The Sleep Chronicles: Sarah’s Story

Happy Thursday!  Today I’ve got another edition of the sleep chronicles – this time from Sarah of Whimsical Minutes.  She’s a SAHM to sweet little Ellie, and writes about being a “newlymom” – why didn’t I think of that phrase??   So perfect!  Enjoy!

Hello there! I’m Sarah and that little bear in my arms is Ellie! I blog over at Whimsical Minutes where you’ll find the whimsy things that occur in my life, mostly being a newlymom.

First off I just wanted to thank Jessica for having me! I recently discovered the Sleep Chronicles series and I so wanted to be apart of it! So thank you, Jessica!

When I was pregnant with Ellie I seriously read every book I could get my hands on. I wanted to be a parent that established routine right away and etc… HA! I totally threw that out the window when Ellie was born. I was so exhausted from my recovery and adjusting to this newborn I didn’t care about routines!

Now, what I’m about to write in this post works for our family, but it might not necessarily work for you. If you’re going take away anything from this post, it’s this… Don’t compare yourself to other moms! It will drive you nuts! I thought I had something good going until I found out another mom did it differently and then I’d go second guessing myself and try to change things up! Don’t do that. Just be yourself and do what works for you and your baby.

Crib Sleeping:

My husband and I decided we would put Ellie in her crib right away because my husband needed to sleep to be able to function for work the next morning. The first few weeks my parents and the in-laws came into town and slept in Ellie’s room (that’s where our guest bed was) so we had Ellie in our bedroom in a borrowed bassinet. Let me tell you… Ellie slept and slept and slept! I mean the girl would NOT wake up! Every feeding (2-3 hours) I’d have to wake this child up to eat and while she was eating she would fall asleep again. My friend told me to let her sleep through the night, but I followed my doctor’s orders and woke her up every 3 hours to feed her. Thinking back on it, I think I should have let her sleep so I could sleep.

I wish I could tell you we had a specific routine we followed in the beginning, but we just kind of played it by ear. During Ellie’s second month we were putting her to bed around 10-12am so she would sleep through the night and then after a couple of weeks I thought maybe it was time to establish an earlier bed time about 7-8pm. Ellie caught on pretty quick and she sleeps on average about 9-12 hours a night. (I have no secret to this, she’s just an awesome sleeper.)

Current Bedtime Routine:

We’ll feed her and then about 7:30-8:00pm we’ll start winding down. I’ll take Ellie to her room first, then we’ll take a bath (if it’s bath day), put on pj’s, read a bedtime story (our favorites right now are “I Love You Through and Through” and “Pajama Time”), turn on the humidifier, the heater, and giraffe white noise.  I also turn off all the lights except for the plug in night light we have in her room. After all that, I usually rock Ellie to sleep and then swaddle her in the crib. Now we’re adding a new thing to the mix, we’re trying to let her fall asleep on her own!  I thought she wouldn’t have it, but she’s been adjusting pretty well to it. I have to say it was definitely harder for me than it was for her. I enjoyed rocking her to sleep, but I know I can’t continue that the bigger she gets. My back is getting jacked up! Babies get heavy!

Also, we’re trying to see how we can incorporate my husband in the routine. Unfortunately Ellie cries when she’s with her daddy. We tried to get him to put her to sleep tonight and she had a fit and cried and cried until I came into the room. Any advice or tips on this? My husband is pretty frustrated and sad that his own daughter “hates” him (as he puts it). I’m trying to give him some responsibilities like feeding her and reading her bedtime story before bed so she knows that that’s daddy time, but she’s still not used to it yet and gets fussy. Seriously, any tips on this would be awesome!

Nap time: 

Ellie hasn’t been napping well during the day. She’s been taking cat naps (20 minutes here and there) and I finally found out it was because she was teething! I’ve been terribly exhausted from her not napping so I’m praying she really gets back to napping. I can’t listen to baby Einstein anymore!

But let’s talk about when Ellie does nap, where does she nap?

I know the books tell you to put your baby in their crib for nap times too, but really we just fall asleep anywhere!  The big bed (GASP), the couch, mamaroo, my arms, and even the boppy!

I’m so blessed to have a little one that is so laid back about eating and sleeping. I hope she continues to be a great sleeper and I hope once I’m done pumping I can sleep 6+ hours!

Thank you all so much for reading our sleep story. It’s all trial and error. Again do what’s right for you and your family and everyone will be happy!