Once you get past that first month or so the sleeping situation does get better. It is still difficult to sleep, or anything else Marilyn may have been implying, but at least you are getting more of it in a less sporadic fashion. As the months progress the baby will start to fall into sleep patterns, both at night and during the day. Eventually you can begin sleep training your baby. The books say you should not attempt this before five months of age and really it might be necessary to wait a bit longer, given that a growth spurt hits around five months.
What is sleep training? For the laymen, like you and me, it essentially means starting to train the baby to sleep through the night, go to bed with out a bottle, be put to bed in a drowsy but awake state, or all of the above. Whatever issue you may be having with the sleeping habits of your child you will be working with them (training them) to adopt better habits. Now, hopefully, you have been instilling good habits from the beginning that will assist in making this process easier; a regular bed time routine, a regular bed time, a regular wake time, naps, comfortable sleeping area etc. Since I am not an expert on the many different methods I utilized the local library and borrowed a book on this subject. After sifting through the numerous suggested methods my husband and I settled on simply working with our son and the habits that he already had. This is TY journey to the land of Nod.
Around three months TY started sleeping through the night. I mean, he went down around 8 pm and did not get up again until around 8 the next morning. I thought I had won the jack pot. To think that he would be sleeping through the night from three months on was fabulous! Well, I thought wrong. This lasted a month or two and then he reverted back to waking a couple of times during the night wanting to eat again. At four months we were given permission from our doctor to start him on solids. Again, he started to sleep a bit better, but still awakened several times a night, which increased during growth spurts to every hour and a half.
I started working with him during nap times. I thought that, if I could get nap times down, it was just one more step to apply the same things to bed time. It was also easier to work with him during the day when I was awake and when no one else was home sleeping. First, if he awoke before his regular nap time was over and appeared grumpy (still sleepy) then I would not pick him up and would not change anything in the room. By this I mean that I did not turn off his "white noise", did not make conversation and did not turn on on any lights. Again, with it being day time, even with the curtains drawn there was still a little light in the room, which was easier than at night. I would simply gently pat his chest and say "shhhhhhh" if he was crying. I continued this until he fell back asleep.
Sounds easy, but it takes a lot of time, patience and consistency. I started giving him a limit (gradually extended) so that if he continued to cry without ceasing I would pick him up and revert back to regular snuggling to sleep. If, however, he showed signs of going to sleep such as not crying for a period of time, I would continue. Kind of like and IF statement - IF, THEN, ELSE, - if he does this, then I proceed in this way, otherwise (else) I do this. Gradually he started to get it and I could put him back to sleep within five minutes this way. Of course I needed to be keen to signs that he was hungry or needed changing as it is only right and fair to tend to these needs first.
As he got accustom to this we started to employ it at night and I moved on to another aspect during nap times. Through the same process I removed the swaddling as he needed it to go to sleep, but would wake himself during the night if he got out of it. I have also started training him to go to sleep on his own. The settling step helps a lot with this as it has already gotten him better at soothing himself. At nap time he now will stop playing and turn to me for cuddles. I pick him up and take him to his crib. Once I lay him down and give him his blanket (he is seven months now and blanket was also doctor approved) 8/10 times he will work to make himself comfortable and then go to sleep. I simply sit beside his crib, sometimes with my head down and eyes closed, so as not to engage him or make him think I want to play, and pat him a little if necessary. TY is adapting this at night time himself as I have heard him awake and put himself back to sleep. I can also put him down at night for bed this way. It has reduced the bedtime routine by about a half hour.
At present he still requires some white noise, we use a static radio station, to sleep. I think this will be one of the last things I remove as it takes no effort on anyone's part to have it in place. Gradually I may start lengthening the time between his last bottle and bed; probably just push it to before bath time instead. He still wakes at night, but usually only twice and because he is hungry and needs his diaper changed. Last night he only got up once. Overall I think he is doing well and will progress to an all night sleeper in the next couple months. Till then I will just have to keep my slippers by the bed and the night light in the hall.
Sweet Dreams!
FBM
Showing posts with label Baby Items. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby Items. Show all posts
Friday, 24 February 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...or Just Sleep Would be fine!!
