Ok, maybe not. But, there has been ONE person who has asked how Miriam's naps are going, so I thought I would update. Since she is napping right now!
After an entire week of her screaming and absolutely no consistent naps, I decided to go back to the bouncy seat in the living room. I don't mind if she does that and my goal still is to teach her to fall asleep on her own. Since moving her to the bouncy there have been significant improvements! She now falls asleep WITHOUT crying or screaming bloody murder about 90% of the time. And the time has gradually increased. Instead of a 30 minute nap, she is now going on 3 hours.
I have also observed her and realized that the 2 naps a day thing doesn't work for her. She does MUCH better if she takes one 3-4 hour nap instead of a morning and afternoon nap consisting of 1-2 hours each.
We also have changed her bedtime routine. Daniel gives her a bath, lotions her up and puts her diaper on and then hands her to me. She's like a little greased up watermelon. I loosely wrap her in a blanket so she is warm, but not cozy. That way she stays awake while she is nursing. Then after she is finished, I put her pajamas on. She is usually really sleepy by then or really crabby because I just woke her up. But, as with the naps, after about 4 or 5 days of crying, she now goes to sleep 90% of the time without crying.
The nights are a different story. She still is not sleeping well at all. She wakes up at least once a night and wants to nurse. I know that it is solely for comfort and I don't think I want to fight it right now. The soothing herself to sleep thing really took it out of me. So, for now, I let her nurse in the middle of the night.
I do think she is teething, though. She has been EXTRA drooly and crabby. Last night, she woke up at 1:45 and decided she was done sleeping. I took her downstairs and watched tv while she played until about 4:45. Then, I nursed her just so she would sleep and I could catch a little extra zzzz's. We cuddled together on the couch for a couple more hours and then she was up for the day. I gave her some tylenol and I think that helped her with her nap. YAY teeth!
Through all this, as I mentioned before, I have finally realized that I need to focus in on my child and what is best for her and what works best for me. I put way too much stock into what people say we should be doing. I am a mom now and I think I should trust my instincts.
My shoulders are rock hard. I think it's a combination of stress AND these massive food troughs I carry around for my daughter.
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