My first night back to work after implementing our new day shift schedule and routine. I wanted to take another personal day to stay home from work, but I'm all out of them so I had no choice. I was hoping to cement the new schedule a little more so that it would be easier on my husband. I know it is so hard on him to hear her cry.
She was asleep within two minutes tonight. I can't believe how well she goes to sleep at night.
I am at work right now. I know she was doing some night waking. I'm sure I'll hear more about that when I get home.
Meanwhile, I've been night weaning Sasha at the same time. The verdict is still out as to whether or not it is helping with her appetite. I am going to pump at work to keep my milk supply up just in case it doesn't. Today she ate a bunch of cheerios and some scrambled eggs. She also drank some milk and some tea. It's the first time she's ever drank cow's milk without refusing! Maybe this will work. I'm so optimistic!
(UPDATE: After I got home from work, Sasha and Jon were still asleep. Both got plenty of sleep! It's working!)
Showing posts with label CIO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CIO. Show all posts
15 November 2007
2nd night
Update to our new sleep and routine. See previous post.
I took a personal day from work so I could try to cement our new sleep schedule with Sasha. I am amazed at how well she is taking so many changes at once. It's almost like she likes the new routine.
Our bedtime routine is now as follows. We have a family dinner and feed Sasha as best as we can. After dinner, Sasha plays for a little bit and then it is bath time. She takes a warm bath whether she needs it or not. She is dressed into her pajamas. We turn down all the lights in the house so it is dim, and Sasha listens to some music on itunes. She gets a nite-nite daddy dance with the itunes visualizer. That always makes her drowsy. I give her a final nursing for the night. Finally, she is ready to be tucked into her crib.
Tonight I put her in her crib, and she immediately cried. I turned out the lights, turned on some light music (Sarah McLachlan). I rubbed her temple lightly and whispered "Ni-nite" a few times. Then I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me.
I used a stop watch to time her. She stood up in her crib as soon as I walked out the door. I let her cry for one minute exactly and returned to the room. I had her lay back down again, rubbed her temples, and whispered "nite-nite" a few times, walked out, closed the door behind me. 45 seconds later, all was silent. A minute later, I reopened the door and I swear she was asleep!
So it took a total of 1min 45 seconds to get her to sleep.
She slept well for a few hours, but then the night waking started. It really made my husband anxious. He is really restraining himself as he just wants to run to her and pick her up whenever she cries. For the night wakings, we do the same as putting her to sleep. I check on her to make sure she is not hot, cold, hurt, or in any trouble or danger. Then I let her cry for a minute, check, console. Two minutes, check, console. Three minutes, check, console. Four minutes, check, console. She cried off and on during one of her night waking sessions for almost a half an hour. I know I feel bad! But she wasn't crying non-stop, just off and on.
Everything has been going so well otherwise. I figured we'd have some night waking, especially considering she's used to frequent night nursing. She's just in booby withdrawl. Each night is better than the night before.
I took a personal day from work so I could try to cement our new sleep schedule with Sasha. I am amazed at how well she is taking so many changes at once. It's almost like she likes the new routine.
Our bedtime routine is now as follows. We have a family dinner and feed Sasha as best as we can. After dinner, Sasha plays for a little bit and then it is bath time. She takes a warm bath whether she needs it or not. She is dressed into her pajamas. We turn down all the lights in the house so it is dim, and Sasha listens to some music on itunes. She gets a nite-nite daddy dance with the itunes visualizer. That always makes her drowsy. I give her a final nursing for the night. Finally, she is ready to be tucked into her crib.
Tonight I put her in her crib, and she immediately cried. I turned out the lights, turned on some light music (Sarah McLachlan). I rubbed her temple lightly and whispered "Ni-nite" a few times. Then I turned and left the room, closing the door behind me.
I used a stop watch to time her. She stood up in her crib as soon as I walked out the door. I let her cry for one minute exactly and returned to the room. I had her lay back down again, rubbed her temples, and whispered "nite-nite" a few times, walked out, closed the door behind me. 45 seconds later, all was silent. A minute later, I reopened the door and I swear she was asleep!
So it took a total of 1min 45 seconds to get her to sleep.
She slept well for a few hours, but then the night waking started. It really made my husband anxious. He is really restraining himself as he just wants to run to her and pick her up whenever she cries. For the night wakings, we do the same as putting her to sleep. I check on her to make sure she is not hot, cold, hurt, or in any trouble or danger. Then I let her cry for a minute, check, console. Two minutes, check, console. Three minutes, check, console. Four minutes, check, console. She cried off and on during one of her night waking sessions for almost a half an hour. I know I feel bad! But she wasn't crying non-stop, just off and on.
Everything has been going so well otherwise. I figured we'd have some night waking, especially considering she's used to frequent night nursing. She's just in booby withdrawl. Each night is better than the night before.
13 November 2007
First night
Update to previous post:
First night down on our new sleep plan, and all is ok. Sasha slept 6.5 hours straight. Actually she did night wake a few times but she settled back down ok. I'm used to her sleeping 8-10 hours, but after 6.5 hours she was up, talking to herself, and playing with her glowworm. Maybe she'll take extra naps? Not sure what to expect yet but I'm playing it by ear to see what her natural schedule or biorhythm is.
