More Sleep!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. For good reason! We honestly tried NCSS for a good long time. While naps steadily improved, the nights never really changed and then one day the grace and patience was gone. David has been a huge help lately, taking over the "listening" times so I could catch just a few more winks. My mom & sister came over for a few days and I really got caught up by the end of their visit. I don't feel rested when I get up, but I'm so much more normal now! Here's what several nights looked like while they were here:
7:00 begin bedtime routine (bath, massage, jammies, nurse)
8:00 fell asleep nursing, placed in crib
9:00 woke up crying, was comforted then cried for an hour (don't worry, she was checked on often!)
10:00 fell asleep without nursing, without pacifier!
4:00 am woke up to nurse & fall asleep immediately
8:00 woke up for the day, happy & content!

Something changed when my mom left and the last few nights have been a little more interesting:
7:00 begin bedtime routine
8:00 placed in crib awake (she just stopped falling asleep while nursing)
9:00 fell asleep without pacifier or nursing
3:00 am woke up to nurse
6:00 woke up to nurse
8:00 woke up for the day (happy, content, quiet!)

I have to say that although the crying is difficult, it has been worth it. Her attitude in general is improving. My mom encouraged me to leave the kids with her several times (I nearly went into shock without them) and Nina tolerated her just fine.
To Do: get Nina used to other caregivers (especially relatives & favorite babysitters), wean Nina from Mama's hip, help Nina find things to soothe herself (pacifiers, lovies, thumb or fingers).

Day 8 Evaluation

Here is the log I kept from Nina's first night on NCSS:

Bedtime: 8:30 (had been 10pm)
Wakings: 8:40-9:00, 9:55-10:05, 1:35-1:50am, 5:05-5:25, 7:30 up for the day. Each waking (except 9:55) she nursed back to sleep.
Night Wakings: 4 Longest sleep span: 3.5 hrs Total sleep: 9 hours, 50 min.
*Comments: This was actually a very good night. Often she would also wake frequently (every few minutes) between 10 & 1:30.
**Problems addressed: 1) nursing to sleep, 2) frequent & short day naps, 3) late bedtime. Methods: 1) Changed day sleep cues - car, stroller, dancing; 2) began using Gentle Removal Plan for nursing to sleep, introduced lovie & binky at night; 3) tried bedtime as early as 6 pm rather than 3rd nap.

Log from 10/16 (Day 7)

Bedtime: 6:45
Wakings: 7:30-7:45, 8-8:10, 8:13-8:35, 8:45-9:15, 9:25-9:40, 1:15-1:30 am, 4:54-5:19, 5:22-5:28, 5:30-5:35, 7:45 up for the day. Most wakings she was comforted by a binky & rocking. Four times she nursed back to sleep (including 1 & 5 am which would be normal feedings anyway).
Night Wakings: 9 Longest sleep span: 3 hours, 35 min. Total hours of sleep: 10 hours, 37 min.
*Comments: This was one of the worse nights in the week. I had kept her up late on 10/15 so the 6:30 bedtime may have been quite a shock to her. Probably should have tried to ease her back into the early bedtime. Also, let her cry for about 5 minutes during the 8:45 waking. She didn't seem to be comforted by anything I did.
**Progress: She now takes 2 good naps, each usually 1 hour or more. Although Will wakes her up a lot. Removal Plan is working slowly. After 5-10 attempts to remove her, she will finally sleep but often w/ a binky.
***Problems: 1) may not be ready for such an early bedtime, 2) frequent night wakings(!), 3) day time sleep still not what she needs. Methods: 1) try for 3rd nap around 5 or 6 pm & an 8 or 9 pm bedtime, 2) introduced solids this week but she insists on blowing raspberries in it. Not much is going down.

Overall Evaluation: There seems to be an AMAZING grace on me & my patience to do this . I am definitely aware & questioning "what am I teaching her?" "What does she need to learn here?" There are a few issues that are unique to her that NCSS won't address, and so we will be modifying our approach. It's not just about her & my sleep. It's also about her attitude & patterns we are teaching her to expect. (So if anyone is reading this as results from strict adherence to NCSS, that's not quite what we're doing.) Bottom line is I am happy w/ her day times, if only her nights were so easy!

Saturday Night, Sunday Naps

Ok, I messed up her bed time because we went out w/ friends last night. I was hoping to start her bedtime routine while watching a movie w/ my friend but she would not do it. On the plus side: she fell asleep in the car on the way home from the restaurant. Asleep in the car & in the dark! Hasn't happened in months! So we got a late start on bedtime....

