Okay, last time I posted (whoa- 3 months ago...) I said I should be able to keep up with this blog! And really, I could have done it, but I always came up with excuses because I just never felt like spending my valuable alone time typing on the computer. Mills is growing SO fast though, and motherhood is QUITE an adventure. I want to document as much as I can so I can remember it better, either for when we have another baby or for when I'm missing my girl's sweet baby days.
Last time I posted, Mills was about three months old and had begun sleeping great at night! Before getting into that, here's a recap of the first couple months:
For her first month or two, she was going to bed later at night. I don't even remember at this point what time, maybe 10pm? It was inconsistent and probably depended on when I was ready to hop in bed. Of course, as a newborn, she was sleeping most of the day and still napping in the evening prior to 10pm, but we didn't put her in bed until at least 10. I wonder if we will try an earlier bed time with a future newbie? We also kept her in a bassinet by our bed for the first two weeks or so, then moved her to her own room (and I often slept on a twin bed in there for convenience), and occasionally moved her in to our room again (again, for convenience), and a time or two, even put her in our bed beside me (Convenient? Yep, but knowing she was in the bed prevented me from sleeping well).
Those first couple months, we didn't really have a plan for bedtime. It just kind of happened whenever and however. There was one night when I guess we missed Mills' "window" for slumber, and she got a second and seemingly everlasting wind. The tiny tater tot was awake until at least 1am, just bursting with baby energy! We didn't know what to do, so we played with her on and off, hoping she would get tired. I know better now. Do not play when you want your baby to be asleep! Duh, right? We were just baffled that night. Greg kept commenting on how playful Mills was and stating that she just didn't seem tired, and I insisted that she MUST be tired because she had been awake for hours on end. Did you know babies can get a third and fourth wind, too? Apparently they can. I'm pretty sure this must have been the eve of the day Mills slept until 5pm only semi-waking to eat...
Also during the first couple months, as the majority of newborns do, Mills woke frequently to eat, probably waking up twice a night to eat, even after just eating prior to being put down around 10/11pm. Initially, she woke approximately every 2-4 hours, screaming to be fed. Then at some point during the second month, her appetite took a chill pill and let her sleep stretches of five or six hours (occasionally closer to seven). The day she turned eight weeks, she slept from 8p-4a. I was shocked. Greg was on a school trip, and when I woke up around 3am, I couldn't go back to sleep and wondered if I should go check on her because I just couldn't believe she could sleep for eight straight. I ended up staying awake until she made the slightest peep, and I swooped in there, eager to see, hold, and nurse her back to sleep.
The first couple months of Mills' sleep were also interesting for another reason. One night she would be in her crib on her back, and the next she would be in the pack n play propped up in her boppy. Or she would be in her carseat IN the crib. Or her crib would be propped up, and she would be tucked in the boppy. It was craziness, partly because she developed a cold at about six weeks, and I'd read it was better for her to sleep in a more upright position, but partly because she just didn't sleep well flat on her back. Note to self: invest in a nap nanny for the next baby! I mean, these things look heavenly, don't they?:
Okay, so by 12 weeks, we had established a bedtime routine (bath, lotion rubdown, pj's, nurse, Goodnight Moon, crib) and a more consistent bedtime (between 8 and 8:30pm), and Mills was really getting a hang of sleeping. I'd read that I should be putting her to bed "drowsy but awake" to help her learn to fall asleep on her own, so I would lay her down then pat her back until she fell asleep. If she cried, I would do the pick up/put down as needed. She definitely wasn't falling asleep "on her own," but she did get used to falling asleep in her crib rather than in my arms! Big step. At this point, she was regularly sleeping eight or nine hours straight before waking up to eat just once during the night (usually between 4 and 5am) and falling back to sleep for another three hours. There were a few times when she even slept 10 or 11 hours straight! I was in Heaven. Although, it wasn't as good as I had dreamed it would be: waking up to pump is NOT fun; I would much rather nurse my warm, snuggly baby than listen to the weh wahhh, weh wahhh of the pump. Still, I was proud that Mills was sleeping so well.
Then four months hit. Actually, it was about a week before she turned four months that her day and nighttime sleep got rocky, she was extra fussy at naptime, and she was back to waking up twice a night (not horrible, but waking up even just one extra time is rough for a sleepy momma!). I'll give it to her though: Mills had a lot going on at four months. Regardless, we made it over the hump and got back on track, but I had to make extra effort to get her to nap well during the day (sleep begets sleep) so she would sleep well at night. Sometime around this time, her bedtime gradually moved to 7:30, and it has stayed there since. Mills returned to waking once between 4 and 5am, but just before she turned five months, I started weaning her off that feeding. I only did this because Mills didn't appear to truly need the feeding: when she woke again at 8am, she barely ate! So, we waited until a weekend, when Greg's sleep wasn't quite as important as on a weeknight, and when Mills woke up at about 4:30am, we took turns patting her back every few minutes until she fell back to sleep on her own. Yes, she fussed a bit, but thankfully, she never had a melt down over it, and she did go back to sleep until her regular wake-up time! Success. We did the same thing the next night, and by the third night, she slept through the night on her own (12+ hours!) and woke up happy, not screaming to be fed Unfortunately, the 12 hour night only occurred once more before Greg and I caught a stomach bug, and I was too afraid not to feed Mills, fearing that she would catch it if I didn't pump her full of antibodies and wanting her to be as hydrated as possible prior to possibly catching it.
Then Christmas travel happened, and Mills' sleep was a bit out of whack for a while. Once we got home, she was back to waking up between 4 and 5am to eat, and we are currently toying with getting her to sleep through that feeding time again. Although, I am hesitant to do it right now because she is right at the six month mark and should be hitting a growth spurt. The past two nights, though, we've gotten her back to sleep without eating with little fuss, but if she hadn't gotten back to sleep fairly easily, I would have fed her. She has started solids and hasn't dropped any daytime nursing sessions, so she must be getting plenty of calories during the day, but I just want to be sure she is still getting enough of those calories from me. Thankfully, she has her six month check-up next week, and I can get some clarification and reassurance about all of this!
For the next post, I'll have to update on all of Mills' new tricks! She's such a sweet, strong, quirky little thing :)