Ah, sleep. The elusive pleasure that seems but a distant memory. From about the third trimester of pregnancy on you can expect to no longer sleep the same way as you did before; ever, ever again. I know that sounds pretty dismal, but unless your children have moved away from home and forgotten your phone number, a full nights sleep will be a rare occurrence from late pregnancy on.
When you hit the final trimester it can feel like a comfortable sleep is something that can just not be obtained. The baby is moving, kicking, sitting on your bladder, sitting on your spine, or all of the above in some interesting combination. You are now suppose to sleep only on your side. For me that was normal, but I suddenly was much more comfortable on my back. You may experience leg cramps, frequent trips to the bathroom or simply the inability to find sleep. I began to get over emotional due to the lack of sleep and started taking naps over the lunch hour. My husband, the wonderful man, would bring me home at lunch, make and pack me a lunch while I slept, and then wake me just in time to return to work. My theory is that this is preparing you for what I like to call the survival time period.
Doctors, friends, and mothers all love to talk about the labour and how horrible it will be. The intense pain and the extended amount of time a women has to endure labour and birth. These stories are very true, in most cases, but it must be emphasized that each labour, even for the same women, is different. That being said, the labour last hours, in worst cases a couple days. The survival time period that follows, however, lasts weeks!! This is the period when the baby is going through womb with drawl. If you think about it from their point of view, they have been in a nice dark, warm, secure small space for the past 9 months. Suddenly they are in this vast cold expanse, the one person they know (mom) is now...over there some where... and they are not receiving food as conveniently. It is no wonder a baby gets upset so easily, and they certainly can't be expected to know the difference between night and day. The only indication of that before was that mom was a little more sedentary at that time of the day.
What does this mean for you? The sleep pattern, that you have spent the last couple decades becoming accustom to, is now out the window. Baby wakes up every couple hours, needs food, clean diapers and then back to bed. We are told, as primary care givers, to sleep when the baby sleeps. Given that they sleep more hours out of the day than the average adult then we should have no sleep deprivation issues, right? For me it was not the quantity, but the quality and the inability to convince my body that sleeping at one in the afternoon was okay. There was also all the added chores that now needed to be done, like the additional laundry, that were preying on my mind. Finally, the mother instinct starts kicking in. You start sleeping with one ear open, waiting to hear the baby call so you can tend to them right away. You start changing diapers half asleep, nursing, and falling asleep in the chair only to wake to a stiff neck.
The survival time period is when you will need all those prepared meals that were made at your freezer party. This is the time to say "yes" to offers of assistance and that friend or family member who want to coo over the newborn for an hour or two while you get some shut eye. My doctor kept telling me that the most important thing was for me to take care of myself; seems strange because you would think the priority was the baby, but it makes sense when you think about it. Luckily I had my husband around for the first week. He took care of me, so I could take care of our son. It was hard to accept his help sometimes, and I often felt like a huge pain asking him for things, but he helped me make it through. Just not sure how he did!
FBM
When you hit the final trimester it can feel like a comfortable sleep is something that can just not be obtained. The baby is moving, kicking, sitting on your bladder, sitting on your spine, or all of the above in some interesting combination. You are now suppose to sleep only on your side. For me that was normal, but I suddenly was much more comfortable on my back. You may experience leg cramps, frequent trips to the bathroom or simply the inability to find sleep. I began to get over emotional due to the lack of sleep and started taking naps over the lunch hour. My husband, the wonderful man, would bring me home at lunch, make and pack me a lunch while I slept, and then wake me just in time to return to work. My theory is that this is preparing you for what I like to call the survival time period.
Doctors, friends, and mothers all love to talk about the labour and how horrible it will be. The intense pain and the extended amount of time a women has to endure labour and birth. These stories are very true, in most cases, but it must be emphasized that each labour, even for the same women, is different. That being said, the labour last hours, in worst cases a couple days. The survival time period that follows, however, lasts weeks!! This is the period when the baby is going through womb with drawl. If you think about it from their point of view, they have been in a nice dark, warm, secure small space for the past 9 months. Suddenly they are in this vast cold expanse, the one person they know (mom) is now...over there some where... and they are not receiving food as conveniently. It is no wonder a baby gets upset so easily, and they certainly can't be expected to know the difference between night and day. The only indication of that before was that mom was a little more sedentary at that time of the day.
