Sleep Isn't a Big Deal

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When I had my first baby, sleep was a huge deal. My life revolved around sleep.

Try to get sleep, try to get baby to sleep, try to keep baby asleep, try to fall asleep, try to sleep for long stretches, try to sneak in a nap. I was so tired that all I ever wanted to do was sleep. And I was so concerned that I wasn't getting enough sleep that I couldn't get it off my mind.

The interesting thing is that the more I worried about trying to get sleep and my lack of it, the less sleep I ended up getting--and the more anxious and depressed I got. It was one exhausting, horrible cycle.

With my second baby, I did things differently. I told myself it wasn't a big deal if I didn't get much sleep. It wasn't a big deal if it took me a while to fall asleep. It wasn't a big deal if I was up 10 times at night. It wasn't a big deal if my baby didn't go right to sleep after waking at night. It wasn't a big deal if I never got a nap during the day. And it wasn't a big deal if I was tired all day.

Daylight Savings - Time to Jump Ahead!

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I really, really don't like daylight savings. I think it is silly that we still have it, and I've seriously considered moving someone else, like Arizona, where they don't have this darn skipping back and forth each year. It was a little annoying when I was younger, but now that I've got kids, it's SUPER pesky!

Anyway, I haven't picked up and moved to Arizona yet, so I've got to deal with the "spring forward" (and, gulp, the "fall back" in 8ish months!) and most likely, you have to deal with it too so let's go ahead and have a chat about it. Maybe we'll both dislike it less afterwards :)

Is your baby a perfect sleeper?

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I am a bit of a perfectionist.

It's one of those things that, as Monk would say, is a blessing and a curse. I am dependable, organized, and don't just do an ok job, I do my best job. I like that I can be counted on with whatever needs to be done, whether it's in my own life, my family's life or for someone else.

But then there's the 'curse' part of this scenario. That happens when I move from doing my best job to a perfect job. That turns whatever I do into a never ending project--because it will never be perfect--or into a constant disappointment--because I just can't do perfect.

Daylight Savings - Time to Jump Back!

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It's that time of year again. You know, the time you loved pre-kids because you got to sleep in. And the time you couldn't stand post-kids because getting kids to sleep in later is, well, not a very kid-friendly activity.

OK. Take a deep breath. I didn't mean to scare you. It'll be ok. You won't be waking up pre-dawn forever, and if you're proactive and

When Sleep goes from Bad to Good... in 12 days

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Right after my youngest, Nora, turned 2 my husband and I went on a trip to England. I wasn't pregnant, I wasn't nursing and we weren't moving around jobs (or houses). It was time for a vacation to somewhere I've always wanted to go (my husband was cool with it too). After reading and watching all things British for several years, I was going to experience it!

My in-laws were coming out to visit and we asked if maybe, just maybe they could stay a bit longer and watch our kids while we went to England. We have amazing in-laws that agreed to stay with the kids to make our trip possible. Because saving up and getting work off for a trip is hard, but finding a babysitter is near impossible!

Caring for Stella

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I've thought about sharing my {short version} story of Stella for some time. Maybe it will help those going through a similar thing (a disabled child is a lot harder to take care of than I ever thought it would be...). Maybe it will help others have more understanding of what others go through. Maybe I just needed to write some of my experiences down.

A little over 4 years ago I had a 20 week ultrasound for my third child. I'm always excited but a little nervous for these ultrasounds.  You never know what you'll find. Good or bad. When I saw the tech remeasure and look at an area multiple times over I started to get nervous. I've seen a lot of ultrasounds done working as an RN, but I’m still pretty clueless about them. They don't make much more sense to me than the average person. I took a few deep breaths and told myself not to worry.

And then the tech said my midwife needed to meet with me.

I was pretty nervous waiting in the room for the midwife to come. No one wants to be told something is wrong with their child. It's on most parents' worst top three list. I was by myself. I wish I'd organized better to try to get my husband there.

To Dreamfeed or Not to Dreamfeed

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I've talked a lot about the dreamfeed over the years. It's a hot topic-- because who doesn't want to get an extra couple hours of sleep with a new baby early on? That's at the top of many people's to-do list with a newborn. It's certainly at the top of my list!

