The Joys of Sleep Training Part Two: Nap Time and Schedules

I can't express enough how important naps have been for Mr Noah from day one. If he doesn't get a good nap through out the day he won't sleep well that night. My approach to nap time is pretty similar to bed time minus the bath. The little man takes two naps a day. The first is always within an hour or two of waking up in the morning. Then the second is somewhere between 12:30pm-1:30pm. The afternoon nap changes depending on if we are home or out. I'm a big believer in schedules and routines (for just about everything in life) but I also believe that its important to change up the times on their schedule so that they learn to be flexible. I would hate if we couldn't make certain plans because of his bedtime or nap time.

Getting ready for a nap in his stroller 

If we are home for his naps I lay him down in his crib, turn on the music and give him his lovey blankie. Usually for the morning nap he goes right to sleep. The first nap is around an hour. If he wakes up before the hour I usually go in there and help soothe him back to sleep. Anything less than 30 minutes does the opposite for him. He becomes Mr. Cranky Pants and is no fun. His afternoon nap is usually two hours. But he fights this one. I usually put a little Ylang Ylang DoTerra oil mixed with his lotion on him for relaxation. I also put on the diffuser with Lavender. Its his own personal spa! Then after a few cuddles on the rocking chair I put him in his crib still drowsy. If we are out during his afternoon nap I usually just walk around with him in his stroller and he puts himself to sleep.

If Mr. Noah doesn't take his naps he becomes extremely exhausted and over tired. Then bed time turns into a battle. I try at all cost to avoid this.

Here is a look into Noah's typical day if we are just hanging at home:

Happy baby after his two hour nap :) 

6:00am-7am: wakes up
7:45am: breakfast
8:30am: morning nap
10:00am: snack
10:30am: first walk
11:30am: play time on the floor
12:00pm: lunch
1:00pm: afternoon nap
3:00pm: snack then second walk
4:00pm: either play time at home or at the park
5:30pm dinner
6:00pm: bath
7:30pm: bedtime :)




I know it looks very planned out (and very much OCD haha) but he sorta created this schedule himself. I just watch for his cues to tell me what he needs. But I love it because I am all about knowing whats next. Of course as he gets older it changes. This has been his schedule for the past few weeks. I'm sure within a month it will be different. Since I have the little man on a schedule it makes it easy for my mom to watch him when I am at work and it also gives me a heads up if he is starting to get sick. He will usually sleep a lot more than usual or not sleep at all.


Some important things I learned from reading my sleep training book and from trial and error is:

1. Watch for cues of sleepiness. Mr Noah usually starts to rub his eyes or will all of sudden lose interest in whatever he is doing. Sometimes he will show signs of being tired an hour before his usually bedtime. Trying to keep him up just makes things worse so if he wants to fall asleep at 6pm I let him.

2. Pick a blanket or lovey that will only be used for nap and bedtime. He rubs his all over his face and under his nose to help him fall asleep. He even looks for it at night now if he wakes up to help him fall back asleep.

3. Remove all toys from the crib so that they know its bedtime not play time. I do put his favorite Dr Seuss toy in his crib with him though because he likes to cuddle.

4. Always put them in their crib drowsy. This was crucial from Mr Noah and sleep training but once he learned to put himself to sleep it was a miracle. Prior to it I would spend almost an hour rocking him into a deep sleep. If he wasn't in a deep sleep before putting him down he would wake up immediately and start crying. Bedtime would last for hours then. 

My Bible 

I hope this helps with any mamas who are on the fence about sleep training. I know its scary and I know its hard but its so worth it in the end. I feel like it helps set them up for healthy sleep habits as they get older and most importantly it helps you keep your sanity :) 

The Joys of Sleep Training Part One: Night Training

I knew from day one of Mr Noah entering the world that I would have many many MANY sleepless nights. But to my surprise around 8 weeks he started sleeping through the night! I remember the first time it happened... I woke up in a panic thinking something was wrong! I quickly checked the bassinet and there he was sound asleep. I contribute two things to him sleeping through the night....One, I created a nightly routine that included a bath and nursing cuddles in the rocking chair to help him unwind. Two, I followed the nap routines from the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. This book is AMAZING!

Can someone make room for me? 

After a few weeks of sleeping through the night I decided it was time to transition him to his crib. Mr Noah was sleeping so well in his room....all night long... till the day my husband asked "can the baby sleep with us tonight?" Since my husband works crazy hours he doesn't get a lot of time with the little man. I said yes not knowing I was opening up the biggest can of worms! That one night turned into every night....

Fast forward 4 months and Mr Noah is STILL IN OUR BED! Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against co-sleeping. It is very sweet and comforting to have the little man in bed with us but no one was getting a good nights sleep. And not only was Noah in the bed, our lovely over weight cat was too! I re-read my book and kept telling myself "tonight is the night we are going to sleep train!" Then the day would end and I was too tired to start. This went on for about a week until one afternoon while watching a rerun of  Super Nanny I realized that if I didn't get his sleeping under control now, I was going to be in big trouble when he becomes a toddler.

