I am trying not to complain since Nathan has come so far in his sleep venture but...I am still not getting enough sleep and he is getting very wild in that crib! He is getting tired earlier then he used to and is now ready to go to bed by 6:30, he is even falling asleep while I nurse him at 6:00 some nights. I switched up the routine like some of you suggested and it has helped but there he is still ready to fall asleep at times. I have not had the chance to read his bedtime books in days because he is ready for bed so we skip them.

He is also getting up earlier then before, I assume because he goes to bed earlier. He used to get up at 7 or later and now it is 6! For example last night he went to bed at 6:30 - up at 11:00 to nurse - up at 4:30 to nurse - up at 6 for the day. I was so out of it I tried to nurse him at 6 but he wanted no part of it, just to play. I put him back in the crib and went back to bed. I am not even sure if he went back to sleep but I know I didn't get him out of his crib until 7:30, so he must have went back to sleep for a short time. I cannot believe I am so tired even with getting more sleep then I used to. The thing is I refuse to go to bed early since that is my only time to myself, last night I didn't to sleep until midnight. I did try to go to bed earlier but he woke up before I could fall asleep. I know, I am choosing to sleep less by getting to bed late.

The other thing that is happening is my little friend now is very wild in the crib. He got he chubby leg stuck between the bars and was crying. I had to go help him, it wasn't lodged in there it was just that he could not get it out himself. He is all over the place and cries when he gets stuck in the corner. he is even starting to turn his mobile on himself and boy did that freak me out at first! Does this get easier? I have read as they get more active they seem to almost practice at night and wake themselves up at times. There have been nights where he goes to bed at 7:00 and only wakes up once until 7:00 the next morning. I wish it was that way more often. I am very grateful I dont work the nest day when he throws these crazy nights at me.

Okay, I know some of you have much less sleep but did anyone else notice this? When you get used to less sleep you seem to operate fine and when you have enough sleep you do the same. It seems that when you get thrown back and forth is when it really messes you up. I can see that he isnt not by any measures a bad sleeper anymore but yet here I am wishing it was better. Maybe I need a reality check here! This is when I get pretty annoyed with not having my husband physically here, I dont have anyone to help me at night and sometimes I just need a break. Oh well, this too shall pass!!!! Phew, I feel better for getting that all out. No more complaining for me today! : )

So I think yesterday was the most difficult day of my life, ever! Joe and I were running a little low on sleep yesterday but we were feeling pretty good about things. I am breastfeeding and I felt like things were going ok, it is hard hard to tell when you don't have a way to measure the milk. Lorelai was feeding well when she wanted to eat but if we had to wake her she didn't eat so well. She was making plenty of messy diapers so that was our measure of success.

Well, about noon yesterday Lorelai started crying and would not stop. It wasn't constant, she would cry for about an hour and then settle down. We were able to feed her some and she was making messy diapers still so we thought she had gas. We continued with the sleep for 30 minutes - cry for an hour - feed for 5 minutes cycle that she seemed to be for the rest of the day and ALL NIGHT LONG! About 2:30am we called the pediatrician and he said she sounded hungry, try to keep feeding her and bring her in, we had an appointment today already. She feel asleep about 5:00am and did sleep until 7:00.

At 7:00 we woke up and I fed her a little bit and then she slept the rest of the morning until 11:00am when we went to the pediatrician. Dr. May weighed her and she was down from her birth weight of 6 lbs 10 oz to 5 lbs 10 oz - which was 14% of her body weight. Dr. May discussed our options with us, bottle feeding or breastfeeding. He recommended a lactation consultant at Newborn Concepts and called and made an appointment for us.

We met with Robyn at Newborn Concepts and she checked Lorelai's ability to suck at the breast and we learned that her "suck" was not strong enough, which could be attributed to her low weight and energy. Robyn also thought that even though my milk appeared to be in, because Lorelai was not strong enough to suck that my milk was probably not plentiful enough yet. We then discussed our options, our only concern being that Lorelai put the weight back on and become stronger and the goal to be able to breastfeed again. We decided to formula feed her from a bottle until I could pump enough to supply her milk. Once she put the weight back on and I was producing enough milk for her we would switch her back to breastfeeding.

