25 weeks + let’s talk about SLEEP!

Here we are at 25 weeks along!  I’m getting closer to that 3rd trimester and I feel like each week she is growing like crazy!

Let’s talk about a few things from this last week!

*I’m starting to feel that uncomfortableness that comes along with getting close to this time of pregnancy.  During the day I feel great but it is mostly from after dinner until I go to bed that I start feeling like I can’t sit comfortably… so I just lay down for as many hours of that time as possible ha.

*When we are relaxing and watching a show Brooke will just place her hand on my stomach hoping that the baby will start kicking.   She usually feels a kick or two while she is doing this:)  Knox loves doing this too and I feel like this is their way of bonding with her!

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*We are currently Culver’s #1 customers for their custard shakes (and usually some onion rings too:).

*Some nights I sleep like a log and some nights I wake up 30 times a night:)  It’s a fun guessing game each night.

*28 miles of running last week!  I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off last week after my fall last Thursday at home.  I just wanted to really let my body get more than enough rest and downtime after that.  Seriously, that fall terrified me! Running this week is feeling good again though!  My pace is usually right around 9:20 and with the temperatures dropping running is feeling better and better (***not easy but better).  The bellyband saves my ligaments!  I think the miles just rock her to sleep each morning for a nap:)  She kicks around like crazy after I finish a run because I think she wakes up once I stop ha.

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*While we were at the hospital last week I was having contractions (probably a combo from the stress and being dehydrated because they didn’t want me to eat or drink anything) and it was a nice little reminder of what is up ahead in 15 weeks:)

*The internet says our baby is now about 13.5 inches and that she weighs 1.5 lbs.  PS One of my nieces was born at 25 weeks!  I can’t even imagine her being so little (my brother and his wife adopted her so we didn’t know her until she was 2)!

*My belly and chest make great pillows according to Brooke:)

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*Current food that sounds not great at all= Chick-Fil-A, soda (I think I would actually pass out if I tried drinking it because it sounds so awful… I’m not dramatic at all), steak, candy and gum.  I also remind Andrew to expect me to change my mind any second of the day about anything that I thought did sound good or not good at any moment.

*Current food that sounds amazing= Pudding, cereal, FRUIT, milk, shakes, my bed (not a food but it always sounds amazing;), my mom’s enchiladas, tuna fish and peanut butter & jelly!  Pancakes aren’t at the top of my list anymore but I’m sure they will be back soon enough.

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I wanted to hear your thoughts on sleep and babies!  I know there are a million different opinions out there on this topic but I would love to hear from you about what worked and didn’t work with you and your little one(s).

With Brooke I really didn’t follow any particular methods or schedules.  At that time she was all I had on my plate so I more worked around her schedule versus putting her on a specific schedule.  It worked for us at the time and I could just take a short nap when she napped in the afternoon and blog during her other naps and at night when she went to bed!

During the night I would just get up whenever Brooke woke up and either feed her or rub her back until she went back to sleep.  My sister didn’t really agree with this method for us when Brooke was nearing her first birthday;)  I was staying at my sister’s house when Brooke was 10 months old and I came upstairs one morning looking exhausted.  My sister asked my why I was so tired and I told her that I was up with Brooke 4 times that night either feeding her or helping her to fall back asleep and my sister said… ummmm no.  She told me she was taking over Brooke (I wasn’t breastfeeding) for the next few nights.  She magically trained Brooke to sleep through the night… after a night or two, Brooke learned quickly that crying wasn’t going to bring mom sprinting in to rub her back anymore so she would fall back asleep on her own;)

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If I went through my computer, I’m pretty sure I would find at least 2k sleeping pictures of Brooke as a baby:)

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Life has changed A LOT over the years and with this new little one coming in December, we are going to need a bit more of a schedule if possible.

I would love to hear any books that you recommend, websites, or tips/tricks that worked for you and your family to help your little one to sleep best at night:)  

When did your little one start sleeping through the night?

