Operation Sleep Training

One role both Jeremy and I have with both girls is trainer. We are training them in different areas of their lives. Our current training focus is with Hannah and sleeping. We really slacked off with putting her on a schedule. She is so precious and LOVES to cuddle. She would like nothing better than to sleep in my arms all night long! And, one thing I wanted to do more with my second was hold her...because I don't think I held Nicole enough. Ah...I got my wish. Hannah is in a habit of falling asleep in my arms, which would be fine if she would stay asleep when I put her down. Since she was born, she has probably taken only a handful of naps longer than 30 minutes. This is not acceptable. She needs to be sleeping 10-12 hours at night, plus another 3-4 hours during the day right now. Currently, she's been sleeping 8-9 hours at night and maybe, maybe 1 hour total during the day.

So, today I put her on a more defined schedule, like we did with Nicole only much earlier. Today was wonderful (well..end result was, but we had to endure a bit of crying)! Hannah slept just under 2 hours in the morning, just under 2 hours in the afternoon, and a quick 35 minute nap before dinner. She went to sleep at 8...and I'm hoping she sleeps until 7. I did NOT rock her to sleep at all today, which has been my custom. The first nap she cried for 15 minutes, I picked her up (she Immediatly stopped crying, which tells you nothing was really wrong)told her I love her, that she was safe, and it was time for a nap. I laid her back down...she cried for 5 minutes and in mid wail, fell asleep. Same thing for the other two naps, only she cried a little less each time. I was nervous about tonight because we had the guys Bible study and I didn't know how long she would cry before they started complaining. But, it was fine...she fell asleep in probably less than 10 minutes.

So...in my eyes, today was a success. I hope tomorrow is just as good. I have MOPS tomorrow, which means we'll be off schedule a bit, but maybe, just maybe she'll still sleep:-)

I know this is best for her and our family. Hannah will be happier (could you imagine?), less sleepy...and hopefully this will help her not be sick so much. I never even thought the two were related, but it really could be. She's missed out on at least 5 hours of sleep a day since she was born. Maybe this will help her little immune system.

To my girlfriends who have either just had babies, or who haven't but will someday....Read Baby Wise and impliment it. It is so much easier to do when the baby is very small then to undue bad habits and re-teach! That's my advice tonight.