What does this mean for you? The sleep pattern, that you have spent the last couple decades becoming accustom to, is now out the window. Baby wakes up every couple hours, needs food, clean diapers and then back to bed. We are told, as primary care givers, to sleep when the baby sleeps. Given that they sleep more hours out of the day than the average adult then we should have no sleep deprivation issues, right? For me it was not the quantity, but the quality and the inability to convince my body that sleeping at one in the afternoon was okay. There was also all the added chores that now needed to be done, like the additional laundry, that were preying on my mind. Finally, the mother instinct starts kicking in. You start sleeping with one ear open, waiting to hear the baby call so you can tend to them right away. You start changing diapers half asleep, nursing, and falling asleep in the chair only to wake to a stiff neck.
The survival time period is when you will need all those prepared meals that were made at your freezer party. This is the time to say "yes" to offers of assistance and that friend or family member who want to coo over the newborn for an hour or two while you get some shut eye. My doctor kept telling me that the most important thing was for me to take care of myself; seems strange because you would think the priority was the baby, but it makes sense when you think about it. Luckily I had my husband around for the first week. He took care of me, so I could take care of our son. It was hard to accept his help sometimes, and I often felt like a huge pain asking him for things, but he helped me make it through. Just not sure how he did!
FBM
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
A little more baby time.
Upon reviewing my post from yesterday I noticed that it was quiet scattered as I tried to fit in information for this vast topic into one post. It also didn't help that I was trying to finish the post over several days and losing my train of thought each time I set it aside. Moving forward I will choose some subtopics in the field of Baby Talk and discuss each in separate, organized posts. I apologize for the lapse in my attempt to write in a somewhat comprehensive manner. (Blogging is harder than I thought!)
As I think this will be a short one this evening I will simply add a bit to my comments and tips for saving money. We touched on the many avenues for picking up the essential baby items that you might need for bringing baby home. With proactive thinking, such as the bulk buying mentioned earlier, you can save a lot of money as well. In preparation for my sons transition to solid foods, recommended to occur between 4 and 6 months, I contemplated purchasing a Baby Bullet. Luckily a friend of ours gave us one as a shower gift and we have used it quiet frequently since. I highly suggest putting this reasonably priced item on your shower registry if possible. The standard unit comes with two blades, one for milling and one for chop/blend/puree, the basic blender components as well as serving sized containers that can be dated. The benefit of the milling blade is that you can take rice or oatmeal and mill it to a powder, thus allowing you to make your own first cereals that are lump free. The other blade is for the regular blending of fruits, vegetables, meat etc as baby starts each new food. I use the portion size containers to standardize the amount of food I make for each meal, which lets me know how well my son is eating from one meal to the next. They are also very useful for travel. I fill one half way with dry rice cereal and can take it along to a restaurant for example and mix it at the table with his formula for a ready to serve lunch on the go.
I am not on some kick back list for this product, but am very grateful for having it. My husband and I had decided early on that we would make our own baby food. The math alone was enough to persuade us with little effort. A small baby jar (1 or 2 servings at best) will cost ~ .60 cents on sale. For arguments sake lets use a sweet potato for comparison, a common first food. One sweet potato can cost about .80 cents, but you will get 5 to 6 servings from it easily. That means to buy the same amount in the prepared form would cost about $1.80 on sale, which is more than twice the cost. I could give you many more examples but you can check it out yourself. You don't need to buy a Baby Bullet, but making your own baby food is very very inexpensive. In a Sunday afternoon I can make a 5 lb bag of apples into baby food; servings that last about a month. I simply freeze them in an ice cube tray and then pop them out into a freezer bag, labelled with item and date, and they are already in serving portions. Right now I have a freezer bag each of carrots, banana, apple, and butternut squash in the freezer that I take out and thaw as needed. They all mix well with oatmeal and rice cereal or as a side to some pureed chicken and potato.
Time for some shut eye while I debate what the next topic will be. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to have me weigh in on, otherwise I will just continue to blab about whatever I like. : D
Talk at you later!
