Sleeping update

It’s been a while since I posted anything about Naomi’s sleep habits.  Since I just pointed a couple of people here to read about our experience with the Ferber method, I thought it would be good to issue an update.

When we moved, our bedtime routine broke.  The baby no longer has her own room, as we are now in a 3 bedroom home and my Mom still lives with us *.  So Naomi’s crib is in our room, and we had to make a new bedtime routine.  I love our new routine, it has been such a good thing for our family, as a whole.  Between 7 and 7:30pm we take her upstairs and change her diaper and put on PJs.  Then we may play a little bit, depending on the night and how tired she is.  Grab the Glow Worm and head over to our bed.  Mark lays on one side, I on the other.  Nomes, of course, in the middle.  We play with the Glow Worm, she rolls around on the bed in between us, we sing songs to her, and then Mark and I start chatting.  Naomi usually continues to roll back and forth between us, touching our faces or snuggling into our chest.  While we talk she watches and listens and then eventually falls asleep.  We continue to chat for a bit until she’s “out out” and then move her to her crib.

This is great because she doesn’t go to sleep with a bottle or pacifier, she is safe and secure between her parents, and we have a routine that we can do anywhere (hotel, Grandparent’s house, etc.).  The family time together has been awesome.  It’s one of the only times that all three of us can get together and hang out.  Mark and I are able to recap on the day, chat about tomorrow’s events, or whatever is on our mind.  Our communication has improved because we have a daily talk time.

The whole bedtime routine lasts between 10 and 30 minutes.  If she’s really tired, but not overly (aka: grouchy) then she’ll fall asleep right away.  If she is overly tired (usually because we were busy and didn’t notice the signs of sleepiness or weren’t paying attention to the time) then bedtime is a little more difficult.  She fusses and doesn’t want to lay down on the bed with us.  We have a few different methods for dealing with it:  1) flying Glow Worm.  She lays down and we make the Glow Worm “fly” above her head and play music.  She likes to watch the movement with the light and sound.  After a song or two, the Glow Worm lands gently in her lap and she grabs it to investigate. 2) More songs, louder.  Sometimes we just start singing an easy repetitive song (like my Bonnie lies over the ocean, only we’ve substituted “Naomi” for “Bonnie”).  We start out loud so she can hear us over her fussing and then quiet as she does.  3) Last resort, give her a couple ounces of ounces in a bottle.  Not too much, it’s not a “meal”, just enough to calm her down so she can settle in.  She usually will unlatch from the bottle on her own and begin her rolling back and forth between the two of us.  If she cries again after a couple of ounces then that usually means she’s hungry and we’ll give her a regular bottle (which is 6-8 ounces, minus the 2 that we already gave to her).  I don’t like to resort to the bottle often because I do not want her to become dependent on it.  However, sometimes it’s necessary and parents shouldn’t be afraid to use the tools are available to them to ease their child’s stress (and their own stress!)

Our most recent change in sleep has been nap time.  Until recently I would lay down with Naomi and take a nap with her.  Sadly I can’t afford that time anymore as I need to start bringing in new clients (clients = work = money).  So I’m laying her down for her naps and letting her CIO (cry it out).   It’s only been a couple of days and she’s already adjusting to it.  She cries for 10 minutes before falling asleep.  She wakes up 30 minutes into the nap and cries.  I don’t go to her, and she falls back asleep for an hour.  She’s happy and playful after a good nap and Mama’s happy because she had some alone time.  I fully expect her to be napping a full hour to 1.5 hours without waking up soon.  So we’ll see!

Today we’re heading to the Smith Farms in Oakley for some pumpkin fun.  Pictures to come on Facebook

 

* Mom found a really cute place in the same town we’re in!  She won’t be too far (but far enough).  I’m really excited for her.  Her move date is next week – so Nomes is going to have her own bedroom again soon!  And we’ll have some extra room in the garage!

