This picture was uploaded from my phone, and, unfortunately, it's a little grainy, but it's just too cute not to share!!!
Our sweet pea is such a hap-hap-happy, sweet, mellow, smiley baby!!
At 4 months, she:
- is cooing, squealing, and "talking" like crazy
- rolls over both ways
- has already found her toes
- is grasping and playing with toys all the time
- can giggle with the best of them
- sleeps about 12 hours straight every night
- loves sleeping on her tummy now!
She is such a precious, sweet light in our lives!!
Such a blessing!
Anna, oh Anna! I love you, oh, I love you! :)
ReplyDeleteHey there,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to see you and your family last week! Your kids are all so cute! Reading this blog is giving me some great ideas. Wanted to ask your advice since you're now raising your 3rd baby. Dorian was sleeping about 7-8 hours at night before the holiday festivities began then it went down hill. His sleep pattern went back to waking every 2-3 hours at first but now is back up to 6 hours last night, increasing every night. I was wondering if you did any sleep training to get Anna to sleep longer or did she slowly convert on her own? Dorian has slowly started sleeping for longer periods of time at night over the past month so I've been happy with that but I would love 12 hours straight!
I also saw a picture of Anna in a sleep sack. Did you use to swaddle her? I want to start converting Dorian to a sleep sack, but was trying to figure out how to do it. Do you have any tips? :)
You're a very experienced mommy so I appreciate any advice you give me. Thanks so much!
Suzanne!! It was soooooo great to see you all! You little guy is just a doll!! It sounds like you are doing great with him!! Yes, I did some major sleep training with Anna the very day we brought her home from the hospital. I had had a really rough time with Luke, our second. He was a super happy baby, but was a terrible napper and was up about every 2-3 hours every night. This went on for 6 months until I was a little bit at my wit's end!! :-) So, I was referred an amazing book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth. It literally changed my life!!!! I didn't read it until Luke was 6 months old, so I didn't start training until then, but it WORKED. Amazingly well. I knew I had to start Anna on it right away, and, although, it does take a little time, depending on the temperament of the child, she has been sleeping through the night since, about, 2 months of age or so. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some hiccups in the routine and it's not the same every night, but, generally, she sleeps from about 6:30-7pm-6:30am. I would HIGHLY recommend this book!! If you want to borrow it, I would be more than happy to send it to you. It's pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, I did swaddle Anna, but not for long. I wanted her to be able to soothe herself back to sleep on her own, so I didn't want her to be constricted. I slowly began putting her down for naps, first, unswaddled, at about 2 months old, just for her to start getting used to it. During that time, I still put her down swaddled at night. Then, a few weeks later, I went "cold turkey" and put her down at night unswaddled. By three months she was excellent at it! She would start sucking her fingers to soothe herself back to sleep. (But, yes, there were times I did let her cry it out!) She loves having her arms free, and now, rolls over right as I put her in the crib to sleep on her tummy.
This Mommy stuff can be tricky sometimes, huh?!! :-)
Please feel free to ask me anything! I'm no expert, but the experience does help!!
Thanks for the advice! I will go purchase that book because we're going to have more babies eventually so I know I will need to continue to refer to it. I go back to work in 2 weeks so I better get started on it right away! I know I'm lucky in that Dorian got up to 8 straight hours of sleep on his own without any training. Since he was just over 5 lbs when I took him home, I first had him sleeping in the bouncer chair because I could strap his swaddled little body in it. This kept him from waking up as he often did when sleeping in the bassinet. When he was in the bassinet, he would accidentally rock to either side when he moved since he liked his legs tucked up to his chest. He looked so funny and short when swaddled initially, but I think since he was a little premie, he needed the swaddle. I tried leaving one arm out for a nap the other day and he did fine for 30 minutes. I couldn't get him to nap without his arms swaddled for the rest of that day and he was super cranky by 6 pm.
ReplyDeleteDorian now sleeps in his bassinet at night and crib during the day. The crib part is new, only doing it the past 1-2 weeks. I plan on putting him in the crib at night starting tomorrow. I think it will be fine. Next step is no swaddle tomorrow for naps!
I also give him a binky to help him relax when he's worked up sometimes. I want to get out of this habit too but until he finds his fingers, it might be a little hard. Right now, he puts his fist up to his mouth but it doesn't work so well.
Thanks for your help! I'll let you know how it goes!
Suzanne