If you have more than one kid, how were your kids different from each other as far as sleeping goes?

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60 comments

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I had my bub on a pretty sweet schedule a few weeks ago, and now its all gone out the window and I’m feeding him to sleep every nap and at night, ha! They keep you guessing, that’s for sure. I suppose whatever you do choose to do, I’ve learnt it’s important to stick to it! You’re looking great, by the way!

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Hey Janae,

Some time (maybe after the baby is born or whenever is right for you) would you consider writing a bit about how you got over your mc? I had one last month and it is crazy the emotions you go through (some shameful like not wanting to be a part of ‘that group’ after having one healthy pregnancy and thinking you were immune in my case :/)

Thanks

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Dee, I am so incredibly sorry about what you have gone through with this miscarriage last month. My heart truly breaks for you. You are not alone with this but the pain is indescribable. I wish I could take away what you are feeling right now. I will definitely think about putting together a post about how I got over my miscarriage. My mom flew in and stayed with me and really helped me during that time but also, there were so many crazy things going on in my life at that time (I filed for divorce like a month later or something) that I was probably on overload with stress and in shock for awhile so I’m not sure how I did specifically for the mc. I went to therapy for a while for everything, I relied a lot on prayer and scripture. I personally believe that we will have our little angels up in heaven (I believe that families are forever) and that hope gets me through a lot. I am always here Dee is you need anyone to talk about. It doesn’t help that our hormones are all over the place after a miscarriage too. I am so sorry. You can do hard things and email me anytime. Thinking about you and thank you for your sweet words, they mean a lot to me.

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Oh I also wanted to say that one of the things I most admire about you is how you weather the storms when things in your life are not going as planned or you are going through tough times. It’s so hard some times not to fall apart, I usually fail at this and end up eating my body weight in sugar and not washing lol! You are great at just carrying on through it and being as positive as possible. Actually that would be another great blog post – some of us need tips over here ;)

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Kid #1 was a fantastic sleeper until we moved in with my parents for a year. She never slept after that. She was up at least once a night until she was 2. (I have a whole theory on this that I can share if you want to know, but it’s a lot for a comment :)
#2 was up every 2 hours every night until we moved her into her own room at 6 months old.

#3 was in his room from day one and he woke up ice a night for 6-8 months and then he slept through the night no training needed. Heaven.

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I swear by babywise. I had to go back to work when my first was 6 weeks old and I need to know when I would need to pump and I needed my sleep. Babywise gets some haters because people don’t understand it or take it to an extreme. I used it as a guideline for a schedule. I did the eat every three hours, wake time and then put to bed awake and fall asleep on their own. Obviously if they are sick, or teething or having a growth spurt I would change to fit my babies need. But it was a life saver for me. I never officially start until 3 months but I do try to get them on the way every three hour schedule as soon as I can. And it’s worked for us. Now that I’m expecting my fourth I don’t really have a choice, I’ve got a second grader, a preschooler and a toddler and I need a schedule or I’ll lose my mind. But most importantly, do what works for you and your family. And trust your gut. And get your sleep ?

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The website preciouslittlesleep.com has been my bible the past year as a new mom. Check it out for sure!!!!

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AWESOME!! Thank you so much Lauren!

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Yes, this website is THE BEST. I have a 7 month old and it helped me so much. She also just put out a book of the same name (precious little sleep). So great.

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Omg I’m laughing because all your foods that sounds gross are what I craved during my pregnancy and the foods you crave were gross to me!!

We have found out my 5 month old is a great sleeper unless sick!!! She has her first cold and has been up all night this week! Whereas my son was a great sleeper when sick but woke up a lot at night until he was 18 months. So funny how they’re all truly different!

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HAHA WE ARE THE OPPOSITE with food during pregnancy:) I am so glad that your new little one is a great sleeper (minus the sick times… I hope she feels better asap)! I hope you are having a fabulous day Sara and that you get some sleep tonight!

