3 Months Old

Chance is 3 months old!

Day 4 of Ferberizing Chance: Chance went down for 3 short naps today plus slept in the carseat for 2 hours. It was too windy to take him out in the stroller, but needed to go to the bank to get a bank draft for the remaining balance on my leased car. On Thursday the car will be mine all mine.

When we got home he didn't wake up, so I made myself lunch. He still didn't wake up, so I unloaded the dishwasher 10 feet away from him. He didn't wake up. The cat sniffed him and meowed. He still didn't wake up. So I figured as it was too windy to go out, he could just take his long afternoon nap there.

He didn't cry more than 8 minutes for the naps. In fact one of them he was asleep within 2 minutes. He only stayed asleep for 35 minutes for his naps, that is something I will have to figure out, but at least he is going to sleep in his crib for his naps, by himself.

We put him to bed at 7:30 and by 7:50 he was asleep. He didn't wake up until 4:15 AM, then took a big feeding and fell asleep in my arms. Unfortunately when I put him in the crib he woke up, so he is currently crying. It is mostly a complaint right now, no real screams. Hopefully he will settle down, if not 6 AM is right around the corner and we will get our day started.

....Later...Chance went to sleep around 5:20 and slept until 6:35, then I nursed him again and he fell back asleep until 8:15 (I had to wake him up).We went for a walk today and it was gloomy and chilly out but calm. We were out for about 1 hour (we walked to the grocery store and bought milk). When we got home I left him in his toque and mitts and fleece coveralls and nursed him and then popped him into the carseat and we were off for the public health office for a weigh-in. As we were driving away from home a TUMBLEWEED blew past us! That is when I noticed that a gale force wind had sprung up! Luckliy I found a parking spot close to the door and put the blanket over Baby's head, but SHEESH, that's Calgary weather for you! When we left the house the wind was from the SW and 7 km/hr. Now it's 50 km/hr from the North! The weigh-in was not a required visit but as Chance is 3 months old today it will be good to have that point on his growth chart. Also I booked his follow-up shots for March 6.

Last night at supper Chance had 6 spoons of milk without spilling a drop.

Spoon Feeding

Chance ate part of his breakfast by spoon today. I put milk on the spoon and then gave it to him that way - we have been practicing with an empty spoon for about 2 weeks now. When he was getting the empty spoon, he would kind of give me a puzzled look and then a big smile - like he was saying "that's it? oh well it's kind of fun, do it again!". This time when he got the milk from the spoon, he swallowed and grinned then opened his mouth again. 3 spoonfuls of milk today. What a big boy!

Ferberizing

Day 2 of the Ferber Sleep Plan. Chance went to sleep after 20 minutes of crying, woke up half an hour later, and was asleep after 5 minutes of crying. He's been asleep now for nearly an hour. Sounds easy right?Last night he cried for 5 hours off and on before settling in for a 4 hour sleep from 1:30 til 5:30. He did not nurse from 7:45 PM til 5:30 AM. He has fed MUCH better today, a total of 5 good solid feedings, rather than 8 or 9 mini-meals.We will see how he sleeps tonight....

...later...2:45 AM and not a peep yet. I got up to get a drink and a snack and pumped a little milk so that my night milk doesn't go away completely in case Chance needs it tomorrow or the next night...

...later...Chance woke up at 3:15 AM and I fed him and then he was happy and wanted to play. But he went back in the crib and after about an hour of crying went to sleep for 30 mins and then back up for about an hour - back to sleep by 6:15 and stayed there until 7:45.

*HOLY MOLY*

It's like we took 3 steps back last night! Chance woke up at 11, 12, 1, and 2, taking about half an hour to go back to bed. He wouldn't nurse for more than a few minutes but protested when put back in bed. Even when I rocked him to sleep and put him back in the crib, he woke up within 30 minutes. Finally at 3 I was at my end and so the battle of wills began. I sent Cam downstairs with a set of earplugs, then let Chance go full-force for 10, 20, 30, etc. minutes. He was back asleep by 3:45 but only for 15 minutes. I tried to nurse him then, same deal: 4 sucks and already dozing, *not* a pattern I want to continue! So into the crib he went, lots of soothing words and massage, but to no avail, baby was UP, AWAKE, and ready to PLAY!

So, I ran a tub, and Chance stayed in his crib. The jets on the jacuzzi really buffered out the crying quite a bit and I finally got to try the bath products my friend Lynne bought me for my birthday - lavender. I thought that if the scent didn't help Chance sleep, at least it would help me sleep. After a 20 minute soak in the tub I went back to my little boy's room and started the process over again, meanwhile researching coping techniques online. Finally he went to sleep at 5:15 and stayed asleep until nearly 7:30, at which point I thought he must be genuinely hungry (last nursed "well" at 11:00 PM.)

