The last 8 weeks are foggy, but all I can remember is sunshine. The prettiest sunshine I have ever seen in my life. This sunshine warms my heart and soul like no other. Even on the cloudiest, most gloomy of days, this sunshine will brighten my day. My sunshine is Thomas E. Hatfield, V. Oh, what joy this precious child has brought to me. The days are long and the nights are longer, but some how God provides me the strength and just enough energy to enjoy the love of this sunshine. The last 8 weeks have gone by so fast! Faster than I could ever have imagined and it breaks my heart. Our little guy is already so big and changing every day. I try to savor every moment and burn the image of his chunky cheeks, double chin, long fingers, & chubby toes into my memory.
Now, I would change something if I could...getting him on a schedule that includes sleeping through the night. Thomas is a great sleeper and even takes good naps. Problem is that he has night ans day totally backwards. He would sleep ALL day if I let him and is bright eyed about 10pm/11pm. Uhhhh, problem....mom is headed back to work in a few weeks, so we need to work on a schedule and good sleep at night. ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME!!! Plus, Tommy and I need some husband-wife time. I am missing my husband. It is tough to spend quality time w/ my #1 guy when I am exhausted..I mean REALLY EXHAUSTED!
Please keep us in your prayers.
- Our townhouse in under contract to close on March 2 (yes, in just a few weeks) and we are still unsure of where we are going. I am not interested in movin twice (rental until we find the right home at the right time), but I want to follow God's will and go where ever he leads us. So we are praying for direction, peace, and clarity.
- Praying to be a Proverbs 31 Woman. I pray for God to mold me in to a woman who loves him even more than I do now, follows him and models him in my home, marriage, motherhood, work, family, and friendship. Please pray that I will become selfless and expereince all God has planned for me to be.
- Pray for our sweet son to sleep through the night, play during the days, remain healthy and happy. Please pray for his future and for him to fall in love with Christ.
- Pray for our marriage, it is a GREAT marriage! But, I know that we are tired and embarking on a new journey. Pray that we keep Christ in the center and never allow satan to take advantage of our tired bodies and spirits. Pray that we become stronger as a team as we raise this child and become a family of three.
AND DON'T FORGET TO GIVE ME ANY TIPS OR SCHEDULE SUGGESTIONS TO GET THOMAS ON A SCHEDULE THAT INCLUDES SLEEPING LONGER AT NIGHT.
Love & Laughter,
Rhonda
11 comments:
Oh I do have a suggestion!! The book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" really helped me! It gives quick, easy things to try...like don't talk to baby in the middle of the night, hard as it is! Talk to him, cuddle, play, during the day and teach him that the day is for him and mommy--but during the night, even if you continue to get up and feed him, or even change him, that is all he gets. It's hard to do but worth it! Also, if you don't already, use natural light during the day in his room, (or wherever he sleeps during the day,) and then he might start understanding that the light is associated with mommy and playing...so when he wakes up during the night, which he will do, he can learn to roll over and go back to sleep because it's dark. Those are a few of them but if you haven't read the book it's a great resource! It's separated into ages too, so you can start where he is and there are chapters called, "Plans for Exhausted Parents," that are summaries. Good luck!
This might sound simple but it worked on all 5 of our babies. We would schedule the last feeding around 8pm and gave them a bath after that. It worked like a charm. Instead of them waking us, we had to wake each of them for feedings and diaper changes.
Our oldest is 11 and the youngest is 15 month. Same routine on each child worked.
Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
Hi found your blog through Kelly's..but Mary has some very good suggestions that worked for me..with my first when I got desperate for some rest and with my youngest two from day 1 ( because I knew better ) Baby Wise is a wonderful book on putting your child on a day/night schedule...Keep him awake as much as you can after he eats during the day..at his age he should be able to stay awake after a feeding for a least an hour...play with him, undress him, bath him..whatever it takes..keep him awake..do not let him fall asleep on the breast or bottle. Put him down AWAKE during the day and let him fall asleep on his own..he needs to learn to do this..everyone wakes up during the night..the problem with a lot of babies is they do not know how to put themselves back to sleep because someone is always rocking them, feeding them to sleep..
