i just can't believe aj is 4 months old!
i am happy to report that i am finally getting some good night sleep again!! i started sleep training about 2 weeks ago to prepare us for when i go back to work. i have discovered that we have to put aj to bed at 7ish and no later than 7:30. this early bedtime is tough because s doesn't even get home until 6:30 so he only gets half an hour with aj!! that's probably the same time that i'll get when i go back to work as well. so sad...but i've tried putting him to sleep at 8pm but he wakes up quite a bit in the middle of the night.
it was rough for several nights as i just had to let aj cry. he would wake up at 1ish, cry for a couple of minutes and then go back to sleep. it was the 3am wake up that was tough. he would cry for 20-30 minutes. 30 minutes was the most he would cry or that i could handle and then i'd go and soothe him or put the pacifier in his mouth. i know, i know...30 minutes isn't really that bad. we did this for 3 days and then we had 2 days of no night wakings!! 12 straight hours of sleeping for aj! i don't sleep as early as him so i got maybe 8 hours. then we had a couple of nights where he would cry in the middle of the night but he was able to soothe himself after crying for maybe 10 minutes. this week, we've had 2 straight nights of no night wakings!
he's also been really good about the time that he wakes up. it's usually between 6:30 and 7am. this is perfect because it's the right time when i go back to work! so i can get ready for work, feed him and then go off to work. =( i'm just praying that he continues this routine!!!
at his doctor's visit, aj was very cooperative. he was very chatty with dr. m and showed him all his neck and leg strength!
a couple of minor concerns:
1) aj has a pretty dry scalp so dr. m told us to put baby oil on a daily basis
2) his neck has some redness so dr. m said we should put aquaphor before it turns into a rash
3) his belly button is still a bit dirty so we have to clean it once a week with hydrogen peroxide
4) he has poor blood circulation. his hands and feet are always cold and blue-purplish. dr. m said it's fine and not to worry
his growth is still consistent with his last checkup. aj is still in the 50% percentile in both weight (14 lbs 8 oz) and head circumference (16.75 inches) and 75% percentile in height (25.75 inches).
dr. m mentioned that we might be in for some trying times when aj is almost 6 months old. that's when aj might go through some stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and start developing object permanence. having object permanence will cause him to wake up in the middle of the night again. he said the key is to let him cry and do not feed him! if i start feeding him, he'll want to eat in the middle of the night and not eat during the day!! yeah, i don't want that to happen...
on a sad note, i have to go back to work next wednesday. =( i can't believe i've been away from work for 5 months!!
just hanging out in his rocker / swing
stretching his legs
he's really starting to suck his thumb...
practicing sitting up on the couch
he loves putting everything in his mouth now
seriously, he just turned his body and fell asleep in the living room!
it's amazing how a couple of weeks can change so much! aj is such a responsive baby now and i'm really starting to see his personality!
he's really starting to grab at things. when i'm nursing, he grabs my necklace or shirt. when s feeds him, he grabs his fingers. when he wants more milk, he moves his hands to push the bottle back into his mouth! along with grabbing, he will put anything in his mouth. his favorites for now are his hands, taggies and of course, my clothes. he actually has not been a fan of the mirror / his reflection. only yesterday did i finally see him crack a smile at himself in the mirror.
now to my favorite topics:
sleeping - just starting this week, he is sleeping much earlier. his bedtime is usually 7pm or no later than 8p, depending on when his last nap is. it's a guarantee that he wakes up at 3ish. sometimes he can soothe himself back to sleep but so far i've only been able to handle 30 minutes of crying. after 30 minutes, i check on him and give him the pacifier. then he'll wake up between 5-6am for his feeding and then he'll usually wake up at 8:30-9am. occasionally, he'll wake himself up at midnight or 1am but he can usually soothe himself; i just don't understand why he can't do it at 3am!! he doesn't really nap for very long during the day so i don't really get much done in this downtime. he averages probably 45-60 minutes per nap with normally 2 naps.
feeding - for the last 2 weeks, it's been a pretty consistent feeding schedule. he'll have his first feeding at 5-6am and then it's 10am, 2pm, 5-6pm and finally his bottle before he goes to bed! there has actually been twice when he slept through his 5-6am and woke up at 8am! i don't really like that because then he'll only get 4 feedings a day which just doesn't feel like enough milk! ideally, i'd like him to wake up between 6-7am for his feeding when i go back to work but i won't be picky. the pain has pretty much gone away and it feels pretty "normal" to breastfeed i guess you can say. now, it's just about building a good milk supply.
what he likes (as pictured below):
1) morning greeting! the mornings are my favorite. when i go to get him in the morning, i say "good morning" and he has the biggest smile for me!! oh, i'm going to miss that when i go back to work =(
2) after a feeding - he loves a full stomach
3) mommy being a dork. he loves it when i sing the abc's or kiss his tummy and toes
"how ya doin?"
after a feeding...hence the drool
so after the initial adoration that my nephew has for aj, it now has turned into bullying! my nephew sees how we play and touch aj and he loves him so wants to do the same. however, he doesn't realize how gentle we are versus how "strong" he is. don't get me wrong, my nephew still showers his cousin with kisses whenever he sees him but he also slaps, scratches and pulls at aj. =( and my poor defenseless kid just takes it all (for now). heehee
yip...pulling his ear
my nephew thinks he's big enough to carry aj =)
or at least that's what i try to convince myself! aj is almost 3 months old and i'm trying to start some good sleeping / napping habits. for the first 2 months of his life, i took aj everywhere with me and he just slept a lot. at night, i only got up once for a feeding, usually at 4-5 am. so overall, i didn't really have much to worry about. i thought, wow, aj is such a great baby. =)
ummm...spoke too soon! 2 weeks ago, he started waking up at 2-3 am. he wasn't hungry but just needed to be soothed. this continued for days and i figured i better start reading those sleeping books!! so in the baby whisperer book, she recommends this "easy" schedule. well, it's not easy!! haahaa. she mentioned that you should stop swaddling after 6 weeks as the baby starts to discover his hands and can use them to self soothe. so i thought, easy enough! maybe he'll soothe himself at the 2-3 am waking. i don't know if he wasn't used to his free body but then he woke up every 2 hours instead!! he obviously didn't know how to self soothe so i had to get up and calm him down. sometimes it was quick and only took five minutes but other times it took almost an hour!
so then i bought another book, healthy sleep habits, healthy child and tried to utilize some of his tips. he emphasized the importance of napping and "window of wakefulness". so i decided to not go out for a couple of days and see if i can observe aj's napping tendencies without the distractions of going out and having the car seat or stroller alter his schedule. if he had great naps during the day, it would set him up for success at night. he also emphasized putting your child to bed earlier. he also dissed the baby whisperer at times; for example, dismissing the claim that sleeping has nothing to do with your stomach and "tanking" doesn't work.
well, i just have to say, i have no idea what parents write these testimonials about the effectiveness of these sleeping books because it is NOT a miracle worker for me and aj!! this whole putting your child down while he's still awake but drowsy and not overtired is not always that easy!! i do think it's good that i try to understand aj's sleeping patterns but then i end up stressing about his naps being too short or long or too few or many!
i think i'm just putting too much pressure on myself and certainly aj to try to get a structured routine now in preparation of going back to work in a month in a half or so. whatever...
just hanging out in his rocker / swing
stretching his legs
he's really starting to suck his thumb...
practicing sitting up on the couch
he loves putting everything in his mouth now
seriously, he just turned his body and fell asleep in the living room!
