The Curtis Diaries : March 2015

Sleep schedule: 8 weeks

We followed the method from "Baby Sleep Solution: 12 hours by 12 weeks". This book was suggested to me (along with baby wise) from my sis in law. She used these tips on all 3 of her children and believe it or not, all 3 are wonderful sleepers. Andrew and I loooooove sleep. We were willing to try anything that we thought would give us the best result.

When Claire was in the hospital and her first 2 weeks home, she was a great sleeper. We could lay her down and she would always go 3-4 hour stretches. Then the 3 week growth spurt hit. Dear. Bless. She wanted to nurse every hour all night long. She would only sleep in my arms and preferred me to be standing and bouncing. I thought I was going to pass out from exhaustion. During this time, I gave in and she slept with me in the bed. She slept so good and I did too. Wellllll, she got hooked. For the next 5 weeks, I could maybe lay her down 1 time. It would last an hour. Maybe 2. We tried everything. Propped up, laid flat, swaddle, unswaddle, gowns, footed pajamas, paci, noise maker, lovies, you name it. At 7 weeks, she did get to a point where she tolerated a swaddle. I would wrap her up as tight (but safe) as I could get it, and then we had to bounce.hard.under a fan. She would konk out. We would lay her down. It might have worked the first time, or we might have had to pick her up several times to console her, but she laid in the pack n play by my bed. If she stirred, I would reach over and put my hand on her stomach. If she woke up too much, she would realize that she couldn't move and freak out. This freak out happened every night. Sometimes she would last for a while though before noticing. Once she was unswaddled, she wouldn't lay alone. Her arms kept startling and scaring her, so back in our bed she goes. I don't know why, but it bothered me that she was in my bed. Even though I absolutely loved falling asleep smelling her head and being 100% certain that she was breathing and dying over the way she would nuzzle her head to get closer to me, I didn't want her in my bed. My bed is where I get my best sleep. I knew I would be a better mom if I could get some great sleep in my bed. Alone. I also knew that she would feel so much better if she could get some rest in her bed. Alone. By 8 weeks, I knew it was time for sleep training, and guess what? The book starts sleep training at 8 weeks. I thought we were late, but we were right on time!

These were my biggest factors taken from the book that gave me a purpose and reassurance while starting the journey of sleep training:
- she now needs to eat every 3-4 hours to go longer at night.
- eat, wake, sleep
- routine is KEY. Choose several things to do the same every night.
- lay her down awake
- don't pick her up unless absolutely necessary. You can console, but don't pick up.
- 3-7 days to make a habit

We started the day she turned 8 weeks. It was a Friday, so Andrew could stay up with me for support. I was ready for ugly...

Routine:
- warm bath time (or just cleaning of face and bottom if not bath night)
- lotion massage and sensory brush
- pjs and diaper for the night on
- lights dim in whole house
- kiss from dad
- rock and read a book (if she'll let me without crying)
- nurse first side with lamp light and noise machine on "heartbeat" (read now if she was crying)
- nurse other side with lamp off (I do leave on the projector on her noise machine)
- when she finishes, put in sleep sack and then see if she'll nurse a few more ounces
- burp, kiss, lay down, close door

Night 1:
-11:20, cried for 7 minutes (felt like an hour)
-11:40, woke up (soothed by Andrew)
- 4:45, woke and ate
- 7:10, woke and ate
Night 2:
- 10:50, cried for 3 minutes and Andrew went in.
- cried for 5 minutes and I went in to reswaddle
- 11:10, asleep
- 7:20, awake
Night 3:
- 10:50, cried for less than 2 minutes and fell asleep
- 11:02, woke up to cry and soothed herself but was restless for several minutes.
- 6:45, woke up to eat
- 7:05, back in bed (no fuss)
- 9:50, woke up happy!
night 4 (no swaddle):
- 10:20, laid down awake and no fuss
- 10:30, cried, Andrew soothed for a few minutes
- 10:40, asleep
- 4:30, woke up to eat
- 4:55, went down with a little fuss
- 8:25, up
Night 5:
- 11:37, laid down no crying at all!
- 7:00, woke up to eat
- 9:20, woke up for the day
Night 6:
- 10:10, laid down and whined for a while
- 10:30, asleep
-4:45, woke up to eat
- 5:05, back down no fuss
- 8:50, up for the day
Night 7:
- 11:12, laid down wide awake (this was the first night that she was 100% awake when put down). Fussed off and on. **was very restless while eating and I couldn't tell if she was finished. Put her down and she sucked on her hand and tongue quite a bit.**
- 11:33, nursed some more for a few more ounces
- 11:50, back down
- 12:00, asleep
- 5:45, up to eat
- 6:04, back down no fuss

I do think that she has developed a habit, but I also think the activities of the day play a huge roll. The days we were busy were the easiest nights with her.

I know spurts and teething and travel will pop up and those nights will probably not be ideal, but I am so proud of the progress she made during this week. I think we can both tell that she is a much happier baby now that she is well rested. She's changed so much this week! Now, I just need to learn to trust that she is ok so that I can get a good nights rest rather than watching the monitor all night :).