Night Waking Log
Fell asleep nursing at 11 pm
1:00-1:20, woke up crying, fell asleep nursing (probably would've gone back to sleep w/ a binky)
3:30-4:00, woke up crying, fell asleep nursing after attempting the binky
7:45 am, up for the day

Nap Log
11am - 12:00 pm, fell asleep on my lap w/ binky, slept in church crib (had to wake her up to nurse before leaving church)
2:30-3:40, fell asleep nursing (she didn't nurse well earlier), slept in crib

Overall, I am pleased w/ her naps. They are better in length and consistency. I'll keep my formal NCSS log tonight & tomorrow, our 7th day on this plan.

Friday Night, Saturday Naps

Night Log:
7:30 pm, fell asleep nursing
8:30, woke up crying, tried binky/dancing/burping, nursed to sleep
9:30, woke up crying, tried binky/dancing/burping & nursing, still awake.... let her cry for a few minutes, tried to comfort her for about 10 minutes, let her cry again, etc.
10:30, Daddy takes over, rocks & cuddles her
11:00, Mama comes back, nurses to sleep
11:30, woke up crying, burped, fell asleep
4:44 am, woke up, nursed to sleep but continued to wake up & burp every few minutes until 5:30
8:30 am up for the day

Naps:
10:30ish, was groggy, Mama attempted to put her in bed. Oops, second wind came & I missed the window of opportunity!
11:00 am, tiredness returns, let her cry in crib (I sat on the floor) for a few minutes, wasn't comforted by me holding her so I let her cry a little more & tried again, etc.
11:30-12:45, slept in crib
3:30-5?, fell asleep in my arms (after crying a few minutes in the crib), slept in crib

Nina's Sleep...

From today through Sunday I will be focusing a lot of effort to change Nina's sleep patterns. Last Sunday I began following a plan laid out in "The No-Cry Sleep Solution." I haven't seen the success I was hoping for with her night time wakings. A big part of the problem is her habit of falling asleep while nursing. Today we began a concentrated effort to change that. Usually she will start her morning by eating and then staying awake (& working very hard to stay awake) until the next feeding time. Then she falls asleep & the pattern is set for the day. Our first change today was when she began to get tired I held her (without a pacifier but with her lovie) and put her in her crib just before she truly fell asleep. Good start. :) Next nap time approached and Will needed to get outside anyway, so we took a walk. We were outside probably 30 minutes before she finally fell asleep, even with all the noise and jostling. Great, two in a row! I'll be charting her progress here whenever it is worth the effort.

Naps Today (Friday):
8 am- 9:30, fell asleep being held, slept in crib
11:30 am - 12:30, fell asleep in stroller, slept in carseat
EDIT
Can't remember her last nap of the day. Whatever it was, I expected her to get tired again at 6:30 so getting her into bed by 7 wouldn't be hard. What I didn't expect was for David to get home really late & I had already put both kids in the bathtub. Kind of hectic for a while.

Pumpkins!

Oct 1 022
Originally uploaded by Nickie R.

We went to a pumpkin patch last Saturday as a family. Nina doesn't really fit into her warm clothes yet so she had a lot of layers on. This is really posted for Auntie Ty who bought the outfit she was wearing that day. Thanks Auntie Ty Ty!

Great Recipe

Make a great recipe the other day. It was based on Taco-Filled Pasta Shells but I used elbow macaroni instead. It was very good and AMAZINGLY it not only filled 3 adults, but actually seemed to make about 6-8 servings. (Two of my adult diners are big eaters.) See Taco-Filled Pasta Shells (7/6/05; no I don't know how to link a previous post) for the actual ingredients. The process is what I changed...

Brown ground beef, add Taco seasoning & water as usual.
Add 1 can of refried beans and 1 c. salsa to cooked meat, mix together and heat through.
Cook 1 lb. elbow macaroni in 4 qt. pot.
Drain pasta, return to pot and stir in 1 c. salsa.
Add meat mixture to pasta, stir together.
Serve from pot, garnish with shredded cheddar or sour cream.

This gave me the complete control of WHO had dairy in their dinner. I suppose it would have been very good to mix the cheese in with the meat & all the rest, but then I would've had to eat it too. Adding it at the end was fine and everyone liked it. Goal: stretch 1 lb of ground beef through 2 meals for 4 adults. Result: Large quantity of leftovers, seemed to be roughly 6-8 servings all together, everyone was both full and happy. Mission accomplished!