Tuesday Morning nap: I put Baby Girl in her bed a little before 10 am, mostly asleep. She immediately awoke and cried for 30 minutes. After that period, I went and got her, soothed her back to sleep, then put her on my bed. (I decided to follow Dr. Weisbluth, but only for 30 minutes during nap time instead of the hour he suggests.) She then slept for an hour, which is a good nap for her.
Tuesday Afternoon Nap: B.G. fell asleep on the way home from an outing in the stroller, around 2 pm. She slept for more than an hour after I transferred her to my bed.
Tuesday Night: I got home from Yoga (which was awesome, btw) and followed B.G.'s routine strictly. I also made sure she was showing definite signs of being tired (ie rubbing eyes, yawning) and then put her to bed. Awake. I know, I'm brave. She cried for 20 minutes. No, let me amend that: she SCREAMED for 20 minutes. In my mind as I listened to her scream, I imagined her being mad at me. "Throw me any tantrum," I thought. "I can handle a mad baby." What I can't handle a sad baby whose needs aren't being met, so I reminded myself that she had everything she needed, just not what she wanted. After all, Heavenly Father doesn't give us everything we want the minute we yell for it. If he did, we wouldn't be stretched and shaped into the glorious Beings He wants us to be. I put her to bed at 9:20 pm (I'm working on earlier, but like I said, I had Yoga, and DH gave her a bath, so props to him!) and she fell asleep for good at 10 pm. She woke up screaming after 1 AM and I brought her to bed. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I wasn't ready for hours of middle-of the night screaming.
So, the plan will be the same tonight. I might wait to let her scream in the middle of the night until Friday, when DH can be home for the weekend and we can tag-team naps. At any rate, I count last night as a success because she only nursed 2 times. I nursed her at 8:30 pm, then again at 1 am and again a couple hours later. She didn't nurse this morning until after 9, so weaning should be a cinch once I get her sleeping through the night. I gotta be honest, I'm excited to have my body back. It's been 3 1/2 years straight of pregnancy, nursing or both. Boy, can I use a break. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, but I'm excited to parent without sharing my body quite so fully!)
*The picture is from May. I couldn't find a more recent one of B.G. sleeping. lol.
1 comment:
That is a GREAT start!! Awesome, awesome job. We did the same thing... perfected naps, then bedtime, and we're still working on middle of the night. But only nursing twice--that's awesome!
The second day is always worse, so hang in there. You're doing great!
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