Sleep Part 2

Week 16: I know I said I was going to take my time with the transition and spend no less than 3 days on each of the 12 transitions. However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to add time to her naps when I added time to her awake time rather than doing it separately. So, I jumped to an hour and 45 minute naps to match her hour and 45 minute awake times. I would usually have to wake her from her nap anyway, so I figured it shouldn’t be too difficult. And it wasn’t. Nice!

Week 17: We spent Memorial Day in Indiana which meant A’s nap schedule was off. I knew that would be the case, so I decided to stay where we were in the transitions through the weekend. She continued to wake around the 45 minute mark, but took longer to put herself to sleep. My in-laws got to experience a long cry session which I don’t think they enjoyed, but we knew it wouldn’t help for us to go in to her. It may make her stop crying, but it wouldn’t make her sleep. And what she needed was sleep…not us. I added five minutes to her awake time and nap time on Tuesday putting us at a 3 hour and 40 minute EASY (awake time and nap time are both an hour and 50 minutes). My friend, Katie, came to visit for a few days so I could train my replacement at work. A did great with a different person putting her down for her naps – taking a bottle, not so much, but whatever.

Week 18: A week later, we’re still at a 3 hour and 40 minute EASY. It’s been a strange week. A had her 4 month appointment on Monday – 12 lbs. 9 oz. and 23 inches long…she’s a petite one! – and got a few shots. She fell asleep in the car without making a peep which never happens. First of all, she doesn’t usually fall asleep in the car unless we’re on a longer car ride that extends past her nap time. Second of all, when she does get sleepy enough to sleep she always cries for a bit first. So, this was odd, but I assumed it was because of the shots. She did this again when we were out running errands the next day. And since the dr. appointment she’s been fussy and crying almost every time she wakes in the middle of her nap whereas she used to put herself back to sleep quietly. After mentioning this to a friend she welcomed me to the “4 month sleep regression”. The wha? It’s true…and as always, A is right on schedule. So, we’re just dealing with some off days right now. She was awake from 2:20-9 p.m. yesterday because she was awake during her entire third nap (even a feeding in the middle of it didn’t put her back to sleep) and wanted nothing to do with sleep while she was with Marcie in the evening. Amazingly enough she was pretty content given how long she had been awake. She fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept great last night.

Also, we’ve been finding A out of her swaddle and rolled out of the sleep positioner and onto her tummy most mornings lately. That girl is tricky! So, in addition to everything else, we decided to start weaning her out of the swaddle. Right now she’s doing pretty well with one arm out. This may be the cause of some of the lengthy mid-nap wakings, though.

This week is a perfect example of how no matter how organized and schedule we try to be, A has a mind and body of her own and as she grows and develops she’ll continue to throw us for a loop every now and then. We are so intricately designed by our Creator. It’s amazing and frustrating all at the same time.

Here’s a picture just because :)