Ok...let's start off with the breakfast of Champions - coffee, chocolate chip cookie, and grape nuts. Hmmmm... realistically the ideal breakfast would add another cookie and omit the grape nuts but I was trying to be good :) I recently started following a blog called My Baking Addiction - aka MBA (http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/) that features all kinds of delicious baked goods and fabulous photos. I chose a few cookie recipes and asked Ross which he would like me to make (since I haven't made any desserts since Christmas). He wanted to challenge me to try the Big Chocolate Chip Cookies because I have been unable to make CCC since we married (they always turned out super flat and crispy). Trust me; I do not know what I have been doing wrong because I have tried all different things with the same result. It wasn't due to the gas oven or later the electric oven, the stand mixer or hand mixer or my muscles, the butter or margarine or crisco, the processed or unprocessed flour, etc, etc. Anyway, I tried the recipe from MBA and the results were perfect :) So perfect that when I was making my cup of morning coffee I couldn't resist and ate one without thinking (Oh my gosh this is the first thing I am eating today?!?!!?). So, I punished myself accordingly with grape nuts. ha! Note to self - Lucas was completely enamored with the smiley face coffee cup from Janean in Germany so I must not put hot liquids in it when he might reach for it in the future... Check out my super cute breakfast company...
I decided this weekend I was going to try and put Lucas on an eating schedule of sorts because he suddenly became very crabby about eating and it was leaking into other parts of life. Ross's cousin mentioned that they had to put their son on a schedule around 4 months of age for this very reason and it worked like a charm. I started by tracking his eating patterns last week and then devised a plan and tried it this weekend. I didn't want it to be too rigid of a schedule or too maleable that it wasn't a schedule (and always up for revision if he decides to sleep through the night :) before the 6 month mark). The goal was to feed him avery 3.5 hours, give or take 30 minutes and to add a "dream feed" around 10pm. This made for a very confusing weekend for all of us (I should have realized he wouldn't magically adapt to the schedule). I guess I am a little over sensitive to his eating because of his weight gain/hospitalization scare. I just don't want to deprive him or force feed him which would both set him up for potential food failures (not knowing when he is hungry or failure to thrive) in the future. He did sleep frm 8pm until 4:40 am with a dream feed around 10 pm last night. We will see how the week goes and I will keep you updated.Another addition to the confusion this weekend is Ross's decision that it is time Lucas learned to put himself to sleep in his crib. According to the books you have to be careful that your baby learns how to self-soothe and if you wait too long they might become dependent on having your arms or a rocking motion to fall asleep. Lucas seems to be able to do this better at night when he is already beginning to drift off to la-la land. However, during the day I have been inclined to let him nap where he likes (he will often sleep for 1-2 hours in the boppy on the couch, in his rock and play sleeper in our room, in his boppy in his crib vs 20 min in his crib). I know part of my issue is my continuing fear that he will slip into failure to thrive mode. This is why having Ross and I both will hopefully help Lucas learn what he needs to learn when he needs to learn it.
For all those mothers and fathers out there...what is your philosophy on schedules for eating and sleeping? Is there an appropriate age when a schedule for one or the other is necessary? How about napping - is there a certain age when nap location trumps nap length? There are so many different approaches it is hard to wrap your head around it all. On the one hand, I do not want him to be crabby and out of sorts because he needs a schedule. While on the other hand, I don't want him to be so married to a schedule that he is unable to cope with sudden changes.
Lucas has really started reaching for things!
Two doggies getting their much needed mommy time
A BLT (minus the T) on freshly baked homemade wheat bread...Archie didn't get this loaf!
I think scheduling is overrated. I think general guidelines are much better. I let Lillian sleep where she lied when she was 4 months old and around the 6 month mark I put her in her crib for her nap. Feeding is a different story. We never had any scares so it is different for me to dispense advice, however, if he is eating enough for the day, it shouldn't matter what times he is eating as long as it is around the same each day. Guidelines, guidelines, guidelines.
ReplyDeleteI'm learning that a baby's schedule is constantly changing and just when you think you've got it down...it changes! Putting Holden on a more strict schedule really helped him be a happier baby. He knew exactly when it was time to eat and time to sleep and so did we! Not to say we didn't have any flexibility in that because I think that is important too. I'm an advocate of napping in the crib but I also think it's good for a baby to be able to fall asleep other places in case you are not at home. We did let Holden cry for a little bit in his crib in order for him to learn to fall asleep on his own. Now he rarely cries when going down (except for when we are traveling which everything goes out the window then) and if he does it's only for a couple of minutes and if it's longer then we know something is wrong. You're right about there being so much info out there. Whatever you guys decide to do will be best for y'all! I don't totally agree with everything Babywise says but I do like to read the Babywise mom blog just to get ideas on sleeping, feeding, solids, etc. http://www.babywisemom.com/
ReplyDeleteI can finally comment on your blog:) I had to change something with my "cookies".
ReplyDeleteI still stand by the Baby Whisperer. Gretchen thrived on her methods. I tried the same things with Wes it didn't work out quite so well but I'm learning he's coming around with time...or he's training me. Every baby is different and so is every parent. I also beleive there are natural times children tend to sleep so if you can pinpoint those as well as learn the window to get your baby to sleep you can train them so much easier. Some babies are really easy to read and have a huge window and some (wes...) are harder to read (he's just do darn happy all the time) and a smaller about of time to put him to sleep. If you pass that your baby becomes overtired and will cry a lot more. It's trial and error and may take a while but just be consistent with whatever method you choose. Cry it out is REALLY hard at first but once you are able to guage cries and understand when to really respond it's a lot easier. Some parents can't take listening to their kids cry and some fall into that method for self-preservation. I really don't beleive you can spoil a baby but just understand the older they get the harder it is to change their habits. Right now he only had 4 months to work off of, his whole life, well at 1 year old he has 12 months, and if you're still rocking him to sleep at 18 years...well you're probably in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge advocate of schedules but that's probably due to the fact that I have 2 babies and it really makes my life A LOT smoother :) You have to do what is right for you, so I say try a few different things and see what works for you. Mark Weissbluth wrote a book "Health Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" (I read the one he wrote for twins) that doesn't neccisarily support or denounce schedules, it more gives parents an idea of their babies natural sleep cues so you know when they are entering into the tired zone and it can really help you figure out what your babies natural schedule is (like what Nicole was talking about). But, I do have to stay flexible in all things because something may be working so well and then it just changes...sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I have learned that there aren't right and wrong ways to raise babies as long as you're loving them, feeding them, and taking care of all of their basic needs :)
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