Sleeping Habits - The Cry It Out Method

Let's talk about sleeping habits for a minute, shall we? 

I was blessed with an amazing newborn.  From birth, Amelia slept in 4 hour stretches between night feedings.  Yes, you read that correctly... a newborn sleeping for FOUR hours at a time!  At about 5 weeks, she started sleeping for 6 hour stretches overnight.  The best part, she put herself to sleep for naps and at bedtime!  There was no rocking and cuddling my baby to sleep (sometimes this made me sad!); this little girl was independent and wanted her space in her crib!  I thought I birthed the best, sleep loving baby in the whole wide world.

At about 3 months... Amelia pulled a fast one on me and went from these glorious, uninterrupted 6 hour stretches to waking 2-3 times a night to feed.  This meant that I was up every 2 to 3 hours, sometimes LESS, to feed her!  Amelia would no longer put herself to sleep; instead I spent a huge chunk of time trying to get her to fall asleep.  Sometimes it would take over an hour of rocking, walking, singing, bouncing, cuddling, you name it to get her to go to sleep.  This wrecked complete havoc on my system and made for one very cranky momma.  The pediatrician told me she must be going through a growth spurt and to keep up the night feedings.  Turns out, pediatricians aren't God and can be wrong! (Who knew?!)

ENTER: My older sister Kim.  Our first night on vacation in Baltimore, Kim was shocked when I told her I was still feeding Amelia every 3-ish hours at night.  Naive, first time mom and all, I did what the doctor suggested and went with it.  I thought suggestions for the "cry it out" method my friends were doing were way too harsh and I couldn't fathom doing it to Amelia.  Thank God for my big sisters help and guidance!  She offered to handle the first night of putting her to sleep for me and listening for her first cry to see if she could hold off ONE night feeding for me.  Massively sleep deprived for months on end, I happily agreed.

Yes, Amelia cried for a good 14 minutes the first night before she fell asleep.  I remember the sound very distinctively and the exact amount of time she cried (so happy I didn't have to go through this alone!).  Our agreement was that I could go in and check on her every 10 minutes to give her pacifier back and comfort her that I was still there and it was "night-night" time.  I went to bed a short time after she fell asleep, anticipating my usual wake up call a few hours later. 

Around 8:00 am the next morning, I stumbled downstairs to find a STILL sleeping baby!  In a recap from my sister, Amelia woke up around 2:15am, fussed for a few minutes after receiving her pacifier back and never made another peep.  She didn't wake up that morning almost 8:45am!  My sister also mentioned that she checked on her around 5am and 8am to be safe (yes, she is just as paranoid as I am!).  I literally cannot remember the last time I got that much consecutive sleep!  We haven't looked back since!


I will be honest, doing the "cry it out" method was extremely difficult on me the first few nights.  Listening to Amelia cry was so hard!  But as her mother, I can tell the difference in her cries.  She has the "hurt" cry, "pissed off" cry, "scared" cry and "overly tired" cry that are all pretty distinct.  On the occasions she has cried before sleep, she starts with the "pissed off" cry for maybe a minute or two and quickly moves on to the "overly tired."  I knew crying it out was the right solution for us when I went to pick her up from her crib and she immediately stopped crying and buried her head in my shoulder to sleep.

We use the same principle for nap time.  I wait for her "tired" cues, which include being overly fussy and rubbing her eyes, before putting her down.  Most naps don't involve any crying (can't figure that one out...)!  Amelia is also taking longer naps since she started sleeping through the night which is a huge bonus!


Consistency in the routine has been crucial to our success.  For every sleep, I make sure to use the same blanket and say the same phrase ("It's night-night time, Amelia Grace.  Mommy loves you.  Sweet dreams.").  I also rub her back while I'm saying the phrase.  After I am done, I bend down (more like fall into her crib it is so low now!) to give her a kiss, make sure her pacifier is in her mouth, walk out of the room and shut the door.  If she is still crying 10 minutes later (this doesn't happen often), I go back into her room, search for her pacifier and start the routine again.  I will also mention that if I go back in, I do not pick her up out of her crib.

One last trick that is working for us is keeping Amelia's nursery pitch black and quiet.  This meant getting rid of the sound machine we used (I think I liked it better than she did, oops!).  Currently, I have some old black curtains tacked up in her windows until we get room darkening shades!  We keep it classy in the Koch household!

