My peace of mind - Baby Wise

Sorry I've been slacking on my blog posts. It just seems like when I get a free moment from the baby, I either want to

a.) Veg out
b.) Nap
c.) Eat

Maybe not all in that order but you get the point. Usually I end up cleaning or doing other household chores and by the time little missy wakes up, I haven't really had time to relax. Guess I'm not following my own advice to sleep when baby sleeps.

So I'm returning to my corporate day-job next week and have been nervous about leaving Brijin. However, I'm also concerned about being AWAKE during the day and being on top of my game. My manager was very fair in allowing me to work from home a few hours so I can transition a little more easily back to the job so I'm very grateful for that. Yet, I still began thinking I needed to get Brijin on a better schedule if that's possible for a seven to eight week old baby.

Lo and behold, GRACE happened. (I just finished reading Cheryl Richardson's book My best friend from college Gretchen called me up two days ago. We hadn't spoken for a few weeks (and really we keep up more on e-mail than telephone typically). For some reason after a few minutes of speaking, I asked my friends with two small children if she ever got her babies on a schedule. First words out of her mouth, "Baby Wise. You need to get this book." Apparently it helped get her kids plus both of her sister-in-laws' children on a sleep schedule where they slept seven to nine hours nonstop at night.

Tell me more, my dear!

I ended up reserving the book at the library, which would take at least a few days to receive. Since at the time I was returning to work in exactly one week, I began to think if this method really works, I need to buy it ASAP!

Thus the hubby went out and bought the book that evening and we devoured it. Not that it's been THAT rough. However, sleeping through the night sounded so great for our family. And that's the point of the book. It's more about melding the baby's schedule to the family's schedule PLUS it's healthy for the baby since she'll be getting better sleep.

The key to the baby's schedule is to get her to FEED / WAKE / SLEEP. Most parents seem to switch the order of waking and sleeping and allow their newborn to sleep right after feeding. In this book, that's a big NO NO. I actually had read this somewhere else to try to keep baby up for at least 15 minutes after feeding during the day just so she'll get used to being awake during the day. The part I was missing was making her take a nap. I had read you shouldn't let the baby cry, but this book says it's okay for a baby to cry. Not the easiest thing in the world to get used to, but it doesn't seem to hurt her. What also makes me feel better is the book quotes the American Academy of Pediatrics saying it's okay for a baby to cry for even 15 to 20 minutes.

Guess how long she slept last night? Seven FREAKING hours. Actually fed her a little more often during the day because she was waking up after 45 minutes of naptime, which apparently happens about this age due to growth spurt and being more hungry. (Called the 45-minute intruder in the book.)

If you're a new mom and desire having your baby on a sleep schedule, I highly recommend "On Becoming Baby Wise" by Ezzo and Bucknam (an M.D.). So far so good for this family, minus much more crying than we were used to. Plus the book speaks about how much calmer and happier it makes the baby so it's good for EVERYONE.

Has anyone else ever tried this method? If so, what are your thoughts, experiences, etc? Love to hear them.