The newborn honeymoon (of sleep) has worn off. When we brought her home, H slept quite a bit. She would easily fall asleep while nursing or in our arms and sleep pretty much any where we put her. That was then. :) I have been trying to establish some sort of bedtime routine...and at least, trying to put her down around 8pm. Occasionally, miraculously, it will work. Oftentimes, 8pm becomes 9pm and then 10, 11 and wah-lah, she is asleep by midnight.
In addition to the many parenting books I have received, I now have two solely dedicated to the topic of sleep. Right now I am reading the "No Cry Sleep Solution." It is pretty good...but I haven't gotten to the solution part yet. I am too tired (j/k)! :) One of the things that I read was that oftentimes a good nap means an easier bedtime routine.
So yesterday, H had an awesome nap so I was all geared up for an easy night. I decided it would be a good night to try to get her to sleep in her crib. 8pm we were upstairs, nursing, rocking and she fell asleep. "Yes!" 8:15 I handed her off to Paul to put her in the crib. 8:17 - crying. Settle her down, 8:20 crying. After several such attempts, she was out of the crib. An hour and a half later, she was peacefully asleep again. Crib attempt Take 2. After a few minutes, crying again. So I tried the "lay hands on the baby to let her know you are there" attempt. After 30 minutes and numb fingers, I slllloooowwwllly moved my hands and crept out of the room. By the time I was in the hallway, she was awake! (was she ever really asleep??) However, she was groggy. "Great" I thought "I just need something to make the crib seem more familiar to her." I thought about leaving my shirt, but I kinda needed that. I decided her favorite mobile would be just the thing to make her feel comfortable. So I moved the mobile up to her crib. Her mobile plays classical music...."just the thing to settle her and put her into a deep sleep." Five minutes later I went to check on her....
She was waving her arms and kicking her legs in utter delight! Smiling, cooing...talking to her mobile, lol. She loves
this thing too much! "So much for that idea!"
And now, tonight after pathetic napping, she was asleep by 7pm. She fell asleep in our bed and I am too afraid to move her yet! We will keep you posted.
Thanks to Aunt Kathy who turned our H into a ladybug for Halloween. We will not be going trick or treat this year...but H is dressed up and looking cute tonight. We also carved pumpkins (papa, momma and baby pumpkin) and made carmel apples (yum). We will post more pictures later.
We took H to the Pumpkin patch the other day and had so much fun picking out pumpkins! Daddy is responsible for propping her up like this and giving her red knees! And as you can see we are getting smiles now! At the bottom is the first one captured on film courtesy of grandma!
It is hard to believe that already a month has passed since we met our daughter for the first time. She is awesome! It is a gift that I am able to stay home with her. It is amazing how fast each day flies.