Well, the last week has been a lot more... relaxing. Yes, relaxing is the right word. It took a few days to get Emily back on her schedule but she was ready to do it.
Last weekend, Eric celebrated my first official Mother's Day. We stayed home from church so he could pamper me a little before he had to sleep for another 12+ hour overnight shift that night. He made me some delicious eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Also, while I was getting ready for the day upstairs, he brought me a bouquet of yellow tulips. When I came downstairs, there were pink lilies waiting for me as well. Emily even went down for her nap on time without any interruptions and when Eric went to sleep, I relaxed on the couch and watched a whole movie. Overall, great day.
Even though the days that lead up to it were nice, I was actually very nervous about this week because I decided it was time to try to get Emily to go to sleep on her own.
There was a lot going through my head at this point. I worried (after reading an article in American Baby) that I had waited too long to begin since the article said you should begin as soon as 8 weeks. The same article said that I shouldn't be giving her a bottle or nursing her to go to sleep (but my issue was more that she has a tendency to fall asleep during her second bottle after naps). All of this was put to rest after I read in What to Expect The First Year: "Teaching your baby to fall asleep without assistance from breast (or bottle) can more practically wait until baby is older - between six and nine months - and nursing less often." I also was worried because I didn't know how she would react. My mom told me that she waited too long to start this with me (nine months) and I cried and cried, taking an hour to go to sleep the first night. In the times I've put her in her crib alone before, she just plays.
But in spite of all of these concerns, I decided to go with my instincts - Emily seems to know when 9:30pm hits and it's a rare occasion for her to stay up later. She is becoming very confident and content. She's been back on schedule for a few days so I decided - This Tuesday was day 1.
So, I fed her 15 minutes earlier than I normally do (to avoid letting her fall asleep) and she was drowsy by the end. I brought her up to her room and put her in her crib while drowsy (whoops). She played for a few minutes but no tears. She was asleep in ten minutes. The next night, she hadn't napped very well and she fell asleep on the bottle. The third night, I put her in her crib wide awake - no tears, asleep in ten minutes. Last night (the fourth night), I did the same as the night before - asleep 3 minutes later. :)
I hope that God keeps blessing me like this. Because I don't think I could let her cry.
Last weekend, Eric celebrated my first official Mother's Day. We stayed home from church so he could pamper me a little before he had to sleep for another 12+ hour overnight shift that night. He made me some delicious eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Also, while I was getting ready for the day upstairs, he brought me a bouquet of yellow tulips. When I came downstairs, there were pink lilies waiting for me as well. Emily even went down for her nap on time without any interruptions and when Eric went to sleep, I relaxed on the couch and watched a whole movie. Overall, great day.
Even though the days that lead up to it were nice, I was actually very nervous about this week because I decided it was time to try to get Emily to go to sleep on her own.
There was a lot going through my head at this point. I worried (after reading an article in American Baby) that I had waited too long to begin since the article said you should begin as soon as 8 weeks. The same article said that I shouldn't be giving her a bottle or nursing her to go to sleep (but my issue was more that she has a tendency to fall asleep during her second bottle after naps). All of this was put to rest after I read in What to Expect The First Year: "Teaching your baby to fall asleep without assistance from breast (or bottle) can more practically wait until baby is older - between six and nine months - and nursing less often." I also was worried because I didn't know how she would react. My mom told me that she waited too long to start this with me (nine months) and I cried and cried, taking an hour to go to sleep the first night. In the times I've put her in her crib alone before, she just plays.
But in spite of all of these concerns, I decided to go with my instincts - Emily seems to know when 9:30pm hits and it's a rare occasion for her to stay up later. She is becoming very confident and content. She's been back on schedule for a few days so I decided - This Tuesday was day 1.
So, I fed her 15 minutes earlier than I normally do (to avoid letting her fall asleep) and she was drowsy by the end. I brought her up to her room and put her in her crib while drowsy (whoops). She played for a few minutes but no tears. She was asleep in ten minutes. The next night, she hadn't napped very well and she fell asleep on the bottle. The third night, I put her in her crib wide awake - no tears, asleep in ten minutes. Last night (the fourth night), I did the same as the night before - asleep 3 minutes later. :)
I hope that God keeps blessing me like this. Because I don't think I could let her cry.
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