With all this chit chat about the dreamfeed, many people are surprised to find out that I didn't dreamfeed all my children. Honestly, I was surprised to find myself not dream feeding all my children. I sat around talking about how amazing it was all the time and then I decided I was going to ditch it with my second child. And my third and my fourth.

Parents Need Sleep, Too.

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I'm not sure what it is.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older. Or maybe it's that fourth child thrown into the mix of things.

Whatever the case, I've been noticing some things more about myself lately. I've noticed that exercising regularly keeps my spirits up and that if I don't have enough adventure in life I start to get restless.

And I've also noticed that I get pretty cranky when I don't get enough sleep.

This isn't exactly rocket science, you might be thinking. Everyone knows that when someone doesn't get enough sleep they get cranky. I mean, isn't that what I keep saying about babies all the time? Isn't this what your mom told you when you were a child?

Nora 2 months old

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Nora is 2 months old! This post goes over the last month of her life (from 1 month old up until she turns 2 months old).

OK. So she isn't actually 2 months old right now. But she used to be. I have this tendency to finish posts 98% of the way and then not post them. One day I will get to these mostly finished posts. With life as busy as it is, I'm proud of myself for getting this one up!

Eat/Wake/Sleep Routine
Nora pretty much always goes 3 hours between feeds in the day. Rarely she'll wake up sooner and I'll feed her. She wakes up right around the 3 hour mark some of the time, and the rest of the time I'll wake her (give or take a few minutes). She goes back and forth each week with waking more on her own for feeds during the day, and needing me to wake her for feeds.

Putting an End to Bedtime Battles

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Bedtime can be a very stressful time.

There's lots to do, everyone is tired, and did I mention that everyone is tired? Fatigue can put everyone at their worst. Add in a little baby fussiness, toddler tantrums, and of course whining and resisting, and you've got a scene right out of a horror film.

But it doesn't have to be like this. Really, it doesn't.

Nora 1 month old

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Eat/Wake/Sleep Routine
I didn't work much on teaching Nora to sleep on her own the first few weeks. This is the norm for me and my new babies. I am mainly just getting the e/w/s pattern down, enjoying snuggling with my baby, and trying to rest. I also can't emotionally handle any possible crying from baby at this point. I have found that helping babies take long naps is really beneficial, even if they are taking them in your arms (the same goes for night sleep). It helps get them into a pattern of spread out eating and sleeping.

Sleepiness
Nora was pretty sleepy the first 2-3 weeks. She fell asleep pretty easily in my arms, with or without a pacifier. If I set her down, she almost always stayed asleep for a couple hours. This was amazing! None of my children have done this. I know to very thankful for this, and the fact that she fell asleep easily. Jacob, my 6 year old, literally didn't have a single sleepy day in his life and he never ever fell asleep easily, no matter how may sleep props you used.

After about 2-3 weeks Nora started to have a harder time falling asleep in my arms. She usually had 1-2 sleepy periods a day where she'd fall asleep somewhat easily, and the rest of the time it started to take her up to 45 minutes. She'd be restful and start to fall asleep, but then keep waking up. I decided that it was time to work on having her sleep in her own room since she was obviously starting to get too stimulated by her surroundings to fall asleep in them. Books usually say that babies have to be older to not sleep well wherever, but that has never been the case for my children.

Baby Nora is Here!

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She's cute. I'm tired. Boys are carrying on like nothing much happened. Two year old Stella is carrying on like her world is over most of the time (and blowing kisses to the baby the rest of the time). Life is crazy but awesome at the same time!

Newborn Sample Schedules

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**see example schedules below

Newborns can be very sleepy eaters, so it can often be hard to get a full feed in the first few weeks before baby falls into a coma like sleep (tips on keeping sleepy newborns awake here).  If baby isn't able to get a full feed, then she'll likely feel hungry much sooner than if she had a full feed. Just do your best and feed baby when she is hungry. She will get less sleepy soon and full feeds will be easier to get. Read more about full feeds on this post.