FBM
As I think this will be a short one this evening I will simply add a bit to my comments and tips for saving money. We touched on the many avenues for picking up the essential baby items that you might need for bringing baby home. With proactive thinking, such as the bulk buying mentioned earlier, you can save a lot of money as well. In preparation for my sons transition to solid foods, recommended to occur between 4 and 6 months, I contemplated purchasing a Baby Bullet. Luckily a friend of ours gave us one as a shower gift and we have used it quiet frequently since. I highly suggest putting this reasonably priced item on your shower registry if possible. The standard unit comes with two blades, one for milling and one for chop/blend/puree, the basic blender components as well as serving sized containers that can be dated. The benefit of the milling blade is that you can take rice or oatmeal and mill it to a powder, thus allowing you to make your own first cereals that are lump free. The other blade is for the regular blending of fruits, vegetables, meat etc as baby starts each new food. I use the portion size containers to standardize the amount of food I make for each meal, which lets me know how well my son is eating from one meal to the next. They are also very useful for travel. I fill one half way with dry rice cereal and can take it along to a restaurant for example and mix it at the table with his formula for a ready to serve lunch on the go.
I am not on some kick back list for this product, but am very grateful for having it. My husband and I had decided early on that we would make our own baby food. The math alone was enough to persuade us with little effort. A small baby jar (1 or 2 servings at best) will cost ~ .60 cents on sale. For arguments sake lets use a sweet potato for comparison, a common first food. One sweet potato can cost about .80 cents, but you will get 5 to 6 servings from it easily. That means to buy the same amount in the prepared form would cost about $1.80 on sale, which is more than twice the cost. I could give you many more examples but you can check it out yourself. You don't need to buy a Baby Bullet, but making your own baby food is very very inexpensive. In a Sunday afternoon I can make a 5 lb bag of apples into baby food; servings that last about a month. I simply freeze them in an ice cube tray and then pop them out into a freezer bag, labelled with item and date, and they are already in serving portions. Right now I have a freezer bag each of carrots, banana, apple, and butternut squash in the freezer that I take out and thaw as needed. They all mix well with oatmeal and rice cereal or as a side to some pureed chicken and potato.
Time for some shut eye while I debate what the next topic will be. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to have me weigh in on, otherwise I will just continue to blab about whatever I like. : D
Talk at you later!
FBM
“The thing I want more than anything else? I want to have children...” ― Marilyn Monroe
On our second date my husband and I discussed children; if we both wanted them, how many and when. Many people find that shocking, but there is a lot about our relationship that people find out of the ordinary. While I will perhaps get into that in a later post, I would like to pass along little things I learned having my son. I know girls who are currently pregnant, trying to get pregnant, and planning to do so down the road, and as the first of our group to have children I want to pass on what I little I know in the hopes that it may prove useful to one of them, or you.
About two months after getting married my husband and I found out we were pregnant. This only occurred about one month earlier than planned. It was like, once we decided that we would start trying it happened instantaneously. Having been pregnant once before, but a long time ago, I had a general idea of what to expect but needed some refreshers. With RD morning sickness was more of a "I'm going to be sick" feeling with no follow through. With my son there was more actually being sick. I found that making sure I ate very regularly helped a lot. There was not much that I couldn't eat and, with my doctor's approval, nothing was off the table (except alcohol of course). I also made sure that I always had something to drink on hand, which helped keep some of the queasiness at bay. I am one of those people who usually know I am going to be sick with plenty of warning, but this pregnancy had me caught off guard a number of times. Since I was still working I kept a tooth brush, mouth wash and gum on hand at the office.
My husband and I reviewed many books and web sites telling us what we needed for the baby coming home from the hospital. We eventually got a list from our hospital as well regarding what supplies we needed to provided there too. Adding in previous experience we came up with our bear essentials list so that, after the shower, we knew what we needed and didn't get sucked in to all the "extra" stuff. Here are a few of the things we learned in the process:
- Sleepers - at least 2 newborn and the rest 0 to 3 months because if the baby is over 7 lbs newborn may not fit
- diapers - again, we bought a small pack of newborn and then a larger one of the first size up. IF you can find a sale where the diapers are around .19 - .17 cents each then stock up. We found, based on weight, that the #3 size will fit baby the longest in most cases.