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It’s so much fun and so exciting to see your belly grow every week ;-) So happy that all is well after that unfortunate fall last week. Please send your sister to my hourse ASAP because I still have issues with my 7 years old waking me up at night ha He’s always been insecure at night, no idea why. He still wants me to stay with him while he falls asleep and sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night screaming for me or daddy. I’ve always come to his rescue so I am for sure part of the problem ;-) It’s so hard not too… but it is also very exhausting. I don’t think I would do the same if I’d have another one… I would probably try your sister’s method :-)

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The Sleep Easy Solution SAVED us. It came highly recommended by so many friends with kiddos. Our 10 month old sleeps through the night (mostly ha!), takes his two naps like clockwork and has a terrific bedtime routine. I HIGHLY recommend it. We started at about 4 months old with the bedtime rountine and worked toward nights and consistent naps.

Can’t wait to see your new little girl!!

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So I was a big babywise hater, however my kids sucked at sleeping through the night so maybe there is something to it!!! My youngest had medical issues and sleep was painful so that set us up for a couple years of sleep issues. We are done with kids but had I done it again this is what I would have done. I would have transitioned to the crib and out of our room by week 4 and I would have paid attention a little bit to a schedule after 1 month.
This all said. Some of my best infant memories were waking up with my little baby in the quiet house and just being with them. I never had babies though that woke up to play, it was pain, hunger, or comfort.

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I have a 2 month old and he’s been sleeping through the night for a couple weeks.The first month he was up every 2 hours to eat. I was exhausted. But he’s nice and chunky now and I guess he likes sleep more than food. During the day I feed him for about 30 min, he plays for about 30-45 min and then he naps for about 2 hours. I don’t let him go more than 3 hours during the day without eating. I’d say the biggest thing for me is when I’m putting him to sleep, I put him in his bed when he is drowsy, but not all the way asleep. I’ve done this from day 1 and now he is really good and putting himself to sleep.

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I read several “sleep training” books and ended up loving ‘Moms on Call’ the best. They even have an awesome app you can download. I started using their schedules when my little one was 8 weeks and she has been a great sleeper ever since.
Longtime reader, first time commenter :) Your blog is the best!

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My first child (now almost 13) slept exclusively in his infant car seat until about 4mos right next to my bed. The pediatrician was like “that’s enough. He’s outgrowing that seat. Bite the bullet. Time for the crib.” He NEVER slept through the night after I transitioned him. His dad & divorced shortly before he turned 3 & that set off a whole other wave of sleep issues to the point where I’d just roll out his sleeping bag on the floor next to my bed every night.
Child #2 is going to be 5 soon. First night home after her birth, put her right into her crib in her room down the hall. She was EASY. Only nursed her for about 8 wks & then she started sleeping in stretches of 6-8 hours (aka heaven). Both kids were solid nappers, too.
There’s no rhyme or reason…I was much more relaxed and confident 2nd time around (second marriage is a huge reflection of that, too).
Good luck…it ALL works out :)

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Kim it’s very unsafe to have a baby asleep in their car seat when its not installed at the right angle in its base. Babies have died this way. The angle is not appropriate for their little airways and it can close them off.

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I am well aware…
Thankfully my son survived my (many) parenting fails and he’s almost 13.
For what it’s worth, our pediatrician at the time said he was safe to sleep in his infant seat if that’s what worked for us.

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That wasn’t so much for you as for anyone else who may think that’s an okay idea.

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I too am I love of Babywise, and eat, play, sleep. We have a for year old who slept through the night by 6 weeks and our current 3.5 month old had been sleeping through the night for about a month. The second was a little bit harder to switch days and nights. We also had our second in his room right away and in his crib after a month. Not to say it was all easy, we had to let him cry it out, which is so hard on me especially knowing I had to go back to work and leave him. I literally had to put headphones in and listen to music until he stopped crying because I couldn’t take it. But I knew he was not in pain just unhappy. It’s so worth it getting at least six hours of sleep…I was so much more tired with the second than the first! So hard to have patience with the older one when I was exhausted!