Oh my gosh, what a relief we felt. We caught it early and were able to get a good plan in place before she was too sick or dehydrated. We are feeding her every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours at night. Every time we feed her I also pump so that my milk supply will soon match the demand of feeding. As soon as I get enough milk she will be bottle fed with breast milk but until then we have to give her formula. We are already noticing a difference and I cannot explain how much better we feel. I know that she will be all better soon.

Oh my goodness!! He has reached a new flexibility! It is soooo cute, I'm trying to get a picture of it but he's to aware of the camera and quits as soon as he sees the big black box! He has now managed to get not only his big toe, but his entire foot in his mouth! I knew my kids would all have big mouths, just like their father! ;-) It was so funny when he did it for the first time, his eyes got so big and I couldn't tell if he was choking himself or if he was just proud of his new trick. He then started giggling while he still had his foot in his mouth so I knew he was just excited with himself. Let's hope this isn't a sign of how he is going to be when he's an adult...always putting his foot in his mouth! :-)

So tonight was extra special since Nathan went to bed all by himself! No rocking, no nursing just put him in his crib and said night night and a few mintues later after making some noise he went to sleep peacefully all on his own. I am so stinkin' proud of him!!!! I am really praying this is the start of something good here. My struggles were that I rocked him to sleep for the first 3 months of his life and he went to bed at 11pm, well he woke up so many times that it was just several naps really. I was ready to lose my mind on night when I tried to put him asleep into his crib 7 times!!!!! Everytime he hit that mattress he would wake up and scream. I knew something had to change so after a month of work and both of us being ready here we are with me being able to say he went to sleep all on his own and is sleeping really well at night. Oh does that feel good to say! I am going to post a discussion board on what I did to get to this point to maybe help someone else that was in my boat...there is a lot advice on sleep but I found little on actually teaching them fall asleep on their own without crying it out. Here is a pic of him and his blanket he needs to fall asleep with.

I have to confess something that many people will think I am crazy for allowing but...my son loves to have something by his face to fall asleep. At first it really freaked me out but when I googled it I saw that it is not uncommon. I used to swaddle him but he is very active and would always wiggle out of it or get mad so I did to the tucking the blanket thing but he managed to pull that out too and get it up by his face. I was sooo upset the first time I went to check on him and saw it. With him being active the blanket sleepers dont work out too well either. So after seeing other babies in fact do this I let him fall asleep on his own with the blanket (a lightweight one) and then as soon as he is asleep I go in and move it. With all the fear they put in us about SIDS I of course felt like I had to avoid this at all costs but then realized it was up to me to decide what I felt was right for us both. I take all the precautions advised from a bare crib to a top quality extra firm, foam mattress but some things you just have to figure out yourself and trust your instincts. I plan on giving him a 'lovey' when he is a little older but for now this is working for us.

So this evening I started Nathan's new bedtime routine with nursing him earlier then before. I switched things up so he wouldnt fall asleep eating and hopefully go to bed on his own like he had been doing before. Although he didnt do it that completely it was a success! He cried when I put him in his crib and I went and got him and walked around a little to calm him down and gave him a little tummy calmer since he had been spitting up a lot today and a little crankier then usual. Then he practically fell asleep in my arms so I put him down and he screamed, then just fell back to sleep on his own. YAY! What a great feeling to not have to pick him, rock him to sleep then put him down just to have him wake up and repeat that 4 or 5 times!!! He sleeps much better when he falls asleep on his own so I am really working to make that happen. Not just for my sake but for his, who wants to be woken up?? I am sure he hates it too! I am keeping my fingers crossed he has a peaceful, safe slumber tonight. He is such a joy in the morning, nothing makes me happier then walking to his crib and getting a HUGE smile when he sees me!

We had a very busy weekend so Nathan had a tough time getting to sleep tonight. He has been doing really well with falling asleep on his own and getting up 1-3 times a night. Tonight he just needed some assistance getting settled so he needed to be rocked to sleep. Hopefullt the remainder of the night will be peaceful for us both!