- bum cream - basically vaseline or a zinc based ointment or cream for diapering. I use a cream with a low percentage of zinc (15%) for every diaper use (sensitive skin runs in the family) to help prevent rash and have a container of higher grade (40%) for when a rash starts to show up (later on I also use the higher grade for bedtime when my son is sleeping longer).
-wipes - buy the largest multi-pack you can find because you will need lots and they never change size :)
TIP: when changing a diaper, put the clean diaper underneath FIRST, then undo the dirty one. This lets you wipe their bum, move the dirty one out of the way, and apply bum cream without too many accidental messes and, with a boy, great efficiency.
- if nursing, a breast pump. This will not only come in useful if you get engorged, but also allow you to pump and let someone else feed the baby every once in a while.
I realize that there is talk about nipple confusion, but personal preference is to introduce the baby to a bottle early on. If, heaven forbid, you should end up in the hospital like I did, you may not be able to nurse. Having baby already familiar with the bottle makes a stressful time like that much easier on everyone. Also, if you are nursing, consider pumping and freezing some milk as back up for just such an emergency. Though not as serious, you could also get sick and require medication that would prevent you from nursing for a little while. Milk, if stored properly, can last several months in the freezer and can always be used later to add to babies first cereals.
- diaper pail is a must to keep odours under control. We were going to pick up a Diaper Genie but a friend recommended the Diaper Champ. Almost identical in theory to the Genie but you can use your own garbage bags. It's not available in Canadian stores but we picked ours up off Kijiji.
- check out the stores for pricing on the things you need to buy, but hold off on buying right away. After the shower re-asses you list and checkout re-use it resources. Mom to Mom sales happen semi annually in many communities; basically all the moms hold one big indoor garage sale of all things kid related. Places like Little Lables or Once Upon a Child not only sell but buy good used clothing and furniture (with strict quality and safety standards). Watch stores for clearance sales on seasonal items 1 year in advance. Again, there is Kijiji and Ebay, but buyer beware on safety items, especially recalls and expiry dates. Dollar store is great for little sorting baskets, bibs, and wall decals. Also talk to other moms you know; many are happy to pass on items they no longer need or will lend them to you until they need them again (make sure you know if they want things returned so you can prevent passing them on by mistake). Also, make sure you sign up for Welcome Wagon if you community has one. They will provide tons of local vendor coupons and discounts for baby and you.
I saw one site that estimated first year cost for a baby to be ~ $10,000; one time costs about $3,000 (eg. furniture) and the balance in ongoing (eg. diapers). My husband and I spent ~ $900 on one time items which includes the crib (mattress & bedding), high chair, swing, stroller and matching car seat, change table, gliding rocker and foot stool, exercise saucer (Baby Einstein), clothing etc. Check out BabyCenter.com - great resources.
One last thought for this post; even if your family hosts a shower, see if friends and family will get together for a freezer party. About a month before hand, get everyone together for a Saturday of cooking and stock up the freezer while pampering the (very tired) mom to be. The first three weeks after baby is born are referred to as survival time, and the heat and serve meals will be a God Send. Make sure they are portioned to accommodate a the number of people in you family and take as little prep as possible. That way you can throw something in the oven, set the timer (or better yet the auto shut off) and forget it. When you have had no sleep for days it is a wonder what a good meal can do to boost energy and moral!
FBM
About two months after getting married my husband and I found out we were pregnant. This only occurred about one month earlier than planned. It was like, once we decided that we would start trying it happened instantaneously. Having been pregnant once before, but a long time ago, I had a general idea of what to expect but needed some refreshers. With RD morning sickness was more of a "I'm going to be sick" feeling with no follow through. With my son there was more actually being sick. I found that making sure I ate very regularly helped a lot. There was not much that I couldn't eat and, with my doctor's approval, nothing was off the table (except alcohol of course). I also made sure that I always had something to drink on hand, which helped keep some of the queasiness at bay. I am one of those people who usually know I am going to be sick with plenty of warning, but this pregnancy had me caught off guard a number of times. Since I was still working I kept a tooth brush, mouth wash and gum on hand at the office.