This might not be the solution for everyone.  I totally get/respect/understand that!  I was completely skeptical and hesitant at first!  It really does sound quiet awful when I read back through this post... But, at the end of the day, it worked and I really felt this was best for Amelia and myself.  Three cheers for sleep!!!

I would LOVE to hear what sleep solutions have worked for you and your babes.  Maybe you are struggling with sleep habits like I was?  Ask me a question!  I am by no means an expert, but am more than happy to try and help!

Until next time!

We are home safe and sound from our wonderful vacation to Baltimore!  As promised, here are my top five tips and tricks for flying with an infant (or 6 month old).

Selby Bay is less than a mile away from my sisters house! AMAZING!!!

Tip #1:
Use a stroller or baby carrier!  I wish I had known that I could have gate checked a stroller for Amelia without being charged.  That would have made life SO much easier on me!  I was fortunate enough to borrow a friends Ergo and wore Amelia through check in and between flights.

 

Early morning workout and Amelia in her pj's... unrelated to travel, but THE BEACH!

Tip #2:
Feed baby during take off and landing.  Bottle or breast, whatever works for you!  The pressure change wrecks havoc on poor infants ears.  Even if it means pushing back a feeding and dealing with a fussy baby in the airport, it is well worth it (in my opinion).  I learned my lesson during our first flight; I didn't want to deal with a cranky Amelia before we took off, so I fed her early in the hopes her pacifier would work just as well.  It did not and I paid the price!

Tip #3:
Pack a few favorite toys for entertainment and emergencies.  For us, this included: a remote, an old phone cover, Chica Chica Boom Boom, Sophie the Giraffe and a hippo rattle.  I was planning on connecting to WiFi and utilizing the free DISH app; unfortunately, three of our four flights didn't have WiFi or it wasn't working.

Killing time at the airport playing with toys

Tip #4:
Ask about an extra seat for baby!  This was a huge bonus for us on two out of four flights!  If the flight isn't full, you can give your little their own seat, or an extra seat for you to spread out in, for free.  I checked into the "affordable" infant flight options before we left on our vacation... they were NOT affordable in any way (I am talking more than the price of my flights!).

Amelia acted like such a big girl

Tip #5:
Pack your babes favorite snacks.  For us, that means Gerber Puffs and a squeeze pouch.  Generally, I like to make my own squeeze pouches, but I didn't want to bother with it on the trip and picked up a few at Target before we left.

 

Leftover squeeze pouch enjoyment at Aunt Kim's house

 

Not related to airport travel, but Amelia tried Chic-Fil-A for the first time and LOVED their nuggets

Well... there ya have it!  My top five tips and tricks for flying with an infant.  I am sure we will make this trip again sometime in the future and I will have a whole new set of tips and tricks for flying with a toddler.  Stay tuned!

 

Swinging at the beach

Happy Weekend!

Up, Up and Away

Tomorrow, Amelia and I venture to Baltimore for our first real vacation together!  I am so excited to see my sister and her family!!!  It has been over a year since we were all together for Brandon and I's wedding in August 2013 and they haven't yet gotten to meet little miss Amelia
Does anyone else still have major flying anxiety after 9/11?  I know security is tighter than ever and it is safer to fly than to drive... but I still can't help but fret and worry!  My nerves are bundled into a ball and my stomach is in knots just thinking about our flights tomorrow.  I am sure everything will be fine, right?!

For the first time in ages, I am checking in bags to lighten my load with Amelia.  I  borrowed a friend's Ergo and have my Sakura Bloom ring sling in the diaper bag to keep my hands free.  Pray our luggage doesn't get lost as I have my pump and some frozen milk packed... Not to mention Amelia's favorite hot pink Freshly Picked moccs!

Have any of you flown with a 6 month old?  I looked back on Taylor's advice for traveling with a toddler [blog post here] but most of her suggestions won't work as Amelia is so much younger (and I don't have my own iPad).  My post next week will contain everything that I packed (that actually worked) and my tips and tricks for traveling with an infant!  Stay tuned!

Now... for some pictures of Amelia from the past week!

 

Representing the Huskers and our Pinn Co headband on Saturday's win over McNeese

Lounging in the pool (sans water) in our Babiators and KingHoo Moccs

First time playing in the sand... preparing her for the beach in Maryland

 She is still not sure about sand

Wish us luck on our first flights together!  Prayers for safe travel and no meltdowns (from baby OR momma!) would be much appreciated!