Part of our nightly routine, watching the tub fill up

So that night we started....we did our nightly routine but instead of going into our bed he went straight to the crib. It was heart breaking! Mr Noah cried for 30 minutes straight but it felt like 5 hours! He kept giving me looks like 'why mama! why!!" But I didn't crack. I sat in the rocking chair in silence waiting for him to fall asleep. My husband would peak in every few minutes. He hated hearing him upset but I told him we were doing the right thing. Not only will we get a better nights rest but so will the little man.

The next night he only cried for 5 minutes then fell asleep and by the third night I laid him down with his little lovey blankie and he put himself to sleep with no tears!! I felt like throwing a party to celebrate.

We weren't out of the woods just yet. We still needed to get through the whole night without waking to comfort feed. He had gotten so use to having access to his milk at anytime while co-sleeping so he expected it to continue even though he was sleeping in his crib.  At first I would just go in the room and rock him back to sleep then after a few days I started just putting his paci back in his mouth but not pick him up. It was working but I was still having to get up in the middle of the night and help soothe him. The book talked about letting them cry it out. I was so scared to try this at 3am. I didn't have the willpower to not give in. I finally took my girlfriends advice and the books advice and I didn't go in the room when he woke up. I watched on the monitor as he looked around while fussing a bit, waiting for me to come in. After 5 minutes he gave up and went back to sleep! It was another miracle!!! And last night he slept 12 1/2 hours!!!

Happy baby after a full night of rest 

I am so happy that I finally bit the bullet and followed through with the sleep training. A well rested baby makes a well rested (more friendly to be around) mama.

Stay tuned for Part Two: Nap Time :)

Final Update on Baby Weight loss

This blog is looooooong over due. I officially hit my pre-pregnancy weight around the holidays. Which I thought would never happen because I bake like every other day and treat myself to a chai latte every  afternoon. But I am still breastfeeding which burns calories and I walk everywhere with Mr Noah.

Even though I lost all the weight that I gained during my pregnancy, my mid section is still really soft and I have just a teeny tiny bit of extra skin. I know that a few sit ups and planks will take care of that but I really really REALLY dislike stomach exercises. In reality, I have never had a super toned stomach because of that. The only exercise I currently do is walking which is great because Noah loves being outside (I think we walk a minimum of 5 miles a day). We walk so much that I purchased a Joovy jogging stroller on Cyber Monday back in November. (I was beating up his bug a boo stroller too much)

So here are my final results:

I gained about 40 during my pregnancy (maybe more, I didn't weigh myself at the end haha)

Hours before going into labor

                                                                                                                                                                                

3 weeks post pregnancy 

I lost around 25 pounds the first month 

10 weeks post pregnancy

I lost another 5 pounds by September 

9 months post pregnancy 

And the final results.....

I lost my last 12 pounds by the holidays!!!! This picture is from today.

You can still see the faint Linea Nigra line on my belly. It took me about 6 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Even though while I was going through the weight loss it felt like forever but in reality it didn't. You don't want to force your body to loss all the weight right away. It just isn't healthy. Let your body tell you how fast and how much you should lose. 

We have a biter...

I feel like Mr Noah has been teething for months!! Well thats because he has! The poor little man is having such a tough time cutting his teeth.  Around the holidays the doctor could see the start of them coming through but he didn't cut his first two till March!!!! Then just when I thought we were in the clear from teething for a few months, all four of his upper teeth decided to cut at the same time. Giving him just a week vacation from the pain. Not only is the little man miserable but I'm miserable watching him go through it. He has resorted to biting everything in site (including my shoulders, chin, cheeks, and neck) Its like living with a vampire. I have a few teething toys for him and his favorite is Sophie the giraffe. I love Sophie because she is easy to clean when Mr Noah decides to throw her on the ground. But besides teething toys I found a few other products that work wonders on him...
                                                                                                                                                              
1. Say Aahhh Teething Pods:
I love love LOVE these! Its diluted clove oil that quickly numbs the gums. It comes individually packaged with q-tips to make it easy to apply and pack in your diaper bag. The only place that I know of that sells it is Buy Buy Baby




2. Hyland's Baby Teething Tablets
I have also found these to be really handy when I need a quick way to help relax him when he starts pulling at his gums.



3. A good ol' fashion cold damp washcloth
When I started to notice little tiny blister like bumps on his bottom gums, I wet a washcloth with cold water. He went to town with it! The little man kept biting and pulling on it and the next day.... two pearly whites appeared!!!! The doctor said that the roughness of the cloth helps the gums open up for the teeth to come through.

You can kind of see his little bottom teeth here paired with tons of drool

And the final trick I use to help relax Mr Noah is lavender oil in his bath at night plus I put a drop in his lotion.

Not the best picture but you get the point haha

Happy Teething Everyone!!!!