Did You Know?

Did you know that you can only eat whatever you want while breastfeeding for so long before you start gaining weight again?  Now I know.

Did you know that the library, bookstores and even Whole Foods have story time, but they all fall during or at the end of your child's naps?  Now I know.

Did you know that a frozen bagel used as a teether won't stay frozen for long before your child, who has 6 teeth, bites off a chunk the size of a large marble and chokes on it?   
Now I know.

Did you know that when you're bathing your child and they kick and splash with excitement, drenching you in the process, that you'd happily splash along with them?   
Now I know.

Did you know that you'd be discussing the color, size, texture, consistency and odor of poo with your husband, parents, friends and complete strangers?  
Now I know.

Did you know the sink would fill with dishes, the laundry would get ignored and toys would get strewn across the floor, but you wouldn't care because your baby is happy and therefore you're happy?
Now I know.

Did you know that months of holding your sleeping child for hours at a time, several times a day, sacrificing your need to go to the bathroom or merely move, were worth it because you have a child that finally takes naps in their crib and sleeps through the night?   
Now I know.

Did you know that when you're walking through the grocery store with your baby, talking and singing and being goofy in order to keep them entertained, you'll be oblivious to what other people think?  Now I know.

Until you've experienced it, there's no way to know what you will come to know, you know?  I can't wait to know more.

*** What do you know? ***

Dear Dr. Ferber

Dear Dr. Ferber,

Your advice for teaching my baby how to fall asleep comes highly recommended.  I'm sure you're qualified.  After all, an actual VERB has been created out of your name.

Unfortunately, you make me feel like a jerk.  A jerk for letting my baby fall asleep nuzzled against the warmth of my bosom, then transferring her to the cold, stark loneliness of her crib, only to have her wake up immediately and look at me like I have just killed a kitten.

How can I not pick her up when she looks at me like she has lost all hope and that the world is ending, while screaming hysterically?  

Typing on the MyTouch with one hand while I hold my sleeping baby so she'll take a nap,

Mungee's Ma

Today I tried to get Mungee to take her afternoon nap in her crib.  She was exhibiting the signs of being tired and it was close to naptime.  I made sure she was fed, burped, had a clean diaper, etc., yada and so forth.  I stayed with her for a while soothing her, telling her I loved her and that it was naptime and to go to sleep.  She kept rolling around in her crib and trying to climb out (a skill which I think she is going to accomplish any day now, even though she just discovered how to push down the bumpers yesterday - note to self: lower crib mattress).   I left her in her room for a while so I could take a few minutes to eat lunch ... selfish, I know.  The screaming never subsided so I resorted to getting her out of the crib and bringing her to my room and laying down with her.  Propped her up to nurse her and she was asleep in less than 5 minutes and slept for an hour an a half while I held her.

While I do enjoy this cuddle time with Mungee, I feel like I spend the majority of my day trying to keep her happy and not crying.  I feel guilty about eating, going to the bathroom and doing chores (okay, not that last one really), because it's time I'm not 100% focused on Mungee.  For my sanity however, I need to teach her how to take a nap in her crib.  Any suggestions?

Implementing a Schedule and Nap Training

I am so lucky to be able to stay at home with Mungee.  Our days are unpredictable however.  I am not sure when she's going to nurse.  It could be every two hours, it could be three.  It's a good day if she takes a nap.  We often find ourselves going out to dinner because I don't have anything planned.  For my sanity and what I perceived to be Mungee's daytime sleep deprivation, this had to change.

I nurse Mungee to sleep.  She tends to sleep well at night, although I'm never sure exactly when she's going to fall asleep and if she will stay asleep once I put her down.  For a while now, she's been going to bed between 9 and 10 and will often sleep until 7, sometimes waking once.  She's been getting sleepy earlier however, so I've been able to put her down around 8:30-9.  Even by this time, I'm so exhausted, I am ready for bed myself.

I received a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child shortly after Mungee was born.  Once I realized that while nursing, I could pick up a book and read a few pages here and there instead of clicking on the TV, I started to get into HSHHC.  Reading about cumulative sleep deprivation and the ill-effects it might cause down the road, such as behavioral problems, hyperactivity, etc. made me completely paranoid.  Paranoid enough to tell Mungee's Pa I was a failure as a mother, that I should have started sleep training a long time ago, that she wasn't just going to say to herself one day "Oh, I'm 6 months old, I should take naps regularly now".