Sleep week 2: 9 weeks

Night 8:
- 10:20, down fussy
- 10:30, I went in to pat
- 10:40, asleep
- 10:50, awake but no fuss
- 11:05, asleep but very restless
- 5:25, awake to eat
- 5:45, back down no fuss
Night 9:
- 11:42, down little fuss
- 11:50, fuss
- 12:00, fuss
- 12:05, asleep
- 5:50, up to eat
- 6:00, down no fuss
- 7:20, screamed out and fell back asleep the second I picked her up. We slept on couch.
- 9:30, awake
Night 10
(She slept a LOT this day!)
-11:25, down no fuss
- 7:05, up to eat
- 7:20, down but restless
-9:20, up
Night 11 (night of shots):
- 10:25, down very fussy. Lots of burping and consoling. I fed her again and she pooped.
- 11:07, laid down lots of fuss
- 1120, asleep but restless/uncomfortable
Night 12:
- 11:12, down very fussy. Andrew and I both held and tried to burp, and then let her cry. Repeated this a few times.
- 11:40, asleep but restless (nurse warned that one of the vaccines could make her gassy. I think that combined with a low grade fever and maybe some sore legs could be the culprit, but I was NOT getting out of the routine that we worked so hard for!)
- 11:52, up crying. Soothed herself to sleep
- 7:45, up for the day
Night 13:
- 10:23, down no fuss. Quietly laying in bed.
- 10:55, started fussing but self soothed . Did this several times
- 11:05, started really screaming. Rubbed her belly, let her cry, picked her up, she burped twice and then I let her cry it out.
- 8:30, woke up for the day
Night 14:
- 10:50, down fussy. Whined and self soothed for a long time.
- 11:30, asleep
- 6:40, up to eat
- 8:00, I woke her up

Sleep week 3: 10 weeks

This is the week that we started trying to establish a daytime routine beginning at 8:00 am and hoping to get her in bed around 10:30 pm or sooner.

Night 15
- 12:11, down no fuss but stirring
- 8:40, woke up (mom fail. I had a headache and did t wake up to get her up at 8:00.).
Night 16
- 10:00, down no fuss (that was just the calm before the crying storm that came after...)
- 1:30, asleep in her bed after 46764 failed attempts.
- 9:00, awake
Night 17
- 11:30, asleep after a very rough night of crying and wanting mama
- 4:30, awake and sad. Ate then put back down.
- 7:50, up for day (by me)
Night 18
- 11:10, down little fuss. Started crying about 10 minutes later. Went in to check one time and burp her. Asleep by 11:30.
- woke up several time during the night. Fed around 1:00 and 7:00.
- 9:45, I let her sleep in
Night 19 (mattress propped up)
- 10:40, down really fussy. Asleep by 11:15.
- woke up at 12:15. Was soothed by patting and shhh-ing.
- 7:00, up for the day
Night 20 (propped mattress and vapor rub)
- 10:35, down no fuss
- 4:50, up to eat
- 7:10, up for the day
Night 21
- 10:30, down fussy
- 11:00, asleep
- 2:20, up
- 7:00, up

Unfortunately, our goal wasn't met this week due to a sad head cold. Hopefully by 12 weeks we will have a routine!

Sleep week 4: 11 weeks old

Well, we have one more week to meeting our goal of 12 hours, and I don't think we are going to make it. I'm bummed, but whatev. She's doing so well, I'm not going to let myself get frustrated.

This week started out with a cold and sleeping in a pack-n-play at my parents. On Saturday, we had a sip-n-see, so that made the day even more different for her!

At home we were using a humidifier and had her mattress propped up to help breathing.

Night 22:
- 11:00, down but restless for hourrrrssss.
- 5:00, up
- 7:30, up
Night 23:
- 10:30, down no fuss. Woke up several times choking and/or coughing. Would cry some.
- 4:00, up
- 7:00, up
Night 24 (back home):
- 10:45, down fussy
- 5:00, up
- 8:00, up
Night 25
- 9:50, down
- 5:00, up
-6:00, up crying but I didn't go in
- 8:00, awake and happily playing in crib
Night 26:
- 9:30, down fussy
- 4:00, up
- 7:00, up
Night 27:
- 9:45, down no fuss
- 3:40, up
- 6:50, up but very upset
Night 28:
- 9:40, down fussy
- 3:40, up
- 6:15, up
- 8:30, up

leep week 5: 12 weeks

This week I was trying to wean her off of her middle of the night/early morning feeding. She usually only nurses 6 minutes max. Baby Sleep Solution says to take off a couple of minutes and nurse for that amount for 3 nights, then take off more minutes. Do this until you are down to zero.
Ex: night 1, 6 min.
Night 2-5, 4 min.
Night 6-9, 2 min.
Night 10, 0 min. and she shouldn't wake up.

Night 29:
- 10:30, down
- 5:00, up
- 8:00, up
Night 30:
- 10:15, down
- 6:10, up
- 8:00, up
Night 31:
- 10:30, down
- 4:50, up
- 8:00, up
Night 32:
- 9:50, down
- 3:30, up
-7:00, up
- 8:30, up
Night 33:
- 10:40, down
- 4:00, up
- 6:40, up
- 8:15, up
Night 34:
- 10:15, down REALLY FUSSY
- 4:50, up
- 8:15, up
(Woke up SEVERAL times)
Night 35:
- 10:15, down
- 3:25, up
- 8:00, up

Well, this didn't work. When she got down to 4 minutes she woke up several more times after that feeding! She was still hungry!

