Revamping Of Sleep

So we started a new schedule for Cael's sleeping patterns yesterday afternoon. After researching the 2-3-4 nap schedule, and reading positive reviews about it, we decided to do that as closely as possible. Cael didn't really get a "real" morning nap yesterday because we were out all morning for his appointment. But he was ready for his afternoon nap by 2 pm. He slept from 2-4:30pm, in which we woke him, as we don't want him sleeping too much past 2 hours. He was surprisingly pleasant. Going by the schedule, 4 hours later would be his bed time, which would be 8:30. However, as each baby is different, you have to adjust the schedule accordingly. Cael didn't make it to 4 hours, but was ready for bed 3 hours after waking, at 7:30. We started his bath at about 7:10, got him into his jammies, read him a story and got him into bed. He was asleep by 7:45.

Notice how I didn't mention that I fed him. He had carrots at around 6:30, and nursed after that (I know, tsk tsk - he should have nursed before the carrots. I have to get used to that). Because he had eaten at that point, we decided to just get him into bed since not a lot of time passed. Cael slept for 6 hours! Let me repeat: Cael had a 6 hour stretch of sleep. Something that I can't remember the last time happening. He woke up at 2 am s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g. Although it will suck for Matt and his brother, who is right above Cael's room, we decided it's best to follow the pedi's suggestion, and stimulate him as least as possible when he wakes in the night. So after an hour of shhsh'ing, stroking, singing, rocking, patting, and non-stop screaming, he was asleep by 3am. And I did not feed him! I climbed back into bed, thankful, and Matt rolled over telling me I did a good job.

But it didn't last long. He was awake 10 minutes later. And he remained awake - and screaming - until 4am. This time, I limited how many times I picked him up, and just kept giving him the pacifier. I even just let him cry for a few minutes at a time, out of his sight, sitting on the floor. It was loud, and I felt bad for Matt, but he eventually put himself to sleep, while I was sitting on the floor.

Now, ideally, I would have climbed right into bed and went back to sleep. But unfortunately for me, I started urinary tract symptoms at around 2:30am, after going to the bathroom. I was so uncomfortable, that I couldn't sleep. I spent about 25 minutes just sitting on the toilet, because that gave me the most relief. I even contemplated bringing in the fold up table, putting my pillow on it, and falling asleep WHILE sitting on the toilet. But I didn't. I grabbed a pillow instead, put it between my legs/knees tightly, and eventually fell asleep (in bed) at 5:45am.

Cael, on the other hand, slept from 4-6:45am. Not a bad stretch, I guess. I figured he was up for the day, so I brought him into bed with me to feed him laying down. Well, he fell right back to sleep, so I did too. We slept until 8. Not a bad night overall, I guess. Yes, I had to deal with 2 hours of almost-non-stop screaming, but it beats being up every 2 hours throughout the night. I just hope tonight is the same, if not better.

So he was up at 8, meaning his morning nap should be around 10. I had made a doctor appointment for myself, because by the time we got up, I was peeing blood. So much blood, the toilet water was red. And when I say red, I mean red. So my appointment was at 10:30, and I really didn't want to mess around with his naps, so luckily, Matt's dad was home upstairs. I laid him down at 10 for his nap, and he fell right to sleep. He slept until I woke him up at 12:30pm! We're off to a great start for the day. I fed him and got him ready to go out to Walmart. I needed to do some food shopping, since I was away for 1.5 weeks, and Matt doesn't do food shopping. By the nap schedule, Cael should be ready for his afternoon nap by 3:30, so I had to keep him occupied so he didn't get tired and cranky before then.

Cael did really well between his morning and afternoon nap. He really does enjoy going out. He seemed tired at 3, so I laid him down, expecting him to fall asleep. But after some fussing and whining, he eventually fell asleep by 3:30. I took this opportunity to take a nap too, instead of doing the overflowing mountain of dishes that have to be cleaned. Cael was happily awake at 4:30, and since he wasn't crying, I stayed in bed until a little before 5, and then we got up.

We were planning on Cael being ready for bed between 7:30 and 8:30. After nursing and carrots for dinner at 6:30, he happily stayed in his high chair while we ate a late dinner, until 7:30! He was just happy. Matt asked Cael who the new baby was, and told him that it was nice to not have him fussing like he normally would be at that time. Cael had had about enough by 7:30, and started crying, so we got him ready for his bath. I fed him again (hopefully that helps tonight), and he was asleep by 8:15. Now we just have to see what the night brings.

So far, I've noticed a change in Cael's attitude this afternoon. He seemed more happy, especially after napping. I will update tomorrow about how the night goes tonight.