Sleep Training: Day VI and Night VII

Last night was the first time in weeks that Juna had only one wake-up. After discussing her three wake-up habit with Sasha, we determined that should she wake up before two or after four (assuming she ate for the dreamfeed and once between two and four), we would not feed her, and do the shush pat instead. I loathed the possibility of a huge crying fit in the middle of the night, so I was determined to make sure she had some really good meals to tide her over in hopes she wouldn't wake up. Voila! It worked! I realized what I had been doing wrong: instead of giving Juna a real 'meal' I was just nursing her back to sleep. This time at the dreamfeed I was a little more aggressive in getting her to eat from both sides for at least 7 minutes. She didn't wake again until 2:45 (a vast improvement from 12:45!). I again made sure she ate well, and included a diaper change in between sides so I could nurse her down. She went back to sleep at 3:15a.m. and didn't wake up until 6:30!! Success!

This was Juna's demeanor this morning:

And then it was time for our first morning nap. Bradford did the honors, and what we got was an hour, yes, an hour, of frantic screaming. He'd get her calm, and go to set her down in the crib, she'd jerk herself awake and start howling again. After an hour, a very frustrated Bradford came downstairs, and I nursed her to sleep in my arms for 20 minutes. We had her 3-month pediatrician appointment today, and since she normally has a meltdown there, I wanted her to get at least a little rest. 

The good news: Juna's a healthy girl! We talked to our pediatrician about our sleep training efforts, which she commended, and mentioned the difficulty we'd had getting her down for naps the past two days. She asked about my caffeine intake..... ooops. I have a small but strong addiction to Diet Coke (I know, no lectures please! We all need a vice, and now that ice cream is out...). I had been drinking caffeine-free for a couple weeks, and decided to get the good stuff to help with my exhaustion from all the night wakings the past few days. Big mistake. According to our ped, some babies are extremely sensitive to caffeine. What a shock: our baby is! It's an easy fix, no more caffeine or delicious ice cream for Mommy. New vice suggestions welcome.... 

Juna fell asleep in her carseat (miracle!) and we transferred her right to her swaddle and crib when we got home. It took her awhile to settle, but we just left her alone in her crib to work it out and once she did, she slept for an hour and a half! She was a happy girl upon waking, and since the day was going so well, I decided to get a half-hour massage down the street. Bradford stayed home with the baby, and put her down for a little catnap around 3:00 as she was a bit fussy. She again fought the nap, though not quite with the gusto she had before, and slept again for another hour. She and I had a lovely afternoon together while Daddy went to watch 'the game' (there's always a game...), and after a walk around the neighborhood, we started our bedtime routine. 

Bedtime was uneventful. Bath, massage, jammies and dinner, then into her crib awake but drowsy. She passed out cold after about four minutes. No crying. No fussing. What a dream! I hope tonight goes as well as last night. Tomorrow, we are going to try and get back on track with our naps. We talked to Sasha about her napping trials today, and she assured us that naps are the hardest to nail down. She also said we should feel great that bedtime is going so well, and eventually that will carry over into her daytime sleep. Overall, it's been a long, but satisfying, week, and we have seen so much improvement, both in sleep and temperament. It could be that Juna hit that magic 12-week mark on Monday, but I know much of her happiness stems from better rest, both in quantity and quality. 

Juna's afternoon demeanor. Happy baby now!