Warning: This post will be boring to most readers and is really more for my own recollection if we have another baby :) Settle down, I said IF. I've been trying to remember things about Miller that I didn't write down anywhere so I want to be better this time around.
Jacob eats every two and a half to three and a half hours during the day and usually makes two four hour stretches at night. There have been a few nights where he made it five or five and a half hours. He has been pretty good about sleeping in his bed at night, but we are putting him down once he is already asleep. Tomorrow he will be two weeks old and we are going to try getting on a more set schedule and start putting him down awake and letting him learn to self-soothe {aka, cry it out : / }. It has been more difficult to stick to a strict schedule this time around since I have Miller to tend to also, but I'm determined to at least aim for a schedule since my mom is here to help for a few more days. Right now it takes about an hour {sometimes more} to nurse, change, swaddle, and rock Jacob to sleep. Since he takes several naps a day, there is no way I can do this once I'm on my own and care for Miller. I really need to be able to put Jacob down in his bed for naps and know that he can fall asleep on his own most of the time. Also, the past couple of days, we haven't been good about waking him to eat after three hours and I end up having to cram in feedings in the evening since they'd fall at weird times otherwise. This isn't good for me or for him. I end up having to get him to eat when he's not really that hungry and when he's super sleepy. Plus I'm exhausted by the end of the day and would rather not nurse every two hours. We are giving him a paci some, but sometimes I wonder if we're making it harder by doing this since Jacob can't really keep it in his mouth very well. I bought a MAM paci today and it stays in a little better, but I still wonder if we'll be having to go back in his room every ten minutes because he's mad he lost it. I'll take tips/advice if you have them :) We haven't given him a bottle yet, but we are going to start in the next few days. We decided that in order to keep taking turns tucking Miller in, it would help for Bryant to be able to give Jacob a bottle and put him to bed when I am with Miller.
Here's hoping we keep our sanity over the next few days!
Hey Whitney! It's cool reading this because that was just yesterday for me :)
ReplyDeleteI did not bother with the paci much until now. Andrew can finally keep it in when he moves his head. It's beneficial now but annoying before this point. Andrew is just really oral and needs something. I have a thumb sucker in Hannah and want to get those fingers out of his mouth now!It sounds like the scheduling is going better than a lot of babies. Hannah was strictly scheduled but it took 3 weeks before she wouldn't cry for up to an hour wevery nap! Crazy! hudson always went right down and kind of put himself on a schedule. Andrew is doing great too. I did rock him to sleep until recently but I have been holding on to that since he's probably my last baby. The time just goes by so fast and I was finding it hard to let go of that time (even though it was hard with the nursing issues, pumping, and caring for the other two). I still don't know how I did it alone, but it can be done if that helps. You're doing great! So glad he nurses so well!