 

A confident choice

After talking to Moms and reading every book and article I could get my hands on, and most importantly, knowing and understanding my daughter, I decided to let her cry a bit.  My plan was to do the Ferber method of checking in on her at 5 minutes, then wait 10 minutes, then wait 15 minutes.  Keeping at the 15 minute interval.  I didn’t set a maximum crying time ahead of time, but I doubt I could have held out for more than 45 minutes of active crying.  Here’s what happened…

Naomi started crying before hitting the bed.  Dad put her down, kissed her goodnight and left the room.  We waited five minutes, and then I went in for one minute to rub her back and soothe her.  Then left the room, with her still crying.  We waited 10 minutes and I went back in to sooth her for one minute, then left the room.  She settled down about 5-7 minutes later and went to sleep.

She normally wakes up between 11pm and 11:30pm, last night she slept through until 2am (again, a normal wake up time for her).  At that time, I followed the same 5/10/15 pattern, and she was asleep in approximately 20 minutes.  She slept until 4:20am, woke up and cried for less than 5 minutes.  Woke up again around 6am and cried for one or two minutes before going back to sleep.

This morning I put her down for her nap at 10:25am.  She cried (and it wasn’t active crying, she was just whining) for less than 10 minutes before going to sleep.  It’s now 11am and she’s still sleeping.  Normally she only sleeps for 30 minutes before waking up.  I’m planning on leaving her in her crib for 45 minutes, even if she’s awake.  If she’s sleeping… then let her sleep!  So we’ll see how this goes.

- crossing fingers and toes -

All in all, I’m happy with the first night.  Yes, it was difficult hearing her cry.  But, oddly enough, not as difficult as I thought it ws going to be.  That showed me that I am confident in this decision and believe it is the best method for our family.  I full expect that by midweek she will doze off easily and I will wake up feeling more rested than I have in 9 months!

 

weekend end

It’s 7pm.  Sunday.  Is 7pm too early for bed?   The past 7 days have been exhausting – in a good way.   I walked up stairs and just laid on the landing.  It felt so good.

Not yet.  Soon, but not yet.

In celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, I’m making a Beef & Guinness Stew with Brown Soda Bread.   So far it smells lovely.  This is my first stew, so I am a bit anxious.   If it turns out well, I will post the recipe.

Tomorrow evening we’ll be heading up north to Berkeley to celebrate proper with some friends – in a bar.  Oh yes.   Prepare to be smashed in with a ton of other people on the day everyone wishes they were Irish.   If for nothing else, just so they could hold their beer and have just one more.   I don’t know if I’ve ever gone out on the actual holiday.  Either a week night or the crowds have always kept me a way.   It’ll be an experience and I’m looking forward to the social time.

I’m enjoying this new peer group.   A Godsend to be sure, they are diverse and full of color.   Some glitter, some shine, some melt into loveliness.   I am feeling more comfortable around Angela, probably because I interact with her more often.   I wish it didn’t take me so long to open up to people and – chill -  But I am what I am and it is all for God’s glory.

Speaking of God – church was great.  Tyler did a bang up job talking about being plugged into Jesus.   A dozen people gave their life to Christ in the service we attended – I imagine there were more in first service.  It’s all so wonderful.   I peeked during the “raise your hand” part.  There was a guy sitting in the lower level.  Older.  Orange colored shirt.   Seeing him raise his hand – he held it high and kept it up.   Such a blessing.   So amazing.  He’s my brother and tho I’ve never met him, one day we’ll get to remember today together.  I will know him and share his experience.  It will be beautiful.

Tomorrow.  I might grab coffee with Lydia before she leaves town.   Work, of course.  Hopefully all’s well with TLP and my developer has been kicking ass over the weekend.   Mark should be finishing up Monkey and Imperial, which means I can launch their sites.   I need to get homework done and go to the gym.  That should pretty much fill my day.

You make everything glorious.