I need some advice. I am about three weeks away from having to go back to work (I’ll blog about my emotions on that another time…) and Finley is showing absolutely no signs of getting on a schedule. Sometimes she sleeps in three hour stretches at night - sometimes she doesn’t sleep a wink the entire night. I want to try and have a routine for Mike’s and my sake by the time I have to leave him alone with her - but I have no clue how to establish that! Any tips?
Oh and one quick funny story - Mike was getting Finley dressed the other day and she starts crying and I hear him cursing at the outfit. ”Why do they make these stupid things like this!?!” I look over and Finley is practically bent in half as he’s trying to shove her legs through the opening for her head…not realizing the 12 snaps down at the bottom that are for her legs to go through. I just looked at him and said “you’re an idiot.” Men.
Here’s a few new pictures. Enjoy!
Finley Mae, 1 Month Old
on Feb 7th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Jennifer,
If you like to read, I really like the Growing Kids God’s Way series by Gary Ezzo. The first book, Baby Wise, is a great learning tool for parents. It shows you that you need to teach your baby her sleep/eat cycle - and shows you how to establish a schedule for her to do so. As with anything that I read, I take from it what pricks my heart, and leave the rest go - so I didn’t follow the book word for word. The idea makes sense though, and it works! Your baby should have the series of wake time, sleep, and then eat. Your baby is always waking up ready to eat, instead of falling asleep on the breast. There were times, though, that I would climb into the relciner and nap with my baby while he/she was suckling away! Flexibility is a good thing! After having five children who all were in a routine early on and very good sleepers, I can tell you to at least look into this book. God bless!!
on Feb 8th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Jen,
Stephanie’s post is good advise! Sounds like a great read to help you get thru.
Luv luv luv the pics…..I just wanna pinch Finley’s little cheeks! She is so precious!
Finley looks so healthy, what a beautiful baby girl
Proud Daddy with Finley is priceless….I love how your pictures capture a heartfelt moment!
on Feb 9th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Jen and Mike sounds like you are trying your best
I would just keepdoing what you are doing one thing to get Finley sleeping at night swaddle her in a blanket and if she is not sleeping the length of the crib try the short way babies at 1st love small areas. Good luck
on Feb 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
My daughter was a tough on to get to sleep through the night. I would wake her during the day and “make” her stay up by playing with her or running errands. She seemed to like to be wide awake for the out of house adventures. After having her up for 1-2 hrs thenI would put her down for a nap for an hour or so then back up. After a week or so she had a schedule and could stay up at longer intervals during the day. Also worked for her feeding schedule. I also use this for my daycare kids to help regulate them. But we all know all kids are different and have their own way of getting into routine, no matter how tough it is on us! LOL I also LOVE the new pics. Gorgeous baby girl! Time seems to have flown by for your leave,Jen but will be glad to see you back in the mornings. Lisa is holding her own with Bill but I think he and his weather quiz miss you. Hope you had time to study for the next quiz. LOL
on Feb 9th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
It took me about a month to figure out how to get my little one to sleep most of the night. Here is my advise. Put a heating pad on the crib matress just before laying her to sleep. It warms up a nice cuddley spot for her. My little ones loved a warm matress! It worked for both of mine. Good luck.
on Feb 10th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I guess I have never tried to develop a routine, but my kids and especially my daycare kids have always ended up making their own anyway. Try writing down when she naps every day and when she eats to look for patterns; see if you can start vacuuming or making noise towards the end of naps to wake her up a few minutes earlier each time. I don’t mind when my kids nap, but if a daycare child naps too long I feel that their parents will suffer at night for it, around 3 I try to cut them out.
Oh, and in the beginning, my youngest would sleep during the day, and I figured out he was awake more with the lights off. We like light to stay awake, but babies like it darker since it is easier on their eyes. I co-sleep with my son, I have with all 3, but when we get up to nurse I don’t talk at all and try to avoid direct eye contact so he doesn’t think it is play time. If at all possible I use a bigger diaper at night and if not too wet will wait till morning for changes even. Good luck!
on Feb 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I think that all of these “ideas” sound wonderful!
My eldest had her days and nights mixed up also, so I woke her up to eat and be changed every three hours throughout the day and at night around five or six when she would eat, I would always wake her up early and give her a bath or put her jammies on and play for at least an hour before fedding..that way if she went to sleep I would leave her till I went to bed around eleven or so and wake her up feed her and put her back to bed. Then she would usually last longer periods at night and would just eat and go back to sleep. We also tried to venture out of the house a couple of days during the week. That always tired her out!
Every baby is different and you just need to try and find a routine that works best for you and your famiy! Remember big sis would probabaly love to “pester” baby for a while in the evening so you could put clothes away, do dishes or just sit and veg…then she can be active with her and keep her awake!
Good Luck with finding your routine!
Beautiful Pics! Thanks for sharing!
on Feb 10th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
My husband and I love reading your blog–we have an 8 month old and cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. We love remembering the days she was only 1 month old!
WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND the book The Baby Whisperer! My mother-in-law gave it to us as a gift and we practically live by it!!! It really helped with getting our little peanut into a schedule and we’re happy to say she sleeps 12 hours every night and has been for several months! We really feel the tips in this book have helped us immensely!
Good Luck!
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Another book to check out (there are DVD copies too, if you don’t have the time to read a full-length book….) might be The Happiest Baby on the Block, by Dr. Harvey Karp. Everyone I’ve ever talked to about it says they’ve had success with it. It’s largely about colic and soothing techniques but there is some good advice on sleep/scheduling and what to expect. Good Luck!