The Little Miss

I've been told that I need to stop in and update y'all on how we're doing. You know who you are. ;-)

Well, we're doing pretty great! So great that, in fact, I feel like we're kind of boring these days.

Charlotte is doing pretty great and it's making me a very happy momma. I mentioned before she arrived that we were going to do the Babywise method for sleep training and such. For the first couple of weeks, I wasn't sure that I was doing anything right. In fact, I did a few Babywise no-nos like rocking her to sleep and using her Sleep Sheep as a sleep prop. But really, in those first couple weeks, you do what works. She was already sleeping in her room, in her own bed, so I figure we were ahead of the game already. Once my in-laws left I realized I couldn't hold her all the time or spend time rocking her to sleep for every nap. So back to Babywise we went! 

I've made pretty good use of the blog Chronicles of a Babywise Mom, and I found out about the 4 S's. Basically, it's what you do before you put your baby down for a nap or bedtime. You can click the link to find out about it, but it's been a lifesaver for us. Since Charlotte is still so young, she's adjusted easily to the pre-nap/bedtime routine change. For the most part, she's on a 2.5-3.5 hour eat/wake/sleep schedule. Which basically means she eats every 2.5 - 3.5 hours, is awake for about 45 minutes and then goes down for a nap. Some days she sleeps 1.5 hours, other days it's 60 mins and every once in a while she wakes up after 45 mins. It's a toss up every day, but on a good day she sleeps for 1.5 hours at every nap. 

Just recently she's started sleeping through the night! [Insert Allelujah chorus here] So far she only does it every other night or so, but I am totally okay with that! The first time she did it, I about had a heart attack. I woke up at about 0500, freaking out thinking she was dead {you know you did it too =P} and in serious pain because my boobs were full from missing a feeding. Of course I woke Joe up too {remember, he's on a weird schedule now} and we both rushed to her room to find her sound asleep. I went ahead and woke her up to feed her because I had a feeling that if I pumped, she'd just wake up in an hour. So, the first night she went from 2130 to 0500 without a feeding. The next few times she's slept through the night she's gone until about 0600. Just a couple days ago, she went until 0700. That, my friends, was fan-freakin-tastic! ;-) 

According to the Babywise book, most infants who start out on the Babywise method are sleeping through the night by 8 weeks. Unless something changes, I feel pretty confident that she'll be sleeping through the night pretty regularly by then. And if not, as long as she gives me good sleep every other night I think we'll get through it. =)

I think it goes without saying that we're doing great on the Babywise method. I really, really don't understand the problems people have with it. My baby is perfectly healthy, growing and happy. 

Though I can't always catch it on camera, she's all smiles these days and is beginning to "talk" to us every once in a while. I love, love, love it!