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We just found out we’re having a boy!!! I’m only a few weeks behind you so I love your updates! We had some really good friends that swear by Baby Wise so we are planning to read that and see what we think. But their little girl was sleeping through the night by like 8 weeks! I think it depends a lot on the baby’s personality too but I’d love to try it out.

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CONGRATS MICHELLE on your baby boy! I am so happy for you guys and love that we are so close! Oh sleeping through the night at 8 weeks… that sounds heavenly! Keep me updated with how you are doing!

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Be careful with the books! I read way too many before my first guy and made myself totally crazy with schedules and stressing out about sleep time etc. Part of it was post birth anxiety and blues but feeling like I had to be doing this or that did not help! I will say though that having a set bedtime rountine and time from day one helped A LOT. My guy has always been good about going right down and at around a year he started sleeping through the night consistently. Anyway I’m working on another baby right now too and not looking forward to going back to the sleepless nights (especially considering how much I LOVE sleep right now)…

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Sleep?!?! I didn’t know that was possible until after their 1st birthday. Seriously, my so. Took two naps a day, or approximately 20-30 minutes each, and then slept from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. with approximately 3 wake-ups to nurse. By 10 months I thought I was going to DIE of exhaustion and I cut him down to one nursing session per night. Then when he turned 1 I stopped nursing him during the night, and he didn’t seem to mind! He still woke up every night but would go right back to sleep with a song, At that same time he had to move to one afternoon nap in order to move up to the next classroom at daycare, and his two 20-30 minute naps miraculously combined into one 1.5 hour nap! I was in heaven! Then I finally had enough time to fold the laundry and catch up on sleep (the whole “sleep when baby sleeps” philosophy didn’t really work for me with only 20 minutes to get everything done). I think he was 2 before he started really sleeping through the night. But by then I was no longer sleep deprived because of the longer naps on weekends and only one wake up :)

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First comment from me in your blog I think :) I just wanted to say that I really love reading your preggo updates since I am almost exactly where you are right now (28 weeks with our first baby – a girl too!) No opinions on sleep. Where I am from we have 18 months payed maternity leave so I think I will play it by the baby’s book at least in the beginning and see how that goes.

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AHHHH LIINA!!! I am so excited that we are so close:) 18 months paid maternity leave?!? THAT IS INCREDIBLE!!! Keep me updated with how you are doing! Congrats!

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Culver’s is magical! Anything with cookie dough or caramel is amazing from them! Have you had their cheese curds? Awesome too!

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My son started sleeping 8 hours at 5.5 weeks. I was breastfeeding but he was 9.5 lbs when he was born and 10 + lbs at two weeks so I never needed to wake him up to eat. My daughter started sleeping 8 hours at night at 8.5 weeks. The biggest difference between the two of them is that when my son would wake up, I would feed him and he would go right back down. My daughter would want to play for a little while. My husband lost exactly 0 sleep after my son was born, but with my daughter, I would feed her and if she wanted to play, I would hand her off to him and go back to bed!

The biggest issue with my son was that he wanted to nap on his stomach and so the best way to get him to nap was to hold him on my chest…for two hours. I loved it and it was boring. I read a lot. At 6 months we started letting him nap on his stomach because he could roll over.

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4 kids later…Babywise:)

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I have a 5 month old in his cosleeper in our room. He wakes once to eat and once around 4am for some comfort (binky, blankey, me rubbing his arm). It’s easy since he’s in the room with us, but he’s going to be in his bedroom soon (at 6 months old). I don’t know how I’m going to get him to only wake for feedings and not comfort. Can your sister do a post on how she sleep trained your daughter??