A well rested baby will eat much better than a tired one. You'll struggle to get full feeds when baby is overtired because she'll be too sleepy or fussy. This means that while you may be trying to work on having baby learn to fall asleep on her own, you will also want to make sure this doesn't results in her being too overtired. This is a tricky balancing act, I know!

3-6 Month Sleep Guide

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By this time, you are probably starting to get pretty worn out if your baby is sleeping crummy. Holding you baby for naps all day, going through a 1 hour ritual just to get your baby to sleep for 15 minutes and waking up 10 million times at night to your baby's calls can get old, really old. 

It's not that you don't love your baby as much as ever, you simply want, no, need some sleep! Wanting your baby to sleep better so you can get a break and sleep yourself isn't a bad thing.  Sleep is a biological need for you and your baby, and getting a little break here and there is good for everyone. 

If you're baby isn't sleeping totally awesome at this point, you are not alone! Many babies are still trying to figure this sleep thing out. And as you probably noticed, good sleep often isn't as easy as it sounds! "Put your baby to sleep drowsy but still awake" HA!! There are also quite a few babies at this stage who were sleeping really well but have recently started having a hard time going to sleep or staying asleep. And you thought you had this sleep thing down!

Is Cry It Out Cruel?

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The other day I had a mom ask me, after attempting Cry it out (CIO) herself, if I thought CIO was cruel. If you've ever attempted CIO (or read about it or heard other mom's talk about it), you're likely to have this same question at one point or another.

No one likes to hear their child cry (unless maybe said child just randomly whacked their brother and got a return whack back) and no one enjoys ignoring their child while they are screaming. There's something about a baby's cry when they are out of your presence--the impact is ten fold. Even when my husband has the baby in the other room and she starts crying I immediately think--what have you done to her, you fool! Stop her suffering!! My emotions can get a little out of hand when crying and a child are involved, especially if I can't see the child.

Is there such thing as a magic sleep fix?

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A lot of the time when people ask me for sleep help, they are hoping for some sort of magical sleep fix.

What do I mean by magic? You know, something that doesn't require much time, effort, consistency or tears. Sounds dreamy, right?  Especially if you haven't slept long enough in the last few months to even get to the dream state.

Common Sleep Questions

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• Why does my baby fight/hate sleep?
• How long should baby stay awake?
• How do I know if baby needs more or less awake time?
• How can I help my baby fall asleep in a new place?
• How can I tell when my baby is tired?
• Why do other babies seem to sleep better than my baby?
• How can I help my new baby sleep more at night and less during the day?
• How do I stop my child's diaper from leaking?
• How can I keep my baby's pacifier in?
• What is a wonder week?

Why Does My Baby Fight Sleep?

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My boys fought sleep from almost the moment they were born. Jacob didn't even make it out of the hospital without displaying to the world is undying hatred of all things sleep. When my boys got sleepy, they got fussy or cried. There was none of this --I'm tired so I'll just snuggly into mom (or, gasp, by myself in my own bed) and shut my eyes and snooze. No way, Jose!

As a first time mom this was really difficult for me. I'd dreamed about holding my baby in my arms and having him peacefully fall asleep. I'd seen it happen with my friend's and family's babies (even while I was holding them), and more importantly, I'd seen it happen on TV. When this didn't happen, I assumed

Undercover Mama

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Shortly after Stella was born Undercover Mama asked me if I wanted to review one of their nursing tanks. Stella was my third child and I kind of had this nursing thing down but I figured, why not give it a try?

Up until this point I had usually worn a camisole under my shirts to keep myself covered while nursing. I would pull it down with my bra to nurse. Now does that sound kind of uncomfortable and awkward? Because it

What I Wish I'd Known with Baby #1

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The first few months after my first child, Joshua, was born were rough. OK, I'm under-exaggerating that. He cried endlessly, didn't sleep and I was a basket case. Maybe you've been there. It's not a pretty sight. 

The second time around went much smoother. I knew what to expect, I thought a lot about how I wanted to do things, and I learned piles of stuff through