Big Week for Baby

Eliza had her 4 mnth check up on Tuesday which brought some exciting changes to our lives!

With these appointments, I'm always so excited to find out how much Eliza has grown and what new things she's ready to take on, that I forget about the worst part ever- her vaccination shots!! It is hands-down the saddest thing EVER! Eliza screams and screams like I've never heard before, and I have to muster all the strength I can to not cry with her! :( Poor girl.

But Eliza has done some great growing.

She is 25.4 inches long - 90th percentile
and weighs 16 lbs 14.8 oz - 97th percentile
Her head circumference is 41.4 cm - 60th percentile
(Our doctor said her smaller stats with her head means her body's
just trying to stay in porportion as opposed to lots of babies who
have massive heads compared to their body size.)

Good work baby! Her pediatrician said Eliza looked great-- happy, well adjusted (Eliza was beaming at all the nurses and her doctor), great skin and heart, etc. So I asked her about our sleeping struggle which leads us to this weeks project- Ferberizing Eliza!

Up until now, Eliza has fallen asleep with a bedtime schedule of bathtime, lotion massage, stories with Daddy, and finally nursing to sleep at around 8 or so. Then we swaddle her and put her in her crib still sleeping, which she stays in for usually maybe 5 hours before waking up and wanting to be nursed back to sleep.

And I being exhausted at about 1 or 2, have oft times just brought her into bed with me for the rest of the night. So we've basicially been co-sleeping for the last few months during the second half of the night... which I've heard and read doctors say this creates a great bonding experience for the whole family and is beneficial for breastfeeding success and for babies metabolic capacities.

However, of late, I have found that neither Eliza nor I are getting the restful sleep that we need-- or at least the continuous sleep that we need. It didn't motivate me enough to just do it for myself, but seeing that Eliza is not getting enough sleep and seeing how she does not know how to comfort herself back to sleep is what has motivated me to seek an alternate method.

I love Eliza's pediatrician-- she is so kind and sweet to Eliza and very patient and gracious to me. She explained to me her very practical approach to sleep training babies. I guess people refer to it as the cry-it-out method, but my pediatrician said that in her 13 years of practice (and with her 2 children), this method has worked every time. She said that by next Tuesday, if it hadn't worked for Eliza then we could call her and talk.

SOo, since I have currently (as in the past 4 mnths) been obsessed with how everyone has been able to teach their babies/kids to sleep through the night, I thought I'd journal via blog our cry/sleep week!

The plan is to go ahead and bathe and lotion Eliza, and then just keep her in her diaper while I nurse her until she's full. Then we get her dressed in jammies (making sure she's awake) and read her a couple stories, swaddle her and then lay her down in her crib awake and shut the door.

Our results so far for the last two nights include:

Tuesday night: Eliza cried for just about 50 minutes before falling asleep. It was so hard that honestly, I was tearing up and had to call Mom for support and take Mika outside for a walk to get away from her wailing.

But we were blessed with immediate results because Eliza slept ALL NIGHT- like 9 1/2 hours straight! FANTASTIC!

Tonight (Wednesday night): Eliza cried for just about an hour straight- more vigorously than last night, I think. Smart kid. I tried to put headphones on to begin with and listen to music to block out her cries, but I eventually gave up and went to the gym to take out my frustration on the treadmill, leaving Steve in the kitchen with his ipod on while he did the dishes (loud Bach and running water).

So we'll see how Eliza sleeps tonight. I'm kinda thinking that last night's long sleep was more due to her vaccination shots than anything else... so we'll see! Wish us luck!

I really have to give my Mom the credit she's due. She's been recommending this method all along and has explained it to me and reassured me about how it worked with the four of us as kiddies. But she also is such a great mom that she hasn't said I told you so or been pushy during my wandering research through all the other methods and recommendations. THANKS for all your help, Mom!

Just in case any of you are concerned with how this inhumane sleep training program has affected Eliza, here is a picture of how I found her in her crib this morning when I checked on her at 6:30am.

So happy and content! I was happy to see that she had pulled
her favorite poodle closer to her sometime during the night!

The other exciting news from Eliza's appointment was that we can start introducing solid foods! Here are some shots of the momentous first dinner of rice cereal mixed with breast milk. YUM YUM.... maybe...

Finally getting to try some of mom and dad's stuff!

Maybe not so exciting anymore!

After rushing around trying to get the rice cereal the right consistency, the right temperature, etc. during dinnertime, I realized just how easy we've had it breastfeeding! Luckily, I don't think it'll be an overnight transition! After a few spoonfuls, Eliza had had enough. She was a sport and swallowed a bit, but was then ready to go back to some serious eating and just nurse.