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Hey Laura!!! So my sister just let Brooke cry for a few nights. She was almost a year and I think a few nights of crying just taught her that we weren’t going to come in and get her. I also think it was just a big blessing too because the next few months were crazy with my divorce etc and sleep helped me out:) Good luck and please keep me updated with how your son does with the change of rooms!

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My son is almost 9 months and still wakes up 4-5x a night to eat. If I don’t go in there he will scream and pound on his crib…and our walls are thin…so I’m always afraid he’s going to wake up our toddler. At least he’s no longer cosleeping? I’m EXHAUSTED though. I haven’t slept for more than a 4 hour stretch (I think 2-3 times?) since December. Get your kid on a schedule asap. And, can I borrow your sister?

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I have the same problem with my 6 month old. I haven’t slept for more then 4 hours at time since March… Can I borrow your sister too?? LOL I am exhausted… Might I also add that multiple wake ups at night are extremely hard during marathon training!! ugh

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This was my daughter for EIGHTEEN MONTHS!! Same situation, big sister needed her sleep next door plus she would throw up if I let her cry too long! Right around 18 months I was fed up and exhausted. I slowly night weaned using this: http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html . It took forever, had to restart a few times for travel and teething but finally it worked. And then at 20 months old, I moved her into her bed, bit the bullet and let her cry for 2 nights, and as of 2 weeks ago she is sleeping through the night in her own bed! It feels like a miracle.

Just wanted to share to let you know that there is light at the end of the tunnel :)

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I craved tuna when I was pregnant SO BADLY but my doctor told me I couldn’t have it at all!! I had a tuna sandwich as soon as we got home from the hospital after she was born and it was probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I love reading your pregnancy updates! My daughter has been a good sleeper from the beginning so I don’t have any sleep advice. Hopefully your new little girl will be a good sleeper :-)

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With our first we had a pretty good schedule, but she was an easy baby and easy sleeper. She was premature, so it took about 2 months before she would sleep more than 2 hours at a time, but I think consistency is the best thing to keep in mind. The same routine each night or relatively close really helped. That being said baby two was totally different. She came home from the hospital sleeping 4 hours at a time, but at 4 months developed some health issues and didn’t sleep through the night until she was 17 months old. Many people told me to let her cry it out and we tried that method consistently for two weeks and it simply didn’t work. After a while of feeling like a failure as a mom, my sister gave me the BEST advice ever she said, “I think that God gives us special insights on our children. Listen to how he is leading you even with the simple things like sleep and you will have peace about the decision.” I stopped letting her cry it out and started comforting her and although she didn’t sleep better for a long time she was a happy baby again,

Trust those instincts God has given you to raise this baby!

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Hi Janae-I only have one so I kind of did what you did with Brooke. We did a sleep training method (ferber) last week and I’m kind of irritated I didn’t do it sooner. It turns out sleep makes me feel a ton better. However, I have been able to successfully breastfeed (she is 10 months old). I kind of think for the first 6 months or so (maybe 3?) you kind of need to be up at night/feeding on demand to maintain your breastfeeding relationship. At first, baby can sleep next to your bed to make that easier. My pediatrician gave me the green light at 4 weeks to pump a 2 oz bottle for my husband to give a nightime feeding so I could get more than 2 hrs in a row. I see moms with a bunch of kids and they are wearing the baby, etc, to make things easier. It probably won’t be super crazy because your other kids are little more self-sufficient than say a 2 yr in diapers. Oh, you apparently can also do some “sleep training” with newborns too. Like, don’t let them completley fall asleep with boob/paci/bottle in their mouth. Or, start layering in other sleep cues with nursing like a lullaby so they have other sleep associations besides you :)

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from someone who had a ton of baby sleep issues, and anxiety over his sleep issues, even after reading tons and tons about baby sleep …i’d say don’t worry about the baby’s sleep til the baby is here :) every baby is so different and so is every family. you will figure out what works best for you. and what may work for the first few weeks, may totally change when they are a few months old. it won’t happen in a week, or maybe even a few months, but it will all come together. it took us about 8 months to really get in a good groove with our son and since that time (he’s 20 months now) we still have nights and weeks that there are wake-ups and struggles. at least this time you have brooke and knox who can take turns going in to rub the baby’s back ;)

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Seriously, check out preciouslittlesleep.com. Start with “What you need to know about sleeping throught the night pt. 1”

My now 15 month old was a TERRIBLE sleeper, until we used Precious LIttle Sleep methods to sleep train. He not sleeps 10-5-11 hours at night and takes great naps.

