactly 4:20 am and then up for the day between 6- 7:30.  There is absolutely ZERO consistency to LL's sleep.  Drives me bananas.

Developmental Milestones & Firsts:  Still scooting and army crawling all over the place!  We did buy her "cage" so that I would feel better about letting her crawl around without constantly looking at her.  She likes it for the most part.

LL is almost sitting up...she's been practicing using her kickstand also known as her tripod stance. She's almost gotten all the way to sitting position, then she does a face plant into the ground. ouch.

LL also got her first tooth!  Her lower right one came in about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  We are anxiously waiting for the 2nd one to pop up.  She's drooling and biting down on everything.

Favorite Toys:

Momma's Mental State:  Back to feeling tired and run day all day everyday.  It's getting very old.  Just when I feel like I get caught up on sleep, LL has a horrible night and here I am back to feeling like poo.  I keep telling myself that it won't last forever...but it very hard to be a good mom when you're tired all the time. 

6 Months Today...5 Month Low Down

Today is LL's 6 Month Birthday --Here's Her 5 Month Low Down

Bedtime: between 7:30 and 8:00.  We moved it..for some reason she likes this time better and sleeps longer.

Wake-Up: Usually around 6:30 but lately sleeping to 7:00.  I'll take it!

Naps: LL takes 4 naps a day.  The first 2 in the am are over an hour sometimes an 1 1/2 hours.  The 2 in the afternoon are shorter...about 40 minutes...one because she's usually in the bjorn napping. Her last nap is around 3:30/4:00 and it goes about 40 minutes. 

Bottles: LL gets 2 bottles a day.  The first one at 6:30pm (4oz of Isomil) and the 2nd one around 9:30 (4oz Isomil) for her dreamfeed.  We do not mix the breast and the formula together anymore she likes it by itself now. yay.

Nursing:  LL nurses about 5 times a day.  Right when she wakes up, between 6-7...then again around 9:30am, 12ish, 3ish then again sometime in the 3am area or when she wakes up at night.  I pump around 7:00pm.  It's amazing how your body will adjust to the supply and demand of your baby.

Foods: She eats 2x a day.  The first time is after her first nap around 9:00ish.  She usually eats 1/2 container of a fruit and a 1/2 vegetable. Then she eats dinner around 5:00ish...this time she usually eats 2 full containers.  Our ped said to start incorporating lunch sometime after her 6 month birthday.

New foods this month:  Peaches and Green Beans

Night Time: The night time sleep has been soooo much better.  We put her down around 7:30 and she sleeps all the way to 2-3am!!  So nice.  She no longer wakes up about 45 minutes after putting her to sleep which is also nice. After her 2-3am feeding, she sleeps till 6:30ish.  One thing we did differently is we blacked out her windows so it is completely dark in her room.  It has also helped with longer naps.  I also think the formula before bed helps her sleep longer, too.

Developmental Milestones & Firsts: LL is ALL OVER her play area.  I am constantly getting up to move her back to her "safe area".  I'm thinking of buying a gate type area.  I am currently looking at this...

I would purchase 2 of these to make the play area larger!  Seems cruel after looking at the poor girl alone in the picture with no toys or anything....but I would make it like a mini Disney World in there.

LL is not sitting up by herself, but when I sit her up she will stay and balance for about 3 seconds.

When on the floor on her tummy she will scoot both legs under her belly and lift her body up and rock back and forth...which I think is the beginning of a crawl which scares the sh!t out of me.  She has also just started to do the army crawl or the "low crawl" as my dad calls it where she scoots across the floor using her elbows.

She also rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls all around.

Favorite Toys: We bought LL this Baby Einstein Mozart DVD when she was 4 months old but she did not become interested in it until recently.  She LOVES it! 

Momma's Mental State: I'm feeling really good lately.  I'm taking LL out and about everyday!  I just put her in the Bjorn and off we go.  We usually wait until after her first 2 naps.  When she gets tired, I turn her around in the Bjorn facing me, put a blanket over her head, give her her pacifier and say "night-night" and she goes right to sleep.  Love it!  I should have done this from about 4 months on...but I was so scared to leave the house.  With my next babes, I know I'll be in a better state of mind plus not so freakin scared all the time.