Day shift is great for Sasha. Yesterday I took her to a program that our school district has for babies and toddlers. It was awesome!!! She got to play with 234895723495 toys and other babies her age. If we keep this up, we'll make it a regular occurrence. Then today I took her to a park...something that was usually very difficult to do on a night shift. She had a blast!
First night down on our new sleep plan, and all is ok. Sasha slept 6.5 hours straight. Actually she did night wake a few times but she settled back down ok. I'm used to her sleeping 8-10 hours, but after 6.5 hours she was up, talking to herself, and playing with her glowworm. Maybe she'll take extra naps? Not sure what to expect yet but I'm playing it by ear to see what her natural schedule or biorhythm is.
Day shift is great for Sasha. Yesterday I took her to a program that our school district has for babies and toddlers. It was awesome!!! She got to play with 234895723495 toys and other babies her age. If we keep this up, we'll make it a regular occurrence. Then today I took her to a park...something that was usually very difficult to do on a night shift. She had a blast!
12 November 2007
Our new plan
It took a LOT of thought, but we finally decided to make a BUNCH of changes. We are going to switch Sasha to a day shift schedule, night wean, try the cry-it-out check and console method, and see if we can't FINALLY get her to sleep through the night.
It's a drastic change but it's necessary. So far, she's been a real trooper and taking it well but we're still only on our first night so we shall see.
I work night shift, and so Sasha and my husband have been night shifters with me as well. Lately, now that she's walking, it's not working out! She's so loud, and we're in an apartment complex with neighbors. When I come home at night from work to feed her I can hear her all the way down the complex hallway. We're going to upset our neighbors if we can't keep it quiet at night.
Add to that the fact that I work full time, and have to come home for her nursings twice a night. It's too much.
We've been doing the co-sleeping/nursing combination and she wakes up at least 10-20times a day to nurse. Therefore previous attempts to switch to day shift and have my husband sleep with her have been unsuccessful. She would keep waking up, and neither my husband nor Sasha could sleep at night without me. If we could get her to sleep through the night at NIGHT, then she and my husband could actually get out of the house and do stuff during the day when everything is actually open. Coffee shops! Book stores! Parks! Malls! Anything! They're so cooped up in this small apartment all night and they're both getting stir crazy...it's not even winter yet. Ever have to watch tv or stay up at night at home? Nothing but infomercials and there is nothing to do. My husband has been so incredibly bored and drained.
I read recently that frequent night nursings decrease a toddler's appetite for solids. I don't know if it's true but that's definitely the case for us. We've had little to no success getting Sasha to eat and it's been a huge source of guilt for us. She's not grown since her 9 month check up. No height change, and only a few ounces in weight. She's drastically dropped in percentiles. I'm hoping that night weaning her will help her take solids. If this does not work, then I'm in trouble.
I gave the Cry-it-out check and console method a try for a nap and it worked well, and it also worked well putting her to bed. She was OUT, completely asleep after 10 minutes only! She cries 1 min, I check and console. She cries two minutes, I check and console. She cries 3 minutes, I check and console, and she is out like a light. So far.
Wish us luck! So many changes at once but she's taking it well so far. I hope this works. It will drastically improve our quality of life if it does. Getting my husband and Sasha out of the apartment during the day will be a godsend.
It's a drastic change but it's necessary. So far, she's been a real trooper and taking it well but we're still only on our first night so we shall see.
I work night shift, and so Sasha and my husband have been night shifters with me as well. Lately, now that she's walking, it's not working out! She's so loud, and we're in an apartment complex with neighbors. When I come home at night from work to feed her I can hear her all the way down the complex hallway. We're going to upset our neighbors if we can't keep it quiet at night.
Add to that the fact that I work full time, and have to come home for her nursings twice a night. It's too much.
We've been doing the co-sleeping/nursing combination and she wakes up at least 10-20times a day to nurse. Therefore previous attempts to switch to day shift and have my husband sleep with her have been unsuccessful. She would keep waking up, and neither my husband nor Sasha could sleep at night without me. If we could get her to sleep through the night at NIGHT, then she and my husband could actually get out of the house and do stuff during the day when everything is actually open. Coffee shops! Book stores! Parks! Malls! Anything! They're so cooped up in this small apartment all night and they're both getting stir crazy...it's not even winter yet. Ever have to watch tv or stay up at night at home? Nothing but infomercials and there is nothing to do. My husband has been so incredibly bored and drained.
I read recently that frequent night nursings decrease a toddler's appetite for solids. I don't know if it's true but that's definitely the case for us. We've had little to no success getting Sasha to eat and it's been a huge source of guilt for us. She's not grown since her 9 month check up. No height change, and only a few ounces in weight. She's drastically dropped in percentiles. I'm hoping that night weaning her will help her take solids. If this does not work, then I'm in trouble.
I gave the Cry-it-out check and console method a try for a nap and it worked well, and it also worked well putting her to bed. She was OUT, completely asleep after 10 minutes only! She cries 1 min, I check and console. She cries two minutes, I check and console. She cries 3 minutes, I check and console, and she is out like a light. So far.
Wish us luck! So many changes at once but she's taking it well so far. I hope this works. It will drastically improve our quality of life if it does. Getting my husband and Sasha out of the apartment during the day will be a godsend.
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