Ok... so i started this when i was still at home with K... since then i've deterred. IF you're just starting out and your baby is under 3 months then it works like this E. (eat) A. (activity) S. (sleep) Y. (you). That's the EASY approach. It's GREAT! Takes some doing b/c you have to lay child down and get them to sleep without a prop (you, passy, rocking, music, etc).
Well the prop is where our mistake came in and stayed and was only made worse when i went back to work.
We used to lay K down with a passy (my beloved Wubbanub)... it wasn't so bad. If it fell out (which it only did once at night) and she woke up then i would lean over and pop it back in and back to dream land we would all go. Well that was great when she was sleeping in the same room as us all confined in her little bassinet. Now she's in the big world of her crib IN her OWN room! CRAZY! Started off the same... but then something happened. And the Baby Whisperer refers to it as accidental parenting.
Kinsley gets hungry (or i assume she is) in the middle of the night and i feed her b/c i'm back at work and miss that time with her and i want to keep my supply up. Her passy pops out and she starts to fuss a little so i RUN in and pop it back in since i need her to sleep since i have to get up at 430 now!
It keeps popping out while i sleep, while i get ready in the mornings, while i drive to daycare, and i keep popping it back in!
Little did i know by encouraging the passy and these night time feedings i wasn't helping anyone out. Kinsley is learning to rely on either me or the passy to go to sleep. This will not help out either one of us long term. ESPECIALLY NOW, now that i've reached my breaking point! I haven't had a full night of sleep (meaning sleeping for more then a 2-3 hour stretch at a time) in at least a week or so... and add on top of that having to get up at 430, working, etc... it's all too much. I'm SO tired.
So back to the book i went to learn about my pitfalls. Oh did i fall!
So now we have to jump back on the horse, climb the ladder, and try again. It's going to be harder this time and take longer but in the end it WILL be better.
I have to fix 3 things
1. No more passy to help sleep... if SHE wants it and puts it in fine... I will NOT be putting it in anymore.
2. Help her to get more sleep since she gets so stimulated at school, so she must go to bed earlier, despite the fact that Chris and i work and want to spend time with her... we just can't for her sake.
3. Help her to get on a solid 3 hour schedule and then soon after a 4 hour schedule (since she's still often on a 2-2 1/2 hour schedule).
So that's what i'm working with.
here's the schedule that she suggest you do in the book for 3 hours
E: 7am
A: 7:30
S: 8:30 (1 1/2 hours)
E: 10
A: 10:30
S: 11:30 (1 1/2 hours)
E: 1
A: 1:30
S: 2:30 (1 1/2 hours)
E: 4
A: 4:30
S: Catnap (30-45mins)
E&A: 7 Feed and bath
S: 7:30
E: Dream feed at 11.
Now i have to get Kinsley up at 5:30 for us to be ready to go to daycare and me to work so that means i have to start the process an hour and a half earlier and putting her to bed that much earlier. So basically i will pick her up from daycare. Bring her home... feed her, bathe her and put her to bed... Chris will only get to see her IF he's home then... which he never is b/c his job sucks like that.
Now this is a guideline... you don't HAVE to sick to these exact times but you need to be close... and then she gives you tips on how to move this and that 15mins here and there to get them on a 4 hour schedule in around 2 weeks.
Great so we're going to follow something along these lines... but we have to get her to sleep... that's the big problem right?!?! k, this is where she introduces the Pick up/Put Down method.
Kinsley is crying, i go in and pat her and shhhh shhhh shhh her. She's now Whaling like a banshee so i pick her up and sooth her. She stops crying so i immediately put her down into the crib (even if she starts to cry on the way down) and repeat until she goes to sleep... oh here's the BEST part, even if you think she's asleep, WAIT, yes wait about 15-20 more minutes patting and soothing so that you can make sure she's in her deep sleep. Here's the best part... if they go to sleep within 20-30mins of this we might get 3 hours of sleep before we rinse and repeat... if it takes longer... we'll only get our 2 hours of sleep. Oh Joy!
So i'm going to try my darnest to try this tonight and from now on... i'll let you know how it goes... my post may not be great wonderful long post but i will post.
Here's to taking a nap on our date night to get ready for my all night date with my daughter!
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