So now that Maddox is almost 2 1/2 months old, I would really like to try to get him on more of a schedule so that when I go back to work in August, things will be pretty predictable for my mom (who will be keeping him for us). He has always been on a predictable eating schedule... he now eats every 4 hours, and is drinking 6 ounces during his daytime feedings, 5 ounces at his early morning feeding, and 4 ounces at his bedtime feeding. He has been sleeping through the night for almost 2 weeks now which has been wonderful! But as far as daytime naps go, he is not very predictable. He has been known to nap for 2 hours at a time, and sometimes only 20 minutes. It makes it very hard to get anything done b/c I never know how long he will be sleeping for. He falls asleep very well if I am holding him, but I realize that I can't rely on this forever. He also naps in his swing, but my new goal is to put him down for a nap while awake in his crib. I have been wanting this for a while now but have not tried it very much for a couple of reasons. First of all, I am a very on-the-go type person. I have to get out of the house at least once a day or I can't stand it. So a lot of times I create errands for us to run just so we can get out. He sleeps great in his car seat but as soon as we get home, he wakes up. So, things just have not been very predictable for him in the napping category. He has been more of a cat-napper so far.
This morning I decided to give it a try for the first time. At around 10:00 he had fallen asleep on me and I wanted to transfer him to his crib. When I put him down he woke up immediately but did not start crying. I left the room but stuck my head in about every 5 minutes to check on him. He was laying there just cooing and looking all around... but not looking sleepy anymore. After about 20 minutes of this he had had enough. He started crying. So I went in after a few minutes and swaddled him and put him back in his crib. I had to go back in every few minutes to calm him and put his paci back in, but he finally fell asleep on his own after 45 minutes from the time I put him in to begin with. I guess that's decent for the first time. And at least now I know it is possible after all!
Hopefully I can get him doing this at least for the morning nap, and maybe I can do all of my errands in the afternoons. Who knows. This whole motherhood thing is all trial and error anyway, right?
Tomorrow may be a different story, but for today I am very happy to have a beautiful baby that fell asleep on his own. Maybe we are on our way to a more predictable routine after all...
This morning I decided to give it a try for the first time. At around 10:00 he had fallen asleep on me and I wanted to transfer him to his crib. When I put him down he woke up immediately but did not start crying. I left the room but stuck my head in about every 5 minutes to check on him. He was laying there just cooing and looking all around... but not looking sleepy anymore. After about 20 minutes of this he had had enough. He started crying. So I went in after a few minutes and swaddled him and put him back in his crib. I had to go back in every few minutes to calm him and put his paci back in, but he finally fell asleep on his own after 45 minutes from the time I put him in to begin with. I guess that's decent for the first time. And at least now I know it is possible after all!
Hopefully I can get him doing this at least for the morning nap, and maybe I can do all of my errands in the afternoons. Who knows. This whole motherhood thing is all trial and error anyway, right?
Tomorrow may be a different story, but for today I am very happy to have a beautiful baby that fell asleep on his own. Maybe we are on our way to a more predictable routine after all...
*Please excuse the spit-up stained sheet... changing sheets is on my list of things to do today! :)
You couldn't have said it any better... Motherhood IS all about trial and error!
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ReplyDeleteOkay please IGNORE my last comment. I didn't force the schedule until he was FOUR months. That's when they should be moving to the 4 hour schedule and napping more consistently. When Trevor was Maddox's age he was just like Maddox. He was sleeping through the night and still on the 3 hour schedule during the day. So his naps were never regular. For some reason it is all a blurr. :) Hang in there!
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