where did august go?

Well the month is over and we are still not sleep trained nor do we care - Bella is finally taking 2-3 naps a day and sleeping a little less at night. She is eating 2 meals of "solids" a day, she is almost sitting up on her own for ever increasing amounts of time, she is the rolling queen and can somehow, without crawling, make it across the room in a few minutes, and she got a tooth, although trying to see it is a bit of a challenge. All in all it was a great month - the sad part was having to go back to work last week and now I am counting the days until my next vacation.

Day 1 of Sleep Training = Disaster

What a disaster. I had my schedule down - she was supposed to wake at 7 and then I was going to give it a shot. Well the day went something like this...
4:50 Up - Nurse - talk like crazy - no way was she going back to sleep
5:20 Reluctantly get out of bed - but try to keep everything mellow
6:20 Fell asleep nursing (I knew she was still tired)
6:50 Very carefully placed her in crib with my hand still on her chest so she would think that I was still there, gently remove hand after 5 minutes of standing there leaning over crib and eyes pop open not upset I leave her to play quietly in crib hoping for the magic sleep to take over - 7:20 Screaming - okay here is my chance to try the PU/PD the problem is everytime I put down she would scream louder
7:35 I had had enoughh of the stupid PU/PD (pick up put down)so I gave in and nursed within 2 minutes out cold (should have continued PU/PD)
8am very carefully lay her in my bed - barricade bed with pillows on the perimeter so she won't roll off
852 wake up (hurray almost an hour and a half)
We then went to Toys R Us - looking for high chairs
11am we were home and on schedule - nurse and she fell asleep
1120 phone rang - daddy just wanting to say hi! Argh! Baby up (20 minute nap)
Walk to post office
1:00 Lunch - 1T yummy oatmeal and 1T yummy banana
Play with new toy from Toys R Us
230 nurse 238 asleep but on me as gardner was here
251 very carefully lay her down eyes pop open - I try the pat pat pat method no doing (15 minutes of sleep)
330 Up - I need a break I have her watch Blues Clues (bad mom I know but I've been up since 4:50)
Play on mat and get frustrated starts tired cry - Happily I pick her up to put in crib
starts screaming (tired cry has turned into exhaustion - I missed the tired window)
for the next 40 minutes this is what happened - Bella screaming at top of her lungs into my ear - me shhshhshhing, patting (as instructed by stupid book), bouncing on the big ball while holding her patting and shhing (legs burning but at least a 15 minute workout) until finally I lay down with her and nurse (should have done this in the first place) and shes out
20 minutes later - up - UP!!!!! nurse - asleep - 20 minutes later UP!!!!!!!!!! nurse again asleep finally by 7pm she is out. I dream feed at 945 - and I go to sleep.
12:30 I hear her humming, talking, playing, laughing, UP!!!! (What is with my daughter) change diaper, and try not to respond to her (very hard as she is so cute but truthfully I am a zombie)
1:30 asleep
530 Up - but happily nurse to sleep and here I am Up again
Okay we will try again today - she will be more rested and as they say the more sleep baby gets the more they take - I have yet to see this but I am hoping that it is true.

PU/PD

Pick up Put Down - today will be the first day of Bella's sleep training - it involves a schedule - up at 8am nurse, nap at 10 am - sleep 1 1/2 - 2 hours (this will be a miracle), eat lunch at 12, play nap at 230 (again for 1 1/2 - 2 hours hahaha) then nurse, play, dinner at 530, bath at 600, nurse, books, bed at 730. Pick up Put Down is the Baby Whispers plan of action - lay her down in her crib and when she starts to cry PU/PD - rather then the harsh CIO method of Ferber. In her book she said that with one baby on the first day she had to PU/PD 160 times during one nap session and the next day that number "dropped" to 60 times and the next day to 10 times. Okay I know my daughter and I am thinking I will be in the 160 times PU/PD range. Today is going to bite and I will most likely need a big glass of wine tonight when all is said and done. I guess the oddest advice in the book was wear ear plugs so when they scream in your ear it won't be so bad. Great.

This plan was all set to go into action - except Bella woke up at 4:50 and would not go back to sleep so I guess PU/PD starts at 8....

How to stall at 7 months

as promised - this is much more fun then going to sleep

Sleep? Who needs sleep? Not Bella.

Okay - I know that I ruined the whole sleeping thing. It was me - I take full responsibility for having a non napping, non crib using baby. MeMeMe. The sweet attentive nurses in the NICU had my baby swaddled and napping on a 3 hr schedule. I brought her through the door and ruined it. I wanted to hold her. Love her. Touch her. I wanted her with me all of the time. She was so little and her start at life was so hard so I made the decision to hold her to sleep, nurse her to sleep and let her sleep on my chest in bed. Well 7 months later - after having read The Happiest Baby on the Block, The Baby Whisperer 1 and 2, The No-cry sleep solution, Dr. Sears, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and the famous Babywise - I am no where nearer having a sleeping baby. Infact if left to CIO (Cry It Out) dear sweet Bella becomes a screaming maniac - who doesn't cry but yells at me non stop for 15 solid minutes after I have left her in the crib to CIO and then pick her up. How dare I leave her in her crib to cry and just pat her on the back and let her know that it will all be okay. Her new thing is, althogh very cute also very annoying, she lays on her back then rolls over and lifts head smiles lays down rolls over ever so slightly moving in a clockwise position while talking. She repeats this cute move until she has done a complete cirlce and the rolls over and simultaneously kicks her legs waves her arms and happily screams. This has happened now 4 nights in a row - this is starting to become a pattern. Help!!!!! Tomorrow,as I am sure that it will happen again, I will try to take a video of this sweet manuever as for now I am going to reread the highlighted parts in the no-cry sleep solution book and I am going to try to come up with a schedule.