I'm loving my time at home with Emma. She tends wake up about every 2 hours at night, sometimes I get a 3 hour stretch, if I'm lucky. Andrew must have some kind of magical daddy gene that lets him sleep through her screaming. It used to be I was the heavy sleeper and he was the light sleeper. Last night she decided she really wanted to be awake at 2am, and she didn't want to be put down. She ended up on my stomach with one stubborn eye open and looking around while I dozed off until she decided to sleep. Overall, she is a pretty laid back baby. She's a really good eater, and she hates pacifiers. She'll take it for only a second or two before she spits it out. I was hoping a pacifier might help her at night, but she didn't get the memo about using pacifiers.
Here is something I didn't know about Asian babies...they are born with marks on their bottoms that looks like a nasty bruise. I had one, and the doctor said it was on mixed babies, but Andrew's mom said he had it, as did his siblings, and it must be something that most Asian babies have for some reason, and it will fade and go away in a couple years. The "mongolian" mark I think it was referred to.
I think this is the last pregnant picture that I have---this was taken 2 weeks before Emma was born.
A little girl.
Emma's usual sleeping position.
Grandma's favorite new hobby.
She has eyes!
ADORABLE! Enjoy the snuggle time:) My kids slept on me a lot at night- not because I wanted them too, but it was the only way i could get some sleep!:)
ReplyDeleteAw, she is just so cute! She has the longest arms and legs! Emma's like my kids, neither of mine ever took a pacifier-you'll like that later when you don't have to break them of the habit! Artie did the same thing at night and I would honestly tap him until he would eventually get up! Sometimes I was just too tired. Hopefully you all start getting some good sleep soon! I don't know if you've read Becoming Baby Wise, but we used that method with both of our kids and they were both sleeping through the night at 8 wks (it even worked on Spencer when we only had two weeks with him at home before he was 2 mo. after he got out of the hospital!). We were lucky, it doesn't always work, but may be worth a shot if you haven't tried it already:) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteShe is adorable! I'm glad that you are enjoying your time at home--I sure did. Luca hated pacifiers too and would projectile spit them out. I didn't realize babies could do that. Domenico also has the daddy gene. I used to sleep through my alarm clock blaring right next to my head. When Luca was getting up every 2-3 hours, Domenico was fast asleep. I also love how he would wake up in the morning and ask if Luca slept through the night. My response was typically laced with profanities. I haven't read Babywise (but I hear that it has good tips), but here is what we started to do to get Luca on a schedule. We would never let him sleep through a feeding during the day. I made sure that he ate at least every 2-3 hours. Also, after his last feeding before "bed time," we would give him an extra ounce or so in a bottle. We actually do that still. It was either pumped milk or formula depending on what I had (I got over the whole "don't give him any formula" thing. As Domenico said, as long as he is also getting breastmilk, it is fine). During the day we would play with him and make sure everything was "bright." A little bit before bedtime, we would turn down all of the lights and sounds to get him ready for nighttime. I also would only do certain things at nighttime, like put Luca in his sleep sack or turn on his sound machine or humidifier. It takes a bit of time, but Luca has been sleeping through the night for a while now, and I feel like a new woman :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, our doctor recommended that dad give a bottle at night. This helps mom get a little bit of sleep, allows baby to bond with dad, and gets baby used to bottles. One of my friends waited too long to try bottles and she had a heck of a time trying to get her daughter to take one. We would put Luca to "bed" after his 9pm feeding , and Domenico would take the next feeding after that, which was normally around midnight. Luca dropped that feeding first, so I would get close to a solid 5-6 hours of sleep from 9pm/10pm-3am. It was glorious.
Good luck with everything! I know you can't see it now, but the sleepless nights end faster than you think they will.
No pacifiers for either of my kids either, and that isn't from a lack of trying! :) Carol, Emma is BEAUTIFUL. I can just imagine how Andrew is already wrapped around her little finger....;)
ReplyDeleteI remember learning about mongolian spots in nursing class;)
Good luck with the sleeping thing! I stressed about it with E, but with Jakes, I knew that he'd sleep eventually, so I just recently tried getting him to sleep through the night...and it's starting to work;) They are only little once, so enjoy the snuggle time, even if it's at 2am!
I miss you and can't wait to meet Emma one day!
I think all guys have that daddy gene ; > I can't tell you how many nights I only got 3 total hours of sleep and they may not have been in a row either. Somehow it seems that moms just keep going ; > It does get easier, eventually. The book that Steph suggested is interesting, but it all didn't work for us - Colten was colicky though. I hope you have more luck; Colten didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 10 months old.
ReplyDeleteIn more important news, Emma is so beautiful! I can't wait to see more pictures!!
Hi Carol! Just wanted to say hi and happy first mothers' day! Hope you had a wonderful day:) Miss you!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day Carol!
ReplyDelete~Janelle