My husband and I reviewed many books and web sites telling us what we needed for the baby coming home from the hospital. We eventually got a list from our hospital as well regarding what supplies we needed to provided there too. Adding in previous experience we came up with our bear essentials list so that, after the shower, we knew what we needed and didn't get sucked in to all the "extra" stuff. Here are a few of the things we learned in the process:
- Sleepers - at least 2 newborn and the rest 0 to 3 months because if the baby is over 7 lbs newborn may not fit
- diapers - again, we bought a small pack of newborn and then a larger one of the first size up. IF you can find a sale where the diapers are around .19 - .17 cents each then stock up. We found, based on weight, that the #3 size will fit baby the longest in most cases.
- bum cream - basically vaseline or a zinc based ointment or cream for diapering. I use a cream with a low percentage of zinc (15%) for every diaper use (sensitive skin runs in the family) to help prevent rash and have a container of higher grade (40%) for when a rash starts to show up (later on I also use the higher grade for bedtime when my son is sleeping longer).
-wipes - buy the largest multi-pack you can find because you will need lots and they never change size :)
TIP: when changing a diaper, put the clean diaper underneath FIRST, then undo the dirty one. This lets you wipe their bum, move the dirty one out of the way, and apply bum cream without too many accidental messes and, with a boy, great efficiency.
- if nursing, a breast pump. This will not only come in useful if you get engorged, but also allow you to pump and let someone else feed the baby every once in a while.
I realize that there is talk about nipple confusion, but personal preference is to introduce the baby to a bottle early on. If, heaven forbid, you should end up in the hospital like I did, you may not be able to nurse. Having baby already familiar with the bottle makes a stressful time like that much easier on everyone. Also, if you are nursing, consider pumping and freezing some milk as back up for just such an emergency. Though not as serious, you could also get sick and require medication that would prevent you from nursing for a little while. Milk, if stored properly, can last several months in the freezer and can always be used later to add to babies first cereals.
- diaper pail is a must to keep odours under control. We were going to pick up a Diaper Genie but a friend recommended the Diaper Champ. Almost identical in theory to the Genie but you can use your own garbage bags. It's not available in Canadian stores but we picked ours up off Kijiji.
- check out the stores for pricing on the things you need to buy, but hold off on buying right away. After the shower re-asses you list and checkout re-use it resources. Mom to Mom sales happen semi annually in many communities; basically all the moms hold one big indoor garage sale of all things kid related. Places like Little Lables or Once Upon a Child not only sell but buy good used clothing and furniture (with strict quality and safety standards). Watch stores for clearance sales on seasonal items 1 year in advance. Again, there is Kijiji and Ebay, but buyer beware on safety items, especially recalls and expiry dates. Dollar store is great for little sorting baskets, bibs, and wall decals. Also talk to other moms you know; many are happy to pass on items they no longer need or will lend them to you until they need them again (make sure you know if they want things returned so you can prevent passing them on by mistake). Also, make sure you sign up for Welcome Wagon if you community has one. They will provide tons of local vendor coupons and discounts for baby and you.
I saw one site that estimated first year cost for a baby to be ~ $10,000; one time costs about $3,000 (eg. furniture) and the balance in ongoing (eg. diapers). My husband and I spent ~ $900 on one time items which includes the crib (mattress & bedding), high chair, swing, stroller and matching car seat, change table, gliding rocker and foot stool, exercise saucer (Baby Einstein), clothing etc. Check out BabyCenter.com - great resources.
One last thought for this post; even if your family hosts a shower, see if friends and family will get together for a freezer party. About a month before hand, get everyone together for a Saturday of cooking and stock up the freezer while pampering the (very tired) mom to be. The first three weeks after baby is born are referred to as survival time, and the heat and serve meals will be a God Send. Make sure they are portioned to accommodate a the number of people in you family and take as little prep as possible. That way you can throw something in the oven, set the timer (or better yet the auto shut off) and forget it. When you have had no sleep for days it is a wonder what a good meal can do to boost energy and moral!
FBM
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