On Sunday night I decided that we would try to put Liam back in his pack and play to sleep. Since he came home he has been in the bed with us. I am so glad we moved him to the pack and play-- it has made a huge difference. We havent had any huge stretches of sleep, but I think the sleep I am getting is better b/c he isnt right next to me. I think that when he was right next to me I would wake up with every little noise and basically try to address it. In reality- I have learned that even though he is making noise he may still be sleeping and moving from one stage of sleep to another. Not addressing the noise keeps him asleep. Wow!
I also wondered if he was getting enough milk from me. I figured there must be a reason why he wanted to eat every hour on Saturday. So on Sunday I decided to just pump the whole day and feed Liam from the bottle. This way we would know exactly how much he was eating. I am not sure if that helped, but for us it was good to know how much he was getting. I dont mind demand feeding him, but I think Gary and I maybe were misreading his cues and just feeding him to feed him. Hard to realize that just b/c he is crying doesnt mean he is hungry.
I am working today on keeping him more on a consistant schedule. The Baby Wise book suggests that babies eat, play and then sleep. This rotation should happen every 2.5-3 hours. So we are working on that! I am also having him nap in his crib today--so far so good. I have to go in and soothe him back to sleep every 30-45 minutes, but at least he is getting a nap in.
I am also very excited for the arrival of our "Baby Crack" (Homedics Sound Spa Lullaby) machine this week. On some of the baby message boards I frequent there is a lot of talk about this "Baby Crack" machine that is supposed to be an absolute god send. In reality it is just a white noise machine, but it is louder than many of the other ones that are out there and seems to really work. For Christmas Liam got a Gentle Giraffe and he loves the white noise sound-- but it only stays on for 45 minutes. Once it goes off...he tends to wake up. With the Homedics machine-- you can run it all night. Maybe that will give us a longer stretch of sleep.
Another technique we have started using are the 5 S's from "Happiest Baby on the Block". The 5 S's are- Swaddle, Shssh, Sucking, Side position and Swinging. Basically if you do some or all of these they help to calm a baby. They sure do for Liam! I like the combination of all 5-- they put him right to sleep. Then I gently place him down and we are good for 30+ minutes!
So I know it seems like we are trying a million different things all at once, but I will do what ever it takes for Liam to get a good nights rest... b/c that means I get a good nights rest! ;) I'll keep you posted on how things progress!
Hard to believe I am almost half way through my maternity leave. That makes me so sad. I have been so happy "staying" home. Starting back at work is going to be tough! But thankfully I have another 6 weeks before I have to really think about it!!
No news on the house selling or moving front. We had a ton of showings last week, but no offers. That is extrememly frustrating. The unknown is KILLING me! Hopefully something will come around soon! Please send us some house selling thoughts and prayers!
Well, Liam is down for his nap and I should jump on this time to grab myself some lunch... off I go!
2 comments:
I liked "The Happiest Baby On The Block" too. Another one that I recommend is "Secrets Of The Baby Whisperer". She is really good and does not believe in the cry it out approaches (nor do I).
i like that you're looking into information and then using what works for you.
my first son didn't sleep well either and my husband would always bring him into bed and I always slept horrible when he was right there too. good luck.
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