Eat, Activity, Sleep - Day 2
Well, last night we put Graham down at 9 and let him cry it out. 10 minutes of intermittent crying and he was out until 3 am!!! Then I put him right back down after his feeding and diaper change - he made noises (not crying) for 15 minutes and that was it until 6:30. Wow!! Today has also been pretty great - with the exception of the meltdown in Meijer - I'm thinking errands need to be run during awake time. But I just put him down for a nap, he cried 5 minutes and was out.
Thank you to those who suggested this approach, and to the book On Becoming Babywise, for telling me that getting your baby on a routine is, in fact, possible. Combined with the swaddling and white noise learned from The Happiest Baby on the Block and we just may get Graham staying happy when he's awake and sleeping through the night. I would still like to read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, as it also comes highly recommended.
Tonight I'd like to try to give him a night nap - last night he was peaceful being awake, so we let him stay awake from 7 to 9 between feedings (which you're not supposed to do according to Babywise), then fed and put him to bed (no Activity is needed during the bedtime routine). Although awake at 3am wasn't too terrible, I'd like to see about putting him down around 8, then waking him around 10 or 10:30 for a feeding, then back down. Perhaps we can get him to 5 am and then eventually 6 am as his awake time. According to Babywise, he should be sleeping 7-8 hours by 8 weeks (which is one week away) and dropping his middle of the night feeding by doing this parent-directed approach to feedings and by following the strict Eat, Activity, Sleep routine (or as they call it, feeding, waketime, nap). Of course, that assumes that you read the book before you had your baby and have been doing this all along! The authors insist that those starting "late" to this approach can catch up very quickly as long as you're consistent.
They say it takes 3 days to create a routine...we're on our way!
Thank you to those who suggested this approach, and to the book On Becoming Babywise, for telling me that getting your baby on a routine is, in fact, possible. Combined with the swaddling and white noise learned from The Happiest Baby on the Block and we just may get Graham staying happy when he's awake and sleeping through the night. I would still like to read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, as it also comes highly recommended.
Tonight I'd like to try to give him a night nap - last night he was peaceful being awake, so we let him stay awake from 7 to 9 between feedings (which you're not supposed to do according to Babywise), then fed and put him to bed (no Activity is needed during the bedtime routine). Although awake at 3am wasn't too terrible, I'd like to see about putting him down around 8, then waking him around 10 or 10:30 for a feeding, then back down. Perhaps we can get him to 5 am and then eventually 6 am as his awake time. According to Babywise, he should be sleeping 7-8 hours by 8 weeks (which is one week away) and dropping his middle of the night feeding by doing this parent-directed approach to feedings and by following the strict Eat, Activity, Sleep routine (or as they call it, feeding, waketime, nap). Of course, that assumes that you read the book before you had your baby and have been doing this all along! The authors insist that those starting "late" to this approach can catch up very quickly as long as you're consistent.
They say it takes 3 days to create a routine...we're on our way!
According to "The Baby Whisperer" you can do a "dream feeding" where you feed baby while they are sleeping. Keep the room dark, let them feed. The author says they eat a bit slower when they are sleeping so you do not need to burp them, just lay them back in the crib. Not sure if that works or not.
ReplyDeleteSince we have been doing eat, activity, then sleep, Pippa will go down around 10pm with a 1 hour period of waking/making noise then she's out until 7am.
I'm excited to hear how it works for your little one!
yay! Sounds like you're figuring out a rhythm that is working for all three of you, which is what it's all about. I've also found that taking the different bits and pieces from the various parenting books that make sense and combining them has worked well. It's all about those little nuggets of wisdom that resonate with you and YOUR baby. Give Graham a smooch for me!!
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