If he does not wake up after 3 hours from the beginning of his first feeding time ( during the day ) WAKE HIM UP..feed him and keep him awake...follow the same pattern..Make his last feeding at night as late as possible 8 -10pm...make sure he gets a lot..play with him, bath him keep him awake..put him down awake!!! Let him put himself to sleep..keep the room dark, quiet...if he wakes up, don't play with him..it is the middle of the night...if he cries, don't pick him up..just rub his back, speak softly to him, so he knows you are there..he WILL get it..it works...good luck! He is really cute!!
I found your blog through Kelly's Korner. We had my son sleeping through the night at 6 weeks (10pm until 6am). I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. The author tells you what you need to do in order to get your child to sleep. It is great. Good luck!
Oh I wish I had some good advice! I know you are doing such a good job though!! Thomas is such a beautiful, sweet baby! I love every minute with you guys!!
Everytime I see those pics of you straight from the hospital, I can't believe how great you look!! Such a beautiful mommy!
I, like the commenter above mentioned used Baby Wise with both my kids and had them sleeping through the night at 7 weeks with the first and 9 weeks with the 2nd.
Both books recommended are great books. Your little man is beautiful.
Rhonda, first of all, what beautiful pictures! So precious!!! Since you are asking for advice, I'll let you know what worked for us but know that there is no cookie cutter answer. I personally read baby wise and then put it away and tweaked it to fit our needs. Some parts of it (in my opinion) were a little harsh but other parts were very good tips. First we did the Eat, awake time, then nap. (Repeat) He would Eat, stay awake for an hour or so, and then nap for an hour or so. He kind of put himself on this three hour schedule so it worked for us. This helped b/c you knew if he woke up it was normally because he was ready to eat (the next step in the cycle) rather than ready to play!!!
When you get to your new place, you might install a dimmer light in Thomas' room. That way when you do get up you don't have to flip a bright light on waking him up even more, but you will still be able to see what you are doing. Also, unless he was in dire need of it, I didn't change his diaper in the middle of the night because that seemed to really wake him up.
I hope that helps some...I think a really structured routine during the day will help him to sleep better at night. Oh, and just so you know...Eli did not sleep through the night until he was at least 4 months old, but he was only getting up once for about thirty minutes...which is much more doable than being up all night...so don't be hard on yourself that Thomas isn't sleeping through the night...I think some kids are just better sleepers than others.
Hugs and kisses to him from us, I can't wait to see him!
Beautiful son! I am the mother of a 3 month old who is a good sleeper. He is up to sleeping 10 to 11 hours straight at night. He goes down around 9pm.
A few tips...He will need naps during the day regardless. Most babies at this age need up to (3) 2 hour naps during the day. Now he gets fussy by 8:30pm and we start getting him ready for bed. Don't wait for signs he is sleepy. By then they get over tired and it makes it harder to put them down. Swaddling is a must. We use a "swaddle me." Easy to use with velcro. I make sure lights are turned down and the atmosphere is peaceful at his bedtime. I place him in clean diaper, onsie and swaddle him. At that point I Breast F him. If he is not sleepy I give him a pacifier and then place him in bed. He is usually half awake, but goes to sleep on his own. If he fusses I place my hand on his belly for comfort for a few minutes. It gets easier each night.
Last, but not least..I pray for him before leaving him for the night. The best advice my friend gave me is put the baby down awake so they get used to falling asleep on their own in the their crib. And it works. Also try not to let him nap too much or long the few hours before bedtime. Hope these suggestions help.
PS- No more then 2 hours of wakefulness at this age or babies get overly tired.
Lots of good advice, I remember being SOOO tired with Trey. I used babywise and the sleep whisperer and they both recommended the sleep, eat, and wake routine (I think that's it...see you eventually forget). Both sleep really well now, but I will say that not every kid will become a champion sleeper at 3 months. Trey started sleeping through the night at that point, but Grace took much longer. I will add you to my prayer list! We need to stop by and bring you a meal, we are FINALLY over whatever the current illness is that has been floating around. You have such a beautiful family.
I'm pretty sure I stumbled across your blog while reading Kelly's, but I wanted to second the Baby Wise suggestion. I did it, and my daughter was sleeping until about 5am at 8 weeks old. Whatever you decide to do, remember to figure out what works for YOU. Every baby is different. I didn't follow Baby Wise 100%, but I definitely used some of the guidelines and they really helped. Best of luck!
P.S. Your pics are beautiful!
He is SOOOOOOOOO precious!!!!
Will you e-mail me your address?? I have a thank you that's overdue to be sent to you!
mrskellystamps@yahoo.com
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