Baby is peacefully sleeping...ahhh so nice!
I was catching up with my cousin the other day who gave birth to her little girl Ella Kate just a week & a half after Eli was born. We were chatting about babywise (because we both are doing it) & can I just brag for a few moments on how great I think it is. If you don't know what I am talking about then let me fill you in.
On Becoming Babywise is a book I would recommend to any mom who desires a good nights sleep & a routine that you basically get to make yourself! Before Eli was born, I read the first half of the book and thought to myself "oh I got this"...ha what did I know! I began implementing the eat, play, sleep routine & Eli picked that up really quick. I thought this was a piece of cake & it was for the first couple of weeks. I started to wonder if our baby would ever cry :) then all the sudden he began crying more & sleeping a little less. I think I paniced & picked him up almost everytime he would cry. Mistake # 1: it's ok for babies to cry if they are not in pain or danger. so I found myself not able to get anything done because I was constantly running back & forth putting his paci in & comforting him. He would never get a solid sleep & would be grumpy. Mistake# 2: I would also be pretty incosistent about feeding him (meaning I wouldn't feed him at the same time each day).. One day it would be every 2 hours & the next 2.5 and then a mix. He wasn't really on any kind of routine & I felt trapped in the house which isn't good for anyone. So after a couple of weeks of this happening over & over, I thought hmmm...maybe I should read the rest of that book. So I picked it up and began reading. Wow! I was making a bunch of mistakes! (but it's ok. It can be fixed). That day I began putting into practice what the author of the book had said to do & I kid you not Eli picked up on thise things almost immediately. I have to say I was quiet impressed. He was sleeping about 6 hours during the night at 4 to 5 weeks & then about 8 to 9 hours at 7 weeks. He's 10 weeks today & sleeping like a champ. He is a baby & still cries...they are suppose to, but he seems so much more alert & happy during his play time. I will say though we haven't quiet mastered the 1.5 to 2 hour naps after each playtime, but we are working on it. Eli eats every 3 hours beginning at 7:00 am. He plays for about an hour & then sleeps about 1.5 hours. Now that he is in a routine, we are both so much more satisfied :) have you or are you using babywise? Did it work for you?... I'm curious to know!
Mae
5 comments:
email me!!! WE need to chat!!! i need to ask questions bc i dont have time to read it!! didnt di it with wells and he didnt sleep until 5 months . i am doing what i know of the book with claire and she is way better. but i still need to ask some questions!! danacsheheane@gmail.com
Although I've never used Babywise techniques per se(I have read some of it), I am a big believer in schedules. My babies have all fallen into a natural schedule that fits into our family at around 3-4 months if I remember right. I don't like scheduling their feedings to the hour because I don't want to miss them needing more in case they are on a growth spurt or not feeling well. With my oldest, she was very colicky and I had to feed her all the time! With the next 2, they ate every 2-3 hours and I didn't let them go much longer than that at night until they were older.
Just a thought- make sure you don't go too long between feedings or your milk supply can go down without you realizing it. I have 2 friends whose babies stopped growing because they had run out of milk and their babies were not all that fussy for them to realize it. That's my only issue with Babywise- some people have taken it too far and their babies were diagnosed as failure to thrive because they weren't responding to the baby, only to the schedule. It sounds like you are doing great though, and if it's working well, keep it up! I have a friend who has had lots of foster babies on Babywise and she loves it!
I have an 11wk old and have been doing the eat/wake/sleep cycle and like you said, for the first few weeks everything was dandy since he was sleeping all the time anyway.. I made the mistake of letting my son nap on me throughout the day and it wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that I started putting him in his crib to take a nap. He has not responded to this very well. I am still struggling with getting his waketimes just right, and as of right now he only naps for 45 minutes each time..to the minute. He still wakes up two times each night and I am beginning to feel like a huge failure. I have tried to get his routine structured, but he doesn't quite work with a 3-hour routine because of his short naps. Any advice?!
Hey Mae,
I happened to stumble across your blog and had a question about babywise. My daughter is 13 weeks and I really cannot complain about her sleep patterns. She sleeps 10-6:30-7 most nights but then will go through a couple of nights waking up at 4-4:30. I have considered babywise and glanced through it. I follow the eat, play, sleep routine however I don't follow it as closely as babywise recommends. Do you find Eli is sleeping consistently through the night? Or is does he have periods of waking earlier? Just wondering if I should consider following the babywise sleep patterns...
Hey Grace!! I am JUST coming across you comment. so so sorry! I would say it is worth the investment to buy & read babywise. Eli actually sleeps from 7:00 at night till 7:00am. he has yet to get up any earlier ever since we have been implemented what babywise said. hope things are going well for you!
Post a Comment