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Forgot to add that we did sleep training at 6 months.

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This is random BUT if you are still craving tuna and have maxed out for the week you could make chickpea tuna salad! http://ohsheglows.com/2015/07/21/chickpea-salad/

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THANK YOU FOR SHARING… I will definitely be trying this! I hope you are having a beautiful day!

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Both of mine didn’t sleep through the night until about 14 months. I nursed them back to sleep whether that is what they needed or not or what some book said. I read all the books for my first but not my second. Just go with your gut and what works for your family. You’ll be on the go more with 2 older children and the baby might not get the exact naps at same time each day.

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My daughter has been sleeping through the night for 12 hours since 7 weeks. Partly I think she’s just a good sleeper but some things we’ve tried are:
-getting her used to napping with light and noise. As a newborn she slept in the living room in the rock n play.
-transitioned her to the crib in her own room as of 6 weeks. This isn’t right for everyone but it was great for us. We all slept better.
-consistent bedtime routine starting around that time.

We didn’t have to do cry it out or anything because we started before she had a real routine so she never expected us to help her fall asleep. She always knew it was “her job”.

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My kiddos all slept so different! My oldest slept 12 hours at about 10 months old. I don’t know that my middle every slept 12 hours in a row. He had extremely bad acid reflux and it made his baby years pretty miserable. Then my youngest pretty much slept anywhere and everywhere for naps because he was drug along for whatever the older two were doing :) Although, my first two were on a super good schedule. We, for the most part, followed Baby Wise and it worked pretty well for us – minus the acid reflux years ;)

And each kid moved to their own room at a younger age. Mady was about 6 months, Braden about 3-4 months, and Luke was almost immediately in his own room and I just slept so much better with him in another room.

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We got up with our little guys when they woke up too. If I had recently fed them and they were dry I would do the hold till they stopped crying and then put back in the crib (over and over like 50 times the first few days) and then they learned to that I would be there if needed but that they weren’t getting extra attention at that point and it worked great. Both were good sleepers….Our neighbours ( we both sleep with our windows open) did sleep training with their daughter and it was soooooooooo heartbreaking to hear her crying for so long! I don’t think I could do it at all! If I could have I would have broken in and snuggled her.

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I’m more like you were with Brooke and have never been in a rush to get my kids to STTN. I didn’t concern myself with a schedule at all on maternity leave and daycare got them on a schedule when they were ready, but it definitely was closer to a year for my kids. After 6 months and the kids were in the crib my husband would start going in first if they woke up and try to get them back to sleep and would bring them to me to nurse if they seemed hungry, otherwise he would soothe them.

My kids were polar opposite sleepers. My first screamed like we were sticking hot pokers in his eyes if we set him down ever. There was no “drowsy but awake”. My second was all business and actually preferred to fall asleep alone. It was crazy. We kind of sort of sleep trained my first at 12 months when I found out I was pregnant again and then he began STTN in his crib. My second STTN on his own at 8.5 months, no training or anything required. I still don’t understand it. He just came out of the womb liking sleep. I don’t even know where he came from (although he gets that trait from me for sure).

