Helping Luke Sleep Regularly

I've gotten some great suggestions to getting Luke to sleep regularly through the night. I think the key is making sure he's getting enough to eat throughout the day.

Several friends, as well as the pediatrician, recommend giving Luke some rice cereal right before bedtime. It takes longer to digest so he'll feel full longer. We tried this last night and he seemed to like it. He was up later that I'd planned, but he did sleep from 11 pm to 7 am, so I'm not complaining!

I've also had some recommendation on letting him cry it out in the middle of the night when he wakes up. The child weighs over 15 pounds, so it's not as if he's starving. My sister said it only look one night of Ashley crying for 2 hours when she was this age, and then she slept 10-12 hours a night after that. I think we're going to try this as well.

Oops, more later... Luke is fussing... gotta go!

A crazy baby sleep schedule

We're trying to get Luke on a regular eating and sleeping schedule, but so far no luck. It will go smoothly 2-3 days in a row, and then everything changes. This week it appears he's going through a growth spurt.

Luke slept 10-6:30 Monday night, then was up every three hours to eat on Tuesday night, then slept from 9-7 on Wednesday night. Last night, he was up at 4 am and drank 9 ounces! He must be growing. I've been trying to feed him and put him down for the night by 9ish, but it doesn't always work. He still doesn't take regular naps either. He'll catnap 2-3 times a day for only 30-40 minutes at a time.

Oh well. Tomorrow I'll pick up the book 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child' from the library. It was highly recommended by both Anya and Melinda. Based on Luke's crazy schedule I definitely need to read it!

If anyone has any suggestions for the best way to get a 4-month-old on a regular schedule, please email me! Thanks!

A screaming baby

Last night at group was a little stressful. Luke screamed for well over an hour, and the only thing that would calm him was holding him upright, walking around while bouncing him, and letting him chew on my hand. Marty and I are both convinced the screaming was a combination of gas pain and teething pain. The nurse practitioner said that babies gums hurt long before the teeth come through, and all that drooling is a sure sign of teething.

He was still a little fussy once we got home, but he nursed and was in bed by 10:00 pm, then slept until 6:30. After nursing for 45 minutes, we both got to sleep for 2 more hours, thank God!

Only a little fussiness, some drooling and a lot of laughing today. Much better!

Luke weighs 15 lbs 1 oz!

Luke went for his 4 week checkup this week and is just over 15 pounds. He's below averge in length, only 24 1/2 inches. But he's above average in weight and head circumference: 43 cm! He's now officially in size 2 diapers.

He's perfectly healthy. He laughs and coos and carries on adorable conversations with us. He so precious! The only issues are ingrown toenails on his big toes and dry skin with slight exzema. Aveeno baby lotion and cortizone should do the trick.

He also got his second round of immunizations... 4 shots: two in each thigh. Poor baby. Boy, did he scream! We gave him a dose of baby tylenol and fed him right before heading to the pediatrician, so he fell asleep on the way home and slept for several hours. His thigh did get really red again from that tetanus shot, but between my mom, dad, sister and I, we were able to settle him down that evening when he was really hurting.

Last night he only slept for a 6 hour stretch, but the previous 2 nights he slept 9 and 10 hour stretches! It's so wonderful to have him sleeping well. When he woke up last night at 5:45, I gave him a 5 ounce bottle and he went right back to sleep and slept until 9:45! What a nice blessing for my day off work.

Both my jobs are going well. I enjoy my 3-4 hours at a time out of the house focusing on stuff other than the baby. But boy, do I miss him after a couple of hours; I'm always so happy to see luke once I get back home! It really helps me treasure the time I do have with him even more.

Luke slept 10 1/2 hours last night!

Lately, Luke has been going to bed around 9:00 or 10:00 pm and waking up around 5:00 or 6:00 am, which really isn't bad at all. I can't complain when he sleeps 8 hours straight. It just means I get up very early, so I have to make sure I'm in bed by 10:00.

But last night, he went to bed at 9:30 and didn't wake up until 8:00 am! Woohoo! I actually got 9 uninterrupted hours of sleep myself. What a blessing!

He's been sleeping a lot lately, which I assume means he's going through a growth spurt. Yesterday, he napped from 2:30 - 3:15, then from 4:00 - 5:00, then again from 7:00 - 8:00 pm. All this before sleeping 10 1/2 hours through the night! We're hoping he'll get on a regular napping schedule soon. He still just does 3-4 catnaps throughout the day, and never sleeps for longer than an hour at a time. But I'm not complaining, especially because he's such a good sleeper at night. He seems to love his crib.

We have so much fun with him now that he's almost 4 months old. He smiles and laughs and tries to have real conversations with us; it's a blast being a mom! His favorite thing to say right now is "Ah-goo"! He's got the sweetest little voice! We thank God for him every day.