I nursed him in bed and we both slept until just shortly before 9. By 10 he was already cranky (of course, he had a rough night too!) so laid him down for a nap but again he refused to sleep. So...the battle resumes. I

wouldn't mind getting up in the night to nurse him, but all he wants is to be soothed to sleep. Both Cam and I feel he needs to learn how to do this himself - we are not prepared to be waking in the night like this at 6, 9 and 12 months of age. The doctor feels that his weight is sufficient that he should be able to handle a 10-12 hour stretch of sleep at night, so that is our goal. We would even settle for 6-8 hours!

Baby in Bed by 8 PM

We had our best night yet putting Chance asleep last night. He was fussy and wouldn't eat after his bath, and after 10 minutes of crying he fed well and then went to sleep with no complaint. He slept until 1:00 (was asleep at 8) and back to sleep by 1:45....only time will tell now whether he will be up at 3 or asleep until 6!

LATER...Chance slept until 4:30 and was up at 6 because the cat poked her nosy nose into his bedroom and decided to try begging CHANCE for her breakfast. He settled down around 6:15 and then slept for another hour.

Growth Spurt Ends (Finally)

After I don't know how many nights of up at 12, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Chance FINALLY slept from 9 PM til 3, then from 3:30 til 5, then 5:30 til 7:30, then 7:30 til almost 9. I feel like a new Momma!

2nd Date with Ayla

Chance has been nursing frequently over the last week, so have been getting up 2 and 3 times per night. Exhausting, but hopefully will be over soon. Tonight we had company, our friends Greg and Courtney and their little girl Ayla who was born 3 weeks before Chance. Both babies slept during dinner and then posed for "date" pictures.

Sleeping!!

Woooohoooo! Chance slept last night from 9:30 to 2:30, then from 3:00 and still isn't up yet! It's 6:30 and I'm going to go eat breakfast like a HUMAN BEING, with both hands and a cup of tea!

RGH Baby Potluck

We went out to celebrate the birth of all the babies from our Rockyview Hospital prenatal classes last night. In total there were 8 babies present (out of 11). In total there were 13 couples in our prenatal classes so 11 have kept in touch to make a pretty good network of new-baby families.

One of the women came up with a baby-sitting co-op idea. It sounds like it will work as we all live in the SW and several of us live within 10 minute drives of each other. It will work like this: if we need someone to babysit Chance, we can call Mommy A who lives near our neighborhood. We would then have a 2-hour debt to the co-op. Later on, Mommy B needs a babysitter for 2 hours, and calls us to babysit - then our debt to the co-op is paid. We will have to see how it goes, but already this means that my dentist dilemma could be solved: the first dentist appointment on a Saturday I can get is April 21. With the co-op, I could arrange for a weekday dentist appointment within a month.

Cold Snap

Today meeting with the RGH Moms on 17th Avenue for coffee at Starbucks. It is very cold out (-15 C but windy so feels like -30 C). Will have to bundle Chance like a little Eskimo. We are picking up one RGH mom and her baby because she doesn't have a car and the Starbucks is too far away from C-train station to walk. Cam moved our car seat over last night so that there is room for her car seat.

I love our mobile!

It's 3:32 AM and I hear thumping! Baby is fed and changed and asleep and I just want to go to sleep too but I hear thumping! Grr! I don't know if it's the d*mn neighbours doing construction again or the cat prowling in the ductwork or what, it's driving me nuts!This is the 2nd night Chance slept in his room. Much better than the first night (he was up at 10, 1, 2:30, 4:30 and then finally slept in our bed until 7). Tonight he went to bed at 10:30 PM and has only been up at 2:15 (asleep by 3:00) so far...

LATER..Chance slept in the crib until 5:30 and then after I fed him he slept with me until about 7:45. So far I've changed his diaper and then put him back in the crib to watch his mobile - he loves it. I have had breakfast, run a tub and unloaded the dishwasher. That mobile is such a lifesaver!

Baby Chansus

We spent a fun New Year's Eve with our friends Aimee and Jason Pawsey and their son Noah. Noah is 2 years old and just LOVED spending time with "Baby Chance" and his "baby toes, baby knees, baby fingers" haha. When Chance was crying at one point, Noah exclaimed that "Baby Chance is crazy!". Also Noah started calling him "Baby Jesus" every now and then changed it to "Baby Chansus". So cute.

On New Year's Eve Chance did not want to go to bed and howled blue murder for a couple of hours. Exhausted, Cam went to bed before the ball dropped and I stayed up with the Pawseys and my (finally) asleep baby to drink a glass of bubbly and get my midnight kiss. So it's back to work for Cam today and hopefully now we will start really working on a daily routine for Chance, in addition he will start sleeping in his own room. At first he will sleep in his basinnette and then in his crib, once we get things cleared up in his room (things are a bit hectic in his room currently due to the frantic unpacking of suitcases yesterday).

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Chance's resolution is to go to sleep unswaddled in 2007 - something that we did not figure out until about 11 PM Dec. 31. Getting him to sleep at night has been a battle over the last few days and after several hours of crying we managed to get him to sleep last night. The pitfall is that he keeps hitting himself with his floppy arms and waking up. In fact he's up right now - I hear Cam shushing him. Time to go.

Wishing you all a great New Year.