Sleep week 6: 13 weeks old

I started feeding her rice cereal with an ounce of pumped milk between her last 2 feedings. I tried with a spoon and in a bottle, she prefers being spoon fed-big girl! She also prefers it thick. I also nurse as long as she wants in the middle of the night/morning which is usually 5-6 minutes.

Also, no more humidifier or propped mattress. The sound machine has been switched to "ocean" instead of "heartbeat".

Night 36:
- 9:20, down
- 4:50, up
- 7:00, up
Night 37:
- 9:20, down FUSSY!!!!
- 12:30
- 3:00
- 7:39
Night 38:
- 10:00
- up every 2 hours
Night 39:
- 9:30
- 5:00
- 8:00
Night 40:
- 9:30
- 4:00
- 8:00
Night 41:
- 9:45
- 4:45
- 8:20
Night 42:
- 9:40
- 5:00
- 8:15

Best most consistent week so far! She's going 7-8 hour stretches and then another 3-4 hour stretch. I can live with this!

- She stayed with Leslie (and Heather) while I got my haircut for the first time in 16 weeks!
- Started finding her thumb at 9 weeks
- Andrew kept her by himself 2 separate times in 1 day!
- She still rubs her face and the back of her head on blankets to fall asleep. Even nap times with me. She started sucking her hand and rubbing her hair or a blanket with her hand as well.
- Still very snotty and grunts a lot.
- At 9 weeks 3 days old, she had her 2 month check up. She weighed 13 lbs 11oz (90th percentile), was 23 in long (75-80th percentile), and her head was 16 in long (90th percentile). Her heart and lungs sounded perfect. Her ears and throat looked great. She got 4 vaccinations. One oral and 3 shots. Her cry was delayed, but once it started, it was so sad. It was a cry I'd never hear before (so naturally, I cried too). She continued to cry like that through the day. I could tell her legs were just sore. She took 2.5 ml or less of tylenol every 5 hours. She slept quite a bit and that night she slept 9 hours straight.
- We took lots of walks!
- We sucked a LOT of snot with the Nose Frida. Sometimes we used saline solution to help.
- Intentionally grabbed her first toy on 1/27/15. It was a hanging toy on a play mat at a friends house.
- She's spending less and less time with me holding her and more time by herself.
- She loves talking and hearing herself. I think she's trying to laugh.
- To get her to fall asleep while holding her I have to put an Aden and Anias Blanket over my shoulder and bounce even though she's grunting and trying to climb back inside my body.
- By 10 weeks, she had outgrown a lot of her clothes! Several 3 month outfits were too small.
- She now knows the bedtime routine. When we rub her with lotion she starts rubbing those eyes.
- Still wondering when her hair will thicken up on top.
- When she falls asleep on my shoulder, she raises her head, but keeps her eyes closed, and rubs her face against my cheek.
- Got her first cold/stuffy nose at 10.5 weeks. She didn't want to sleep laying flat and it really threw me for a loop that she wouldn't sleep through the night after 2.5 great weeks!
- She is way more active with her left arm.
- She is a very happy baby and loves being around people.
- Started noticing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and talking to it at 11 weeks. It keeps her entertained while I get ready!
- Started getting over her cold after 11 days (after I went to the doc to confirm it wasn't RSV or pneumonia). There's a humidifier in her room, her mattress is propped up, I used the nose frida with saline solution, and applied organic vapor rub on her feet and chest.
- No matter where she is, if she can grab an Aden and Anias blankets and rub it in her face she will eventually fall asleep.
- She wants to roll over so bad! (From back to belly)
- She doesn't love tummy time, but she tolerates it for me.
- Rolled over from belly to back on 2/10. I think her head just started falling and she rolled, but she did it.
- Meme hosted a sip-n-see for all of her friends (and some of mine) to come and meet Claire. Of course she didn't nap before the party, so she wanted to sleep during the party.
- Started pulling her feet up like a little bear cub.
- Starting to laugh. She loves when she does it.
- She doesn't require as much sleep during the day. She usually takes a great morning nap and then cat naps during the rest of the day. We try to keep her up between her last 2 feedings.
- When laying on her belly, she will scrunch up like an inchworm over and over. This makes her rotate in a circle.
- Starting sleeping well again! So proud of her!
- Stays awake most places. I can no longer expect her to just snooze away in her car seat when we go somewhere.
- She will not take a bottle.
- She's starting to shimmy and scoot out of things, so she has to be buckled in.
- She loves her left thump.
- Started grabbing toys and blankets and bringing them to her mouth.
- Does a half roll from back to side.
- Had her first Valentine's day.
- Went to her first birthday parties.- By my calculations, she weighs 15 pounds.
- Wears 3-6 month clothes.
- Size 2 diaper
- Wakes up once during the night (sometimes twice).