I finally feel recovered "down there"!  I can walk 20 feet now without feeling like I need to tee-tee all over myself.  Sorry if TMI but recovering down there was NOT fun.  I really thought it would be like that forever.

****On a side note....went to my first consignment sale called Sweet Repeats last night and bought LL some fun new toys! I'll post on those next week.

Sleepeasy Solution: Hopeful Help

5 Months 2 Weeks

I don't mind getting up to nurse LL in the middle of the night.  It would be nice, really nice, if she did sleep through the night.  But, I'm OK with getting up...in fact I believe if I get a good solid 3 hours of sleep at the beginning of the night, then I feel rested the next day.  That's why B feeds her at 9-9:30pm and I go to sleep hopefully by 8-8:30.  Then, she gets up somewhere in the 1:00am area and then again around 4:00am.  What I would like to add is that she almost always wakes up 1 or 2 times prior to her 9:00pm dreamfeed...which drives me completely bananas!  Because then we are going in there to help her back to sleep.

What I would like LL to do is to be able to put herself to sleep for a naps and for bedtime.....all by herself.  Right now, we hold her or rock her to sleep.  And she usually falls asleep within 5-10 minutes.  I know this process requires cry-it-out in her crib so she can figure out how to soothe herself to sleep.  I have to admit, this makes me more than uneasy.  I just recently bought this book....

 The Sleepeasy Solution.  Has anyone else read this book??  It seems to have some solid advice for sleep training.  But again, I start to hyperventilate when I think of my babes crying for long periods of time.
 
This is where I need YOUR help.

1.)  Does your baby fall asleep on his/her own? 
2.)  If yes, how did you get that to happen?  Did you follow a certain book?  Technique?
3.)  How long did it take for your baby to learn to soothe themselves?  Days? weeks?
4.)  How old was your baby when you started this sleep-training?

Any help or advice would really be helpful.

Side Effects of Vaccinations

5 Months 1 Week

LL had her shots on Monday and both Monday night and last night she has been miserable.  Her naps during the day have actually been longer and she seems really tired.  But, at night she is up every 1-2 hours.  We've been on a really good streak of night sleeping the past week, so I can't help but think it's the shots that are disrupting her at night.

Just wondering if anyone else has had these reactions or any reactions. 

5 Months Today...The 4 Month Low Down

I got this great idea from Beach Bum & Baby so I thought I would update LL's monthly happenings this way as well.  I added "Momma's Mental State" to the list because that changes just as much as LL does. haha

Today is LL's 5 Month Birthday -- 4 Month Low Down

Bedtime: between 6:30 and 7:00

Wake-Up: Usually around 6:30

Naps: LL takes 4 naps a day...each one around 45 minutes.  Lately, they have been going a little longer and  she misses some of the 4 o'clock naps  She may be transitioning to 2 naps a day.  When she does miss the last nap, we move night-night time earlier. 

Bottles: I just started to give LL a bottle for her 6 o'clock meal and her dream-feed meal at 9:00pm.  For those bottles I mix part formula/ part breast milk.  We're using the soy formula.   Each of those bottles are 4-5 oz. equal parts formula/breast.  I started doing this b/c 1.) my supply was really low in the late afternoon and 2.) I'm trying to get her used to the taste of formula.  She WILL NOT drink it by itself.

She nurses/bottle about 6 times a day about 4 hours b/w each feeding 5-6am, 9-10, 1-2pm, 5-6, 9-10, 1-2am

Night Time:  I read somewhere that at this age sleeping through the night was about 5-6 hours straight.  LL has done that on occasion.  But we are still very inconsistent with sleep at night.  She'll have 2 great nights of sleeping...then BOOM....back up every 2 hours.  Gotta love it. :)

Foods: She loves food!  We stopped the rice cereal and are now just sticking with Prunes, Pears, Apples, Bananas.  That may seem early, but the girl was literally grabbing at B and I's forks during dinner.