Amelia's 6 Month Photos

We FINALLY got Amelia's 6 month photos taken this past Saturday!  I was hesitant to commit to a 9:30am slot as we would be cutting in to Amelia's regular nap time.  We usually have a pretty large window to work with; unfortunately, our photographer was booked solid with senior shoots Saturday and Sunday and left for the East coast on Monday.  Alas, 9:30am it was.
As I suspected, Amelia was a cranky, fussy, typical diva!  She spent most of the time crying and clinging to me.  Fortunately, our photographer's studio is in her walkout basement, so her youngest daughter hung around to entertain Amelia as she tried to get some good shots.  From the photos, you would never guess Amelia was crabby!

 

To get this shot, our photographers poor daughter was jumping around making animal sounds and holding a giant teddy bear just to get Amelia to look at the camera!  I attempted to keep her attention by feeding her puffs and teasing her with a pacifier.

The canvas Amelia is holding is from her 3 month shoot.  Our photographer loved this picture so much that she had it made into a canvas to hang in her studio!  We plan on using it in future sessions to document just how much this little girl has grown.  How much fun is that?!

 

This bed was a prop that we used in Amelia's newborn photo shoot!  I cannot believe she is now bigger than the bed!  The tutu is homemade and the crown is from Little Blue Olive. [similar here ]

 

Surprisingly, we had the greatest luck playing peek-a-boo with this blanket!  This was one of the last shots we got and turned out the best!  Amelia was so happy to be "free" and just do her own thing.

 

We got plenty of Mommy and Me pictures at this shoot (not complaining!)!  Amelia was SO clingy at first that she wouldn't let me go and we ended up just going with it. She was really interested in the bed and chewing on the blanket.  Good thing everything in the studio is baby friendly.

Well... there ya have it!  Another photo shoot for the baby book!  Woohoo!!!

Today...

Was a good day!  And it's not even over yet!  Do you ever get the feeling you are doing exactly what you were meant to be doing right when you were meant to do it?  Today has been just like that for me.

It all started last night.  Amelia has had some good 5-6 hour stretches of sleep the last few nights which has been AMAZING for me! (Really hope I didn't just jinx myself!)  I finally got her down about 10pm, had a 1am feeding, a 6:30am feeding and up for the day at 7:45am (like usual).  This is HUGE for us!!!  For the past 3 months, we have at LEAST 3 feedings before 6am and it is killing me.  Even just a 5 hour stretch makes me feel like a whole new woman.

Our morning was just like every other.  I woke up to Amelia babbling in her crib.  She rarely wakes up crying, and when she does, it's a sign things aren't going to be good for me ;) After changing her diaper, we head to the kitchen to brew momma her coffee.  While it brews (Keurig really is a God send), Amelia jumps in her jumper and I figure out breakfast.  She is always still in her pj's and me in my robe.  I love our little morning routine!

This morning, we shared some Cheerio's in almond milk while I checked on social media.  BLW is amazing because I don't have to make anything separate for A to eat!  I just make sure to let the Cheerio get a little soggy before I hand it over.  About 9am, I got a notification on Facebook from a local momma about our first MOPS meeting of the new year.  Definitely didn't see the reminder posted the previous night.  Oops!

For those of you who don't know what MOPS is, I will make a separate post later this week with the details.  Until then, just know, it is my little sanity break!  I rushed to get Amelia and I ready and out the door in record time.  How is that before baby, I used to spend well over an hour getting ready?!  Now, I can be ready and out the door in about 15 minutes!  My oh my, how kids change everything!

This mornings MOPS meeting was a more casual, get to know you, session and was just what I needed.  I am such a social person that staying home can be a bit of a struggle at times.  Brandon was really worried about this at first, but I really think I am finding the perfect balance for us!  The Ashland chapter offers free childcare, but I decided to keep Amelia with me because I knew we were going to be cutting it close to her nap time.  She did GREAT until the last few minutes which wasn't a big deal.

On the way home, Amelia fell asleep in the car which is never a good thing (please tell me this happens to you too?!).  For the first time, I got lucky and she went right back to sleep as soon as we were in the house. Keeping up with the amazing sleep streak we have going, she took a TWO hour nap!  I literally CANNOT remember the last time she slept for longer than an hour during nap time!

During her nap, I got the house dusted, swiffered and vacuumed... finished the laundry... set out dinner... cleaned all the mirrors and the bathroom... AND ate lunch in peace!  Can you even imagine how wonderful that felt?!  Let me tell you, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!

Today... was a good day!  And it's not even over yet!  Today, I felt like supermom.  Today, I felt fulfilled.  Today, everything just clicked.  Today... was a good day!