At the beginning of this week, I decided that it was time to implement a schedule.  I would FORCE myself to get up at 6:30 am (ish) and take a shower, get dressed and eat breakfast before Mungee got up.  This way I would know WHEN I was actually going to do these things, rather than trying to fit them in between nursing, diaper changes, playtime and fighting Mungee to take a nap because I missed her tired cues.  I built in a morning and afternoon nap, time for nursing, play, going for a walk, even making dinner at home!  In my sample schedule, I didn't see much room for us to get out of the house for long stretches of time, and I noted that Mungee's Pa and I would probably have to give up late night going out to dinner and that I may only get to go to the gym on weekends, but I was willing to make these sacrifices to prevent the future sleep problems that had already manifested in my mind.

I found a sample schedule in HSHHC that I thought might work for us.  We would attempt two naps and an earlier bedtime.  For naps, I would look for the tired cues and start a soothing ritual, then put Mungee in her crib and leave her there for at least an hour, regardless of whether or not she cried.  This hurt my heart, but I wanted to see how things would go.

We got started on Wednesday.  Mungee woke up about 7:15 and we got the day started.  At 9:10, I put her down for a nap with her kitty lovey.  She flipped herself onto her stomach and screamed for a while.  I went in and flipped her back over.  I then left the room.  She flipped herself back onto her tummy and continued to scream and cry.  I went back into her room and gently rubbed and patted her back.  Then an amazing thing happened - she fell asleep (with the kitty lovey smooshed up against her face - don't worry, I moved it).  She slept for one hour!  Around 12:45, I noticed some tired cues, so I put Mungee in her crib for the afternoon nap.  I gave her the kitty lovey and the My Pal Violet (set to play "soothing" music for 10 minutes).  She cried for about an hour, but it wasn't like the screaming she did during the first nap attempt.  She fell asleep on her tummy again with the encouragement of some back rubbing.  She only slept for 35 minutes that time.

We introduced rice cereal on Wednesday night.  She seemed sleepy when we gave it to her at 7 pm.  She got a bath, then I nursed her, which usually results in her falling asleep.  She was not asleep when I finished nursing her, so I was worried about how we were going to get her to go to sleep.  At 8:30, I put her in her crib, drowsy, but awake.  She fussed for about 20 minutes - Mungee's Pa said "Are we going to go and try to soothe her?"  I said that we would wait a few more moments.  Soon after that, she fell asleep and slept through the night until 7:30!

On Thursday, she woke up at 7:30, got her diaper changed and then I nursed her.  She played on her playmat for about 35 minutes and then I noticed tired cues.  I put her down at 8:50 am and she fussed but did not scream, for about 30 minutes and then napped for two hours (on her belly).  Yes, TWO.  

We went out to meet Mungee's Pa for lunch a little later than the time of the Wednesday afternoon nap.  I knew she was tired, so we kept her in the carseat and she napped for about 30 minutes.  I tried for a 3rd nap around 3:20 but she never settled down for it.  She had rice cereal again that evening. She seems to really like it.  She kept opening her mouth and kicking her feet and if I was not getting the spoon to her mouth fast enough, she became demanding.  I think it was still a little too runny so I will attempt to make it thicker tonight.

She was in bed at 8:30 or so.  I put her in awake but drowsy and she did not fuss.  She went to sleep, but woke up at midnight.  I nursed her for 15 minutes or so and then put her back in her crib.  Again, she did not fuss and slept until about 7:30.

Today around 8:45 she showed signs of being tired so I rocked her for a few minutes, sang her three songs and then put her in the crib with her kitty lovey and said, "I love you, it's naptime".  She pounded her legs for about 5 minutes and then went to sleep - never cried.  She slept for an hour and a half.  She may have even slept longer, except the cat started meowing and startled her.

At 11:45, I took her to the doctor because she had some smelly earwax - I wanted to make sure she did not have an ear infection.  (Which she does not, thank goodness!)  After the doctor's office, we went by the grocery store, then stopped by a friend's house to drop off some food for the dinner we were going to attend later this evening.  By the time we got home, she had fallen asleep in her carseat - at 1:00, the time I was aiming for nap #2.  She slept in her carseat for about 35 minutes.  I tried for a third nap at 2:40.  She banged her legs and was quiet for a little while, but I'm not sure she ever fell asleep.

