Emma finally rolled over a couple more times for Graham to see on Jan 25th. He was beginning to think I'd made up that milestone. She frequently rolls to her side now to grab toys and can spin herself and scoot up with her feet. She seems to really enjoy rubbing her feet together and is almost always missing at least one sock.
We began our own version of sleep training this week. I just couldn't take the 15 hour days anymore and determined it was time to get her to fall asleep and stay asleep at a set time in the evenings. At first I tried putting her down after Isla around 7:30 or 8 PM but she was beginning to melt down closer to 6:30 so I bumped it up. I'm trying to give her a bottle at 6:30 PM and have her in bed by 7. If I can get my act together, I might even try bottle at 6 and bed at 6:30 but it is proving rather challenging doing all that right at the dinner hour. I can now see why my mom used to feed us at 5:30 PM!
Anyway, she was going down fine at first but then would wake up again anywhere from 15 minute to 2 hours later. We started by letting her cry for 5 minutes and then we'd calm her and then 10 minutes etc but she only got more and more worked up. I re-read my Healthy Sleep Habits book and finally we decided just to let her cry. I know there are a multitude of opinions on this but I believe whole heartedly that she needs to learn to fall asleep and fall back to sleep on her own. So, with Graham's support, I bit the bullet and decided we wouldn't go in there if she started to cry (ok, if we're honest, maybe he decided that one). The first time we tried it, she cried for 1 hour. And then the 2nd night it's like she knew it was coming and so decided not to to go to bed at 7 and cried for a half hour. Then she woke again at her usual 9:30/10 PM mark and we repeated the process. Of course I spent a lot of time crying too. Last night, after 8 or so nights of this, she finally went down without crying and didn't wake up again until 3 AM. Success! I'm feeling better about bedtime but now we need to decide what to do about the middle of the night awakenings and then conquer her cat naps during the day.
Emma is extremely wiggly. She doesn't really sit on your lap anymore but rather tries to catapult herself out of your arms and onto the floor. We've had a couple close calls. She really loves is when I strip her down just to a diaper-all her limbs go crazy.
She is losing her hair by the bunches now, especially after I bathe her. You'd think we had a cat by the look of her sheet and swaddle. Makes me so sad. I know it will grow back, I just loved the way it was.
I think Emma is ready for solids. It's just that I'm not ready yet. She throws herself toward my dinner plate in the evenings and gets really frustrated while we're eating. I'll probably start in the next couple weeks but I'm dragging my feet as I've never been one to believe in starting before 6 months because it's just easier to wait. She obviously has a mind of her own though. Watch.
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