This past month was all about sleeping, and then not sleeping, and then sleeping. We were given the green light from our pediatrician to let Miles cry it out to help him develop his sleep schedule, so that’s what we did. This time, I subscribed to the book recommended by the doctor (not the one I’m married to), Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. In this book, the doctor says that I need to let him cry for an hour for naptimes and indefinitely at night to help Miles establish good sleep habits.
The first couple of days were really hard and pretty much meant that I went in there at the end of an hour to soothe him to sleep after an hour of screaming. At first I would go about doing something really involved during the crying session (i.e. working out, showering, or cleaning). But after a couple of days, he would be asleep after only a few minutes of crying and sometimes without any crying at all.
But we never had the courage to let him cry at night. We’ll get there.
In the pat month he has also really discovered his voice. So much so that I noticed that we are keeping the TV volume much higher now because we can’t hear it over Miles. Isn’t that pathetic? It’s not like we are trying to drown him out; we just want to hear the dialogue from the TV. At first he was just cooing, but now he is screeching. And yes, once he did squeal when Oprah came on.
At the 4 month appointment, my doctor said it was probably time to start solids because he had dropped a little in his weight percentile. I wasn’t planning on starting solids until 6 months, but she made me really worried that he was hungry because he had started sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night and was only eating every three or four hours during the day. So when my mom was here, we decided to start rice cereal.
It didn’t go well the first time. But then my mom remembered her trick: the pacifier. Spoonful of cereal, suck on pacifier. It worked pretty well for two more nights, but then I decided to stop because it didn’t seem to be sitting well with I'm at night. He was waking up four or more times at night. As soon as I stopped, he slept again. Maybe I’ll start giving it to him during the day instead.
But the biggest development happened just yesterday when he smiled at the dog. That’s a big deal around here.
Also, after reading this post, Chris and I have decided that we have become “those people” because all we do it talk about the baby. But he is pretty dang cute; how can we not?
4 comments:
He is pretty dang cute! He looks so much like his mama!!
i couldn't handle the crying it out. we did it one night for an hour and it SUUUUUUCKED. that book is by FAR the greatest thing we ever bought. but i couldn't do it, and didn't until his suggested 9 mths. :) i think when he says they can sleep through the night without needing to eat. but by then he was nearly doin' it. anyway. you are better than me. :)
Of course you are "those people"! Everyone is! Miles is only 5 months old, he is pretty much the main attraction in your life right now. It's expected that he is all you talk about. :)
I really really liked Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I read many sleep books and this one worked the best for us.
it's you're right to always talk about your baby! nothing wrong with "those people"-- you're just in love with your son! and these pictures are adorable. Sleeping and eating is such a game, huh? good luck figuring it all out. sounds like you're doing just great though! I got together with Jill and Katie, by the way. you keep in touch with them? fun times!
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