Setting Schedules

I'm a crazy person.  I like lists, plans, and schedules.  Naturally, I want a newborn baby to be right on a schedule right away.  I'm delusional, I know.

My sister in law gave me this book that describes the BabyWise way of giving your baby the gift of sleep (there is also a blog). 

From Amazon.com

It's method is to use a combination of on-demand and clock directed feedings through the best judgement of the parent called parent directed feeding.  It maintains that if you set certain times within the day, usually between 2.5 and 3 hours, you are to feed the baby, have some wake time (however much time) and put the baby down for a nap.  You are to continue this throughout the day until early evening.  You are to feed, have a possible wake time, and put the baby down.  Then you have your late evening feeding and you have no wake time and put baby down for the night.  You then let them naturally wake as opposed to waking them during the day if you need to.  The book states you can begin this cycle after two weeks.  They encourage day to follow your schedule.  I do sometimes during the day.

It's a nice a idea but a baby that young really won't stick to that sort of plan.  I do some.  I don't have specific times during the day but I try to maintain a 2.5 to 3 hour feedings based on when he wakes up in the morning and then have wake time and maybe have a nap.  This kid doesn't always want to nap.  Sometimes it's 20 minutes here and there, sometimes it's two hours in the afternoon.  And to get him to nap in his crib is a struggle.  Thankfully, he sleeps just wonderfully at night in his crib.  He's going four hours straight consistently at five weeks old.  There is usually only one middle of the night feeding anywhere between midnight and 2am.  I just wish he would nap in his crib.  One afternoon, he wouldn't go down but I was going to be darned if he wouldn't.  It took about an hour and he finally fell asleep after me standing over him with my hand on his chest and eventually swaddling him.  He slept for a good ten minutes.  Then he cried.  Then he went back to sleep!!  Success!  Next time, he needs to put himself to sleep.

My sister in law also told us their secret of the swaddle and I thought for sure this kid wouldn't go for it because he likes to sleep with his hands by his face or over his head.  Yeah, it was magic.  He was out in about .45 seconds when swaddled.  So now he is swaddled every night.

It looks like a straight jacket.

I like schedules and can't wait until the bedtime routine is bath, book, bottle, bed.  The four B's.  Someday.  I realize now he's too young.  The book guarantees that while on this plan, the baby will be sleeping 6-8 hours by weeks 7-9 and 8-10 hours by weeks 10-12.  Awesome thought and I'm doing it do a point.  There really is so much you can do with a new baby.  He makes the rules.  I just try and put my own stamp on them too.  And we're getting there.  I'm just so scared I won't get a schedule set but I know we will eventually. 

On another note, this time related to food, my crock pot has never been used more.  It is awesome to have dinner ready at night and not have to cook when you have a fussy baby on your hands.  That time of night, most babies decide they want to be cranky.  If you have the crock pot, dinner's done!  It's been a life saver.  Otherwise, M and I would be hungry and/or broke if we had to keep getting take out.

We've had tomato sauced pork chops, beef stroganoff, beef and chipotle burritos, and Mediterranean pot roast.  There will be many more.  These cook books that I never really cracked opened are now seeing the light of day.