Being a new parent is one of the hardest things I've ever experienced! I am constantly second guessing myself and worrying about every. little. thing. Am I feeding him enough? Too much? Should he be sleeping more? Less? Am I holding him too much? Should I let him sleep in my arms or in the carseat? Only in his crib? Is his diaper too tight? What time should he go to bed? Should I let him nurse to sleep? Should he be on a schedule? Why is he spitting up so much? I heard a toot but he JUST fell asleep - do I wake him to change the diaper, or let him (and me!) sleep peacefully? :)
THE LIST GOES ON!!! Seriously, I bet I spend 95% of my day worrying and wondering if I'm doing this parenting thing right! This article is spot on. There are so many theories about how to parent, and it seems like they all contradict themselves, as this lady hilariously states!
Lately a lot of my questions have been in regard to sleeping and whether or not Benjamin should be on a schedule. I have read lots of books and websites, and think I might have finally figured him out - for now. :)
Before I talk about our 2 month routine (which I say very loosely), here are some of the places I got information on babies and sleep!
The last one, Lucie's list, is a great site for all kinds of baby info. She sends weekly emails based on the week of pregnancy you are in, or the age of your baby once he/she is born. Her last email was all about schedules and sleep. It was so nice to have her confirm that what I was doing was right!
Now onto Benjamin's current routine. Since he was born, I have abided by the 2 hours of wakefulness rule. This simply means that after your newborn has been awake 2 hours (or sometimes much less!), they are usually in need of a nap. This was totally true for our little guy. He is starting to be able to stay awake a little bit longer now that he is 9 weeks (around 3 hours tops). For example, let's say in the morning he wakes up around 7:00am. He has a diaper change, eats for about 40 minutes, and then we play for a bit. By the time 9:30am rolls around, he is yawning and staring off into space - his signs that he is getting very sleepy!
Speaking of signs that he is sleepy, it is really important to try to pay attention to those. I've learned the hard way that if he is yawning and looking tired, you need to start soothing him to sleep STAT. It doesn't matter if you have guests over, or if you need to run another errand. It is really important to respect their sleepy cues because otherwise you will have an overtired, cranky little one. And that is no fun!
Another thing I have learned is how to better soothe him to sleep. It took quite a while for me to figure this out! The books I listed above actually contradict themselves on one important thing: whether or not it is ok to nurse your baby to sleep. The Baby Whisperer says you are creating bad habits, while Healthy Sleep Habits says it is a totally natural thing. I have decided that for Benjamin and I, it is ok. I don't nurse him to sleep every time by any means. But if it is around the time he should be going to sleep, and he happens to fall asleep while eating, I don't wake him up! I have learned other ways to help him drift off to dreamland, too. Some include: car rides, rocking him with a paci, laying him down on his tummy in the crib while patting his back with a paci, and white noise.
So now a days, Benjamin's daily routine looks something like this:
7am - wake up
9 or 10am - morning nap
1 or 2pm - afternoon nap
5 or 6pm - nighttime nap
10pm - bedtime
His naps usually last anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours. I said routine loosely because this is by no means a set schedule! This is what I have noticed him doing on his own. He basically set his own "schedule". Now with that being said, there are many days where he will skip one of these naps. Or he will want to stay up until 11pm! Or he will sleep a bit later in the morning. This is just a rough idea of what we have going on on a day to day basis.
I have to admit something. I used to think it was silly when parents said they couldn't eat dinner at a certain time or go someplace during the day because their baby had to eat or take a nap. But let me tell you, I totally understand now! Benjamin sleeps SO much better at home in his crib. And that makes for a happy, smiley, fun baby (and a happy, smiley, fun Mommy!). Sometimes I feel rude that I have to leave places or I can't make it to certain events because of this, but hopefully people understand. If they don't, I truly think someday they will - after they have kids, like I did! :)
Well, those are my words of wisdom for now...until Benjamin switches it up on me again. :)
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