Today, well, it's been a strange day. We started off at the pediatrician and learned that Greta now weighs just under 14 pounds and is 25 inches long. The doctor was pleased with her growth and I mentioned her fussiness in the evenings after being laid down. He advised trying to teach her to self soothe - not "cry it out" but comforting her in the crib and not picking her up each time she wailed IF we knew she wasn't hungry, dirty, or in pain. I knew this was a skill she would have to learn but had sorta been putting it off as I dreaded seeing her cry. Well, at nap time today I decided to give it a whirl. I laid her in her crib, tired but awake, put on a relaxing guitar lullaby CD, turned on the sound machine, gave her Miss Bunny, covered her up, and even tried the pacifier. After some trial and error I got her in a comfortable position (flipped on her side), patted her back, and "shhhhed" while her eyes became droopier and droopier. I was actually surprised how easy it was to get her to go down without nursing. She did wake up 30 minutes later but it was close to her feeding time so I wasn't surprised.
It's now 8:30 and she's been down for about 30 minutes. She was quite tired and about fell asleep in her bumbo. Graham carried her to her room awake, laid her down, gave her Miss Bunny and her new silk pillow, turned on the sound machine, covered her up, and she was OUT. This afternoon wasn't a fluke! Even funnier Graham comes out of the room with a shocked expression on his face. He just couldn't believe how easy it was. Here's hoping it continues to be so.
FAMILY!
9 years ago
11 Responses:
It is just the age she is at. I too worked with Luke during his daytime naps before worrying about the night. Really it only took a day or two before he caught on and started sleeping better both day and night, and it was also easily learned. Now I just walk in, lay him on his sheepskin, hand him his lovie, and tell him goodnight. Most of the time, he does not fuss at all. On the rare occassion that he does, I play peekaboo with him until he stops and then leave:) And if he continues crying, I know that something is just not right since it rarely happens. As far as keeping her asleep, try not to jump too fast to get her when she wakes up - give her a chance to work it out herself. Also, once she is up, if she seems tired, just put her back to bed. Eventually, she will catch on. Luke's schedule now looks something like this:
9am: wake up and nurse
11 - 1: nap
1pm: nurse
3 - 5: nap
5: nurse
7 - 8: short nap
9: nurse
In bed for the night by 9:30 or 10.
Actually, this last week he has been napping even longer than the 2hrs. and sleeping more than 12 hr. at night. This kids need alot of sleep!!!!
Rachel - wow Luke's schedule is amazing. I find it interesting how different children can be -even as infants close in age.(And I have quite a few to "compare" Lauren to since she was one of 5 born in July at our church!!) Anyway, my little one barely eeks out ONE nap per day. I feel like it is a real accomplishment when she will sleep 2 or more hours during this naptime.
Kelley, Lauren is also having trouble at night. I thought we were past that, and I'm hoping it's just a stage to work through. Does Greta sleep through the night for you -- or at least 6+ hours at night?
What is the costco suit like and does it fit in the top pretty modestly? This is my problem post-children. I saw the suits at costco and knowing speedo has worked for me before I was tempted to buy. =)
I bought two from Costco. One was a halter which was what I wore pre-preg when I was a small B and the other was a regular type top. Just for comparison I'm now an average D but same size band. The one that wasn't a halter fit modestly I just didn't like the print of it as well as I liked the print of the halter. The halter didn't give me enough coverage though so I exchanged for a size bigger but unfortunately it didn't offer any more coverage and was also too big in the mid section. I'll just have to keep looking.
On average Greta does about 5 and 1/2 hours a night. This is generally from 8 to 2ish and then eats when she wakes up and then at least once more between then and 6. I can get Greta to nap really well if I lay down with her or if I hold her while she naps. Today was the first day I put her in her crib every time she went down for a nap or fell asleep nursing. She transitioned well to the crib and stayed asleep but not for near as long as if I had held or laid down with her. I'm hoping that as she adjusts to napping in her crib and self soothing her naps will lengthen out to what they are when held. To give you an idea of how long she will sleep she'll do 2 to 3 hours if I lay down with her and around 2 if held.