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In my opinion, “Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child” is a perfect balance between “Babywise” which makes the baby mostly cry it out and attachment parenting which says never let them cry. I like balance. :)

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I am on my 4th baby and have always had issues getting my babies to sleep. After reading multiple books and talking to other moms, I decided to go full force with the baby wise method. From day one, the most important thing was giving the baby full feedings ( which lasted 40-60 minutes those first few weeks). I also made a rule for myself that I would not feed the baby unless it had been 2 hours from the start of the previous feeding. In the past, I mistook fatigue crying for hunger crying. Also, my husband was totally on board and we support each other in the sleep decisions. Such a controversial topic to bring up….lol?

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I used the book “Twelve hours’ sleep by twelve weeks old” to sleep train my daughters. It worked SO well!!! They were both sleeping through the night by 6 weeks. It outlines a feeding schedule and helpes you identify if your baby is actually hungry or needs something else. With the feeding schedule it encourages “meals not snacks” so your baby isn’t just “snacking” around the clock. It also teaches techniques to help baby self soothe if they do wake up in the middle of the night. I was always so shocked when my friends were still sleep deprived after the newborn phase! You don’t have to suffer!!
Here’s the link to it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0525949593/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504231825&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=12+hours+sleep+by+12+weeks+old&dpPl=1&dpID=41UEzm2JXML&ref=plSrch
Also the book “Bringing up bebe” has a great section on sleep. It goes into the science of sleep and how when our sleep cycles end/begin we sometimes wake up. Basically, babies need to be taught to fall back asleep between sleep cycles instead of us rushing in and picking them up/feeding them. It’s really interesting, and sometimes having science tell you why they keep walking up every 2 hours helps to see the big picture of the sleep training process.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?k=bringing+up+bebe

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Hi there! I know you don’t know me but I’ve been following your blog on and off for quite awhile now! I have an almost 4-year old and almost 2-year old. I highly recommend BabyWise! I also read a book with similar ideas called The Baby Whisperer and honestly I didn’t follow either 100% strictly but I took the main ideas from both of them and combined them into what worked for both of my girls. My older daughter sleeps nearly 12 hours every night, and my baby (who was initially colicky!!) sleeps anywhere from 10-12 hours every night (unless of course they are sick, have a bad dream, etc). Being on a schedule helps me be a better mom no doubt about it.
With my colicky baby, the only thing that worked was learning the “5 S’s” and just trying to survive those rough months. May your baby NOT have colic.
Okay I have a super random question for you: I LOVE your lashes. Where do you get them done??? :) Thanks!!

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Read The Baby Sleep Solution, by Suzy Giordano. It takes just a couple hours to read the whole book. I used her methods with both of my kids, and both were sleeping in their own rooms, not waking up at all since about two or three months old. Not even exaggerating. I tell everyone about that book.

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I don’t do ‘schedules’ per say, but routines. I feel like kids thrive off of structure and knowing what to expect. I tried to follow the wake/eat/awake time/sleep pattern. It seemed to work great for my kids, but I know each kid is different and each family is different. Some humans love the schedule, but my kids were so ornery when I tried to feed them at the same times each day. I also really tried to make it dark and quiet and not talk during the night when I had to get up with them. Then made it bright, fun and noisy during the day to help them distinguish between night and day. I also don’t sleep with my babies in my room. I know. I know. I did it with Annabelle for the first 6 week and we both never slept because I woke up to every little noise and probably fed her more than she needed to because of it. Evan and Felicity were in their rooms as soon as we got home from the hospital. You know their bedrooms are like 2 feet away from me. I would wake up before they even started crying, but they were making ENOUGH noise that I knew they were starting to wake up and not just stirring. It worked for us. I know you will figure out what works for you guys once she gets here!