Developmental Milestones & Firsts: Rolling over both ways (she was just rolling from back to stomach but recently started rolling from her stomach to her back), eating, scoots around play mat, while on her stomach she pushes up with her forearms and stays there longer, plays & entertains herself longer.



Favorite Books: She LOVES books!  Hello, Baby! By Mem Fox,   Hooray For You By: Marianne Richmond ,  Goodnight Moon By: Margaret Wise Brown

Favorite Songs: Bryan and I both made up songs for her that we sing to her all the time.  They're both name songs. 

Favorite Toys:  Bright Starts Bounce-a-Bout, Sophie, Bright Starts Tug Tune Pig.
She loves any of those hanging toys that are normally clipped on to car seats, etc.  Her fav is the pig.  You can see it hanging on her Bounce-a-Bout below.

Momma's Mental State: I finally feeling like I'm pulling my head out of the sand.  My hormones seems to be under control.  I had no idea it would be that bad.  I heard it's just as bad when you stop breastfeeding.  Great.

I'm feeling more confident about taking LL out and about.  Before, I was having these strange visions of me dropping her or something totally irrational.

Believe it or not, I still feel like I'm recovering from having her...yes, I mean "down there".  How come no one talks about how traumatizing that is?

Sleeping--4 Months 4 Weeks

4 Months 4 Weeks

Ughh. At the end of this week, LL will be 5 months old and I feel like I haven't gotten any closer to a consistent night-night sleeping pattern. The only thing that is consistent is her bedtime routine... boob/bottle, bath, book, bed. She is usually in bed between 6:30 and 7:00pm. She always wakes up about 45 minutes after she goes down, but we get her back to sleep right away. B dream feeds her around 9:00pm....then the inconsistency begins. Some nights she wakes once around 2:00am... then other nights she wakes at 1:00 and then again at 5:00am. And then there are some nights she wakes up every 2 hours. I don't feed her every time she wakes up. I usually just nurse her around 1:00-ish and then again 4-5-ish.  Her wake time is always around 6:40am.

Nap time is pretty consistent.  She takes 4 naps a day...each one 45 minutes.  Her wake time in the am is about an hour and about 2 hours in the afternoon. I usually don't let her go more that 2 hours of awake time.  You can read all about the sleep schedule I put LL on here...

Is this normal for a 5 month old? Do your babies have this inconsistent night-night sleeping pattern?  Do older babies fall into a more regular night sleeping schedule?  Please say yes.

Despite all of this happening, I've moved her back to her room. And this is where she'll stay. I finally feel comfortable having her sleep there. Before, when I thought of her sleeping in there by herself I would have a mini panic-attack. Now, it's all good.

Back To The Miracle Blanket!

Thanks, Momma for FINALLY putting me back in the Miracle Blanket!

So, last night around 10:30 and after the 2nd time of LL waking up...I pulled out her Miracle Blanket, took off her "not so Magic Sleepsuit", swaddled her tight and she slept until 4:00am....then again til 7:00am.  Thank you JESUS!  I guess she just wasn't ready to transition out of her swaddle.  Here she is waking up bright and chipper this morning.

Since she has been waking up so much at night, she found her way back to the side of my bed in her Rock N Play.  If she continues with the longer stretches of sleep, I'll move her back to her room!

Magic SleepSuit....not so magic today.

Momma is most crabby today.  What a horrible night of sleeping for LL.  She was down at 7:30 last night then up at 8:30 (that's pretty normal) back up again at 11:30 (not normal) then again at 1:30 (normal) and 4:00, then up for the day bright and early at 6:00.  Of course, I've been up since she woke at 1:30 not able to fall back to sleep.  Lying in bed wondering why this was happening again...this sleep regression.  Why can't we figure this out?  She's not really hungry...she only nurses for a short time.

She's worn the Magic Sleepsuit for 4 nights...and this was the worse night so far.  I'm considering going back to the Miracle Blanket.