I am very proud of her for beginning to learn how to nap better, be it in her crib or carseat. I am sure we will continue to struggle but it is amazing how recognizing the tired cues and getting Mungee in her crib sooner can minimize the nap struggle.  I was just waiting and hoping she would fall asleep at random times before.  I think this will give her some sense of predictability and routine so she doesn't always have to wonder what's next.  That was probably stressful for her.

Tonight we will be out a bit later than Mungee's new bedtime of 8:30, so I hope it won't mess her up too much.  I wonder how things will go this weekend.  I certainly don't want to get up at 6:30 on Saturday and Sunday, especially when Mungee's Pa doesn't have to work, but I don't want to fall out of "routine" already.  I have to stick with this ... just like I've stuck with flossing, even though I'm no longer at risk for pregnancy gingivitis :)

4 Month Letter

Dear Mungee,

You are four months old today.  Yesterday you had your 4 month checkup and a round of booster shots. 

Weight: 15 lb, 3 oz - 95th %ile

Height - 26 3/4" - off the charts (I think they measured you a little long though).

I am washing your 6 month clothes soon.  You wore the cute 3-6 month clothes for a few weeks.  You can still wear some of them, but I think we're kidding ourselves.

We got the all clear to start introducing you to solid foods soon, although your doctor said she would recommend waiting until you're 5 months old since I'm still nursing you.  You also have a few rashes right now that need to clear up before you start eating rice cereal so we can make sure you're not allergic to it.

Your doctor thinks the rash on your chest is contact dermatitis and we're to wash you with Aquaphor Baby and lather you with Eucerin Calming Cream and hydrocortisone (2x day for 3 days).  On your head, the culprit is suspected to be seborrheic dermatitis, so we're to continue treating that with lots of moisture, ie Vaseline, and make sure we comb your hair often to remove the flakes.  It's sad to see you rake your chest with your little fingers because you're itchy.  I hope we can make you more comfortable as soon as possible.

You are laughing pretty much every day now.  You're working on rolling from your back to your front (you can roll onto your side). 

You don't like tummy time much so we don't have any rolling from front to back.  Your doctor says we do need to encourage tummy time more because you've got a bit of a flat spot on the side of your head you favor.

You raise your arms straight up at a 90 degree angle to your body.  We like to say "Gimmie a hug" when you do that and pretend that you're hugging us.

You can take toys from us and bring them straight to your mouth.  Your most favorite toys are your grab apple and bunny lovey.  Pretty much anything in your hands goes into your mouth these days.  You grab our arms when we're changing your diaper and pull them to your mouth.   You do the same thing when I attempt to clip your nails.  You even suck on my cheek if it's close enough to your mouth when I'm holding you.  You've started to notice your feet, so I am sure they will be making their way into your mouth soon too.

We are especially proud of your trick on the changing table: when we are ready to put a new diaper on you, we say "New diaper!" and you bend your legs, put your feet together and lift up your butt.

You celebrated your first Hanukkah this month. You got an adorable pink Exersaucer and we can't wait until you're sturdy enough to play in it.

You are sleeping about 8 hours a night.  Sometimes we have setbacks when you decide to wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, but after I nurse you, you will usually fall back to sleep.  You go to sleep anywhere between 10-11:30 pm and wake up around 6 or 7 am.  You're not napping in your crib yet.  Most naps occur when we're out shopping or if we're at home, you fall asleep on me sometimes, but if I try to put you down, you'll wake up.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving at Aunt B and Uncle D's house.  We're so lucky to have all our immediate family in town to enjoy the holidays with.

You took your first trip to the Zoo in November.  We went with your friends Z, I, H and J and their parents. We think you enjoyed it.  You fell asleep a few times.  The sun was bright overhead and was getting in your eyes.  You saw the jaguar, some giant fish (relatives of the piranha), bats, flamingos, elephants, kangaroos, the Komodo Dragon, gorillas, spider monkeys, bonobos, giraffes and a few other creatures.

Our friend Jenhappy came over at the beginning of the month to take your 3 month pictures.  (You were actually closer to 4 months when we took them though).  You're so photogenic.

You have become quite vocal.  You "yell" at us and have "conversations".  You also like to grunt a lot when you're playing with your grab apple.  We think you get frustrated because you can't fit the whole thing in your mouth.

You just keep getting more and more fun everyday.  We know you're going to be all over the place soon and we better enjoy the time we have left before you start getting into everything! 

Does anyone have a number for a babyproofer ... ?