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I read a book called 12 Hours of Sleep by 12 Weeks when my son was 5 months old and learned some really good tools. He was only 5lbs 13oz when he was born at 38 weeks (I had some crazy people ask me if he was little because I ran through my pregnancy, I can’t even begin to tell you how mad that made me! #whatnottosay) Anyways, his sleep fluctuated, some nights he would get up once and some nights he was up every 2 hours. We had good habits- solid daytime naps, solid bedtime routine, put him to sleep drowsy but awake in his crib, but eventually we just knew he was waking and crying simply because he didn’t know how to fall asleep on his own. We decided it was time to cry it out. I had to sleep in the basement because I have terrible willpower so the first night my husband took the brunt of it. Night 1 he woke up and cried/fussed for 2 hours (My husband went in and rubbed his back and shh’ed him to calm down every 15 mins) he eventually fell back asleep. He woke again around 3am and cried for 1 hour (same thing, went in every 15 mins) he then slept until the morning. The 2nd night he woke up and cried for 1 hr, we did checks and spaced them out from 15 minutes to 30 minute checks. He woke up again around 3am and cried for 30 minutes then slept until morning. The 3rd night he woke up ONCE cried/fussed for 30 minutes then slept until the morning. The 4th night he slept all the way through and has slept through the night (averaging 11hrs a night, high five!) ever since and he is going on 10 months old. Through teeth, traveling all over including Alaska, he has continued sleeping well and I believe it is all because he knows how to put himself back to sleep. Sleep training is such a controversial topic but after that first night of letting him cry I walked into his room to get him the next morning and he was his usual self, all smiles, which made me feel 1000x better. Good luck!!

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My kids just eventually figured it out – both around 9 or 10 months. My 1st born, we had just moved back to my hometown and were staying with my parents while we waiting for our household goods. We stayed in the same room for about a week and she woke multiple times – when we moved to separate rooms, she started sleeping through the night. My 2nd born had ear infections multiple times and eventually had tubes. The infections made for atrocious sleep. (I stopped nursing him overnight at about 6 months though, so we would just go in, replace his paci and all would be well). One night, a month or so after he had his tubes put in, we were so tired we turned the sound off on the monitor. Ha. And wa-la! He started sleeping through the night ;) Do what is best for you, your baby and your family. I’ve tried other things, but don’t have the patience. We waited it out.

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The eat/play/sleep routine guided by Babywise worked for us. My daughter started sleeping through the night around 10 weeks and has continued to be a great sleeper (she’s 2 now) as long as she isn’t sick or teething. We never really experienced any of the dreaded sleep regressions either. I suggest reading it and then adjusting the recommendations to suit your family’s needs.

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I totally recommend Babywise! All 3 of my kiddos have slept through the night by 4 months and are awesome nappers. Also look into Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, it’s like a practical how-to of Baby wise .

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Look up “takingcarababies” on Instagram or her website is takingcarababies.com. Cara (a former NICU RN who is married to a pediatrician) has an in person sleep class in Phoenix (where I’m from) that my friends have gone to and have all had a ton of success. I live in Montana now, so my husband and I purchased her online class and watched it when I was 38 weeks pregnant. My baby will be 4 weeks on Tuesday. I’ve had her soothing herself to sleep since day one. She completely puts herself to sleep now when I put her down drowsy. Cara’s methods seem to mimic babywise, but it’s a “gentler” and more flexible approach. So feeding every 2.5-3 hours during the day, awake time after eating (so the baby doesn’t need to be nursed to sleep), and then sleeping. Anyway, at 3 weeks, my baby slept five hours before I woke her (I was feeding her on demand at night or waking her up so she wasn’t going longer than three hours between eating). I was so sleep deprived that I convinced myself it was ok to not wake her that night until five hours had passed (I’m bf’ing so didn’t want to go longer than five hours for supply purposes). I asked her pediatrician if I could let her sleep at this point, and she gave me the go ahead because my nursing supply has been great (knock on wood!), and my baby has had no problems putting on weight. This is getting long, but for the past 5 days, my not even 4 week old sleeps for one 5 hour and one 4 hour stretch at night, and I wake her up for both those feedings. I know this may change, but the class taught me how important it is for the baby to put herself to sleep, and she does that at 3.5 weeks old. Anyway, the class is an alternative to reading a book (and much quicker), and I highly recommend it!!

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