I Caved....Enter, The Magic SleepSuit!

4 Months 2 Weeks

"Oh boy, here she goes again."

So, I caved and bought the Magic SleepSuit. I've been reading a lot about it on the boards and decided it was time that LL transitioned out of the swaddle. I received 20% off because it was mislabeled...reads size large instead of small.  It came in the mail today which was nice...took like 2 days to get here. It's hilarious to look at and imagine her sleeping in it...looks like a big snowsuit.  I wonder if will be too hot?

"Are you serious?"

We'll keep you up to date on IF and HOW it works.

UPDATE: Sleep Schedule at 3 Months

3 Months 4 Weeks

So it's been a couple weeks since I've starting Baby Sleeping Boot Camp.  I did not have LL on a day sleeping schedule but I did have her on somewhat of a night schedule...down with me for the night at 9:00pm.  She was really great at this routine up until month 3.  Her naps during the day were just whenever and wherever.  She slept mostly in the swing for hours at a time.

Well, after reading Baby Wise and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (and some of Baby Whisperer) I got her on an eat, play, sleep routine.  I can't do the CIO.  I just don't have it in me.  I got a spiral notebook and am keeping a schedule of her whole day...the time she wakes up, times she eats, when she sleeps, how long she sleeps.  I also was determined to get her sleeping in her crib both day and night.  At night she was still next to me in her Rock N Play and during the day she was in the swing.

example of her daily schedule

During the day I look for sleep cues...the 7 mile stare and yawning.  By the 3rd yawn I scoop her up and tell her it's time for her nap, take her in her room, say, "let's turn off your light...now let's close your blinds and when you wake up we can play again", I put her in her straight jacket, give her her pacifier and stand there rocking her gently and humming.  Now, this did not go very well at first...for me or her...I felt like a slave to the house and she couldn't understand why no more swing.  But by day 5, she was closing her eyes the moment I put her in the straight jacket and asleep by the time I was holding her. *huge sigh of relief*

LL's wake time is also very short...maybe 50 minutes in the morning and up to an 1 hour in the afternoon.  She takes about 4 naps a day sometimes 5 and they are short ones...about 30-45 minutes. So, this process was very time consuming and we didn't venture out much because I was always doing the nap routine.  But, I'm so glad I did it because it has really paid off.

Now, at night we have a routine down.  Boob, Bath, Book and Bed. Our goal is to have her in bed by 7:30pm.  I usually dream feed her around 9pm when I go to sleep.  She is still pretty inconsistent with times she wakes up at night and the time she wakes in the am, but at least I feel better about putting her on a schedule/routine and I honestly think she likes it too.  Stay tuned!

Starting a Sleep Schedule/3 Months

3 Months 2 Weeks

I am seriously sleep deprived.  LL went from sleeping from 9:00pm-3:30am then down again till 7:30-8:00.  It was amazing.  Then, a few days before her 3 month birthday she decided to switch things up on us...throw us a real curve ball.  Waking every 2 hours to eat.  Really?!  Every 2 hours?

So, I've gone to the library and checked out a few books...Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and BabyWise.  I'm starting 2 weeks of Baby Sleeping Bootcamp.  I'm getting this little mama on a schedule if kills me. Stay tuned.

Sleeping Regression.....ugh!

Ok..I wasn't prepared for this sleeping regression thing at all.  I figured my peaceful, easy baby who sleeps all night only to get up at 3am to eat would always be that way.  WRONG!  Growth spurt? I have no idea.  Teething?  Gas?  She turns 3 months tomorrow.  

Miracle Blanket

So, LL and I had our first play date today. We met up with some of my old teaching buddies.  LL slept the whole time but at least Mama got to get out and see other adult humans.  While there, my friend C asked if I could use this swaddle thingy that her kiddos had outgrown...the Miracle Blanket...a mini straight jacket for babies.  I immediately jumped on it.  LL has been breaking out of her blanket swaddle so I thought I'd give it a shot.  LOVE it.  Totally worth it.