Gatlin & Houston Say

Anytime they want to be covered up in their bed:
I want mommy blanket cover you

Anytime they want me to carry them

I want mommy carry you 

Harper Says

(While Putting Harper to Bed)

H: Mom, Hug? 

(holding me tight)

Me: Ok, Harper, it's time to go to bed. I will come check on you in a few minutes.

H: No mom, you can stay with me forever. Because I love you.

(heart melting)

Cry It Out - Gatlin and Houston

When Harper was 4 months old, we did the "cry it out" method for night time.  She was getting harder to rock and it was taking forever to get her to sleep.  We read that at 16 weeks, they can self-soothe.  Since the boys were born 6 weeks early, we decided to wait a little longer.  Last weekend when I was rocking them, it would take about 15 minutes per kid.  When I would rock the first one, the second one would be fussing/crying waiting to be rocked.  By the time I got both boys down, the first one would be awake.  We realized it's time to "cry it out".  I started by doing it at nap time.  The first nap, Houston cried about 4 minutes but used his pacifier to fall asleep.  Gatlin, doesn't use his pacifier like Houston, so he cried about 10 minutes.  When doing the "cry it out" method, they say they can cry for up to 45 minutes...so 10 was pretty good!  Now, after about a week of cry it out, they usually cry for no more than 3 minutes.  They are sleeping better in the night and at nap.  YAY! 

(Gatlin)

(Houston)

We still use the boppy around their legs for comfort.  We will break the swaddle one day.

Pillow Talk

Last week, at 3 am, I put a pillow in Harper's crib.  She had been sick off and on for about a week...which usually means she is up off and on in the night.  This particular night, I was so tired and all she wanted to do was be in our room.  She wasn't sleeping, so I wasn't sleeping.  Eventually, I  decided to try something else...I grabbed a pillow and put it in her crib.  In about 2 minutes, she was sound asleep.  

The next night before bed, we talked to Harper about her pillow and she was so excited.  Prior to her waking up last week, Josh and I had discussed a pillow.  It's not that big of a deal, just a little sleeping tool that might keep her at one end of the bed...to eventually move her to a big girl bed.  We aren't there yet...but figured this could help get us started.  Sure enough, it was a hit! 

Look at this Happy Girl on her pillow!

Every night since then, she was been so excited to get into bed!

This baby grows more and more everyday. Just one more reminder that my little baby is growing up and a beautiful little girl is appearing. 

Evolution Of My Sleeping 5 Month Old

This month she started out like this...

Then, one afternoon, she feel asleep in her crib like this...

This morning, I saw this...

And after closer inspection, she was cuddled up to the side of her crib, like this...

Looks like we have a stomach sleeper!

Sleeping All Night

Josh and I felt we were pretty lucky when Harper started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I think having a larger baby, using pampers baby dry, and being swaddled all helped. 

Then, around 4 months old, she started waking up almost every 2 hours. What is going on?!?! She slept better than that when she was a newborn.  I read a few books that said babies that babies that sleep through the night at an early age will stop around 4 months b/c they are very aware of their surroundings.  They are also aware that they fell asleep somewhere other than where she woke up, i.e., my arms and not the crib! 

Since we were in the middle of breaking her swaddle habits, we thought that was the problem.  Well, once she seemed used to not being swaddled, she still woke some. It was easy to blame it on her arms being out...but I felt it was something more. So after consulting the baby books again, Josh and I decided we were going to let her "cry it out" at bed time and let her learn to self sooth. 

We decided to start off slow and for the first two nights...she cried for about 20 minutes off and on.  Once it got intense, we would get her and rock her to sleep.  Again, we werent ready to try the full "cry it out" b/c we wanted her to get used to not being swaddled.  Then, on the third night, she just kind of fussed a little and talked herself to sleep.  We couldn't believe it!! We are now on day 5 of this and it is working really well.  Harper now only talks to herself and fusses for about 6-8 minutes and is then sound asleep!  We are all happy to be getting a good night sleep again!!

(first thing in the morning)

I video taped our monitor of Harper fussing/talking ... just to give you an idea of what it is like.
she is backwards in the crib for naps...I dont know why i do that.

I know I have been posting about sleep a lot lately...but I want to keep record of all of this for furture children!

Swaddle No More

epYou may remember my swaddle post a few weeks back.  Josh and I have been trying to figure out the best way to transition Harper from swaddle to no swaddle.  We read a bunch of ideas/tips and decided to try the slow wean method.  Like how the name I made up?

Week 1: both arms in the sleep sack with a loose swaddle around her

Week 2: one arm out and one swaddled

Week 3: both arms out

We are officially 3 nights into week 3 and so far so good.  I read somewhere that around 4 months, babies that slept through the night early on might start waking up.

Well, folks, that is happening here.  Part of it is the transition, I am sure!

Last night, she slept all night with both arms out.

Here are a few pictures I took of the monitor to capture the progress.

The One Arm Out Method

Both Arms Out

Sucking on her fingers

Sleeping Angel

Side Turned Sleeping Angel

Up Next: Getting her to sleep on her own!

Wish us luck!

To Swaddle or Not To Swaddle

Since Harper was born, she has loved being swaddled!

She slept so much better when she was all snug and cozy.

We have used the swaddle me, miracle blanket, and now the halo sleep sack.

These were all great for different stages of sleep/size.

I honestly think those (and Pampers baby dry) have been the reason she started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. 

Last week, we noticed she seemed to be getting restless at night. Plus, she has been rolling over some (I need to get on video to post), and I have been worried that keeping her swaddled for much longer could be dangerous.  So, Josh and I looked up ways to "wean" off swaddling.  I, of course, didn't want to mess with our system...fearing she would wake every hour!

 So, we decided to try putting her arms in the sack and loosely swaddle. This gives her room to move her arms around...but not so much that she jerks awake.  The first few nights it went really well, and she seemed to sleep much better.

Until this morning...

Our little Houdini found a way to get both her arms through the arm holes! ha!

I have no idea at what point in the night this occurred...but she seemed fine with it.

She did wake up an hour earlier than usual...so I might finish out the week "inside the sack".

Then, it suggests moving one arm out at at time, but keep a tight wrap around their stomach/chest for comfort.

We shall see what ends up working.

For now, I think she is finally comfortable being "free".  Let's hope she doesn't jerk awake all night!