I sometimes get frustrated when asked if she's sleeping through the night (not by you but like people at work) because I hear so many comments of "Oh my baby slept through the night at 6 weeks" etc and while I'm excited for them it semi makes me feel like a failure that my baby is 4 months old and doesn't. I know there are other factors in the whole sleeping through the night equation like formula vs. breast fed, cry it out vs. attachment parenting, and temperament but my perfectionistic side wants to be able to say that of course Greta sleeps through the night and has been doing it for months! :-)
Kelley - I know what you mean about the sleeping through the night questions (and I hope I didn't add to your frustration by asking). Lydia didn't do it consistently until around 8 months (not to discourage you!) and we tried EVERYTHING. =)I think I was just starting to relax and feel myself "lucky" with Lauren's success...and now we're back to waking 2 times in the night! Oh well.
Thanks for the bathing suit tips. Sounds like we have VERY similar issues -- except I am bigger than you in bust size!(sigh) Oddly, I was exactly your size -before and after- the first pregnancy and now BIGGER the second time. I'm hoping this trend does NOT continue for any future children!!!It is extremely hard to get nursing bras --and of course bathing suits-- to be tight enough in the band and then large enough to cover me in the bust.
LOL - obviously that last comment was mine and not Ben's!
Jen - Nope you didn't frustrate me more. My friends who comment here are the most encouraging about things like this and it's nice to be able to share those frustrations with others who have faced (and overcome!) them.
Have you found any nursing bras you like? I remember you mentioning it back when I was pregnant and I am really in the market for some myself. I don't know what type you are looking for but I have a hard time finding ones that I feel like give enough support while at the same time being comfortable. I can remember wishing back in my little B days that I was bigger. What was I thinking! :-D
I wish you great success with getting Greta to sleep on her own. I remember just being so excited to discover that not all babies needed to be lulled to sleep before being put into the crib. It saves SOOO much time! Kate has always been pretty good at it, but she did go through an awful stage a little bit older than Greta (more like 7-8 months) where she cried in her crib after being put to bed. We tried to comfort her without taking her out of the crib (most of the time). Of course, sometimes I would succumb to my desire to have peace in my home, and I'd get her out & nurse her. Thankfully, she was able to work it out and got over that phase so that now it is a pleasure to put the little girl to bed. Sounds like you're doing everything right!
What's the silk pillow like?
The silk pillow is the puppy pillow at this website (but in two tones of pink) (http://www.clothworkart.com/buddies.php).
We received it from my 2nd cousin and her husband. Evidently their friends have children who loved it. Greta really seems to enjoy it, awake or asleep. In fact, there is a video on dropshots of her sucking on it.
Kelley, my fav nursing bra hands down is the Elle Mcpherson Maternelle. It isn't cheap, but in my size cheap is not to be found =)I KNOW what you mean about support and the lack of it in most bras you come across. I did alot of research online during both pregnancies. I comforted myself the first time around that even though I was spending $$ on nursing bras, it was a critical item of clothing AND i assumed that I would use them every pregnancy. Not to be I guess =)
I also have another bra that is decent, but unfortunately the smallest band size they make is 34, and it runs large, so it doesn't really fit as it should. If I could buy a 32 I think it would be a really good one.
I have a couple of "cheapies" from Target that are comfy and I wear around the house. They aren't the right size and thus they aren't supportive and look terrible under clothes, so I don't usually wear them out!
Do you have anything you like?
I have a Japanese Weekend Bra that is incredibly comfortable and I like that it doesn't have snaps, just pull it down to nurse. But it doesn't provide enough support. It makes a great around the house and/or sleep bra. I basically wear it if I know I'm not going out. I also have a Bravado that I use as a sports bra. It's supportive enough but I really prefer a bra with a bit of padding, IYKWIM. The bras I wear the most are two I have from Motherhood and they were cheap to buy and they are wearing out. I don't think they're the right size either which doesn't help matters. I noticed that Nordstroms sells those Elle Mcpherson bras. We'll be down in GA this weekend so I'm hopefully gonna swing by there to try it out and maybe get professionally fitted. Whenever I try to measure myself it seems to always come out differently. Did you buy yours online or in a store?
I bought mine online, but I bought a couple of sizes knowing I could return (for free either to a store or online) whichever one didn't fit best. What I didn't know - or think of- at the time was that I could have ordered my bra at the store and saved the $8 shipping fee. (If they don't have your size/color they'll do this.)Since you're already planning to go to the store, you might be able to save that extra fee.
Post a Comment