cara's red-letter week

Since I share my fair share of parenting-related sorrows here, thought I'd share some follow-up stories on the successes as well.

First up is that Baby is FINALLY on decent sleeping schedule.  He has been on one (sort of) since about three months but it really sucked since he slept in short snatches during the daytime.  At five and a half months old, he is now taking a 1.5 hour nap in the morning, an afternoon nap ranging anywhere from 2 to 3.5 hours and he is in bed by 6:30 for the night.  With no interruptions.  I don't hear from him until 7 or 8 the next morning.  Are you jealous yet? 

We are on 5 straight days of this but I'll probably jinx myself by broadcasting it to the world.  Thanks to those of you who offered comments and support on my previous sleep schedule post.  I would like to publicly recognize Stimey, whose suggestion to hold the baby while he napped was dismissed outright, but in fact ended up being my primary methodology for coping with the past five months.  What was I thinking to dismiss the wisdom of a fellow Baby Buncher and mom of three boys - sorry, Stimey. 

I will now pass this wisdom on to you other Baby Bunchers so that you, too, can promptly ignore it.  After three babies, I have realized that their "adjustment to the world" period pretty much lasts SIX MONTHS, not the three months that most books and pediatricians tell you it does.  My kids all leveled out a little around three months, but they leveled out a LOT around six months.  So don't despair if they are still scheduless disasters at 4 months.  All hope is not lost - hang in there.

Next up is that my workout prayers have been answered.  Yesterday on the way home from preschool carpool, I noticed that a new gym called Snap has opened up just across from my house.  Snap has not paid me to make the following comments, although I wish they had.  Snap is awesome because it is A) close, B) cheap C) open 24 hours a day and  D) month-to-month with no contract required.   It does not have childcare, but the aforementioned benefits mean that I can use it as a bridge solution until the wee one is old enough for us to reactivate our YMCA membership and return there.  So for the next few months at least, I will be working out at any time of day that I can convince some poor soul to watch my children for at least 30 consecutive minutes.  I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes tonight (baby steps) and it felt great! 

Is it coincidental that baby sleeping decently and my desire to return to working out, going back to work, and actually brushing my hair once in awhile have surfaced at the same time?  I think not.  Historically, this is the honeymoon time frame (after baby is sleeping through the night but before he starts crawling) in which I would get pregnant again.  Not this time, people.  I'm officially back to myself.  For good this time.  And it feels damn good.

Comments

[Deena]

Congrats on your baby sleeping so well! Mine slept good until he hit 6 months. Now he rolls over & wakes himself (&us) up. Did you have to do any kind of sleep training???

[beth]

you said snatch...hehehehe

[April]

that's awesome baby is sleeping so well - hope it's a permanent thing!!!

[Jennifer]

I have two babies under two and wonder if there will be a third. How far apart are your three?

[Cara Fox]

Deena - no sleep training this time around, but we have TWO prior failed attempts at sleep training in the past few months. Basically, I couldn't take the cry it out anymore and caved. But this most recent time, I am just watching for his signals to get tired and if I catch him "in the window", I can get him down pretty easily. If I wait too long, he gets overtired and I'm screwed.

Jennifer - my first two were 17 months apart and while it is awesome now that they are 3 and 4, it was so psychologically scarring that we waited another 3 years to have our third. So the last two are exactly 3 years apart.

[beth]

Cara,
I laugh when you say "so psychologically scarring" not b/c it's funny persay but more b/c mine are 16.5 months apart and they're currently 2 & 3 and it feels very rough around our house. Of course the 9 month crawling around isn't helping matters!

But could you elaborate what you mean when you say that? If of course it's not too personal or what have you.
thanks!

[Cara Fox]

What I mean by "psychologically scarred" (the phrase my husband coined for our situation) is that honestly, it was a lot of really hard work for us to have our kids so close together (as it is for most of you as well!). Our first was an easy baby, but a handful as a toddler and our second was a nightmare baby, so we had two really difficult kids at once. We have no family in town, so we did it totally on our own. I worked a job that was supposed to be part-time, but was very demanding and often required longer hours. On top of that, my husband decided to go back to school full-time when the second was about a year old (he took his GMATs just a few days before my second was born). All in all, it was a rough couple of years for us. There is no way we could've baby bunched the second two - we needed a bit of a respite. Hats off to you, girl, for taking the plunge so quickly with #3. I would've liked for 2 and 3 to be closer together but just didn't have it in me! Thank goodness because #3 has not been an easy baby either, but the fact that the other two are 3 1/2 and almost 5 has really made things easier.

[Beth]

Thanks for sharing!
Yeah having the 3rd so close...let's just say I'm reconsidering that one hah! It is very difficult especially as of late with the 3rd addition fortunately he stopped screaming for 3 or 4 hours at a time when he hit 7 months, I honestly thought I was going to lose my mind, my marriage, my sanity...it's better now but still challenging.
Take Care!

[Casey]

Congrats on the sleep schedule, that must be such a huge relief. Also, the gym so close by with month to month AND open 24 hours? Sign me up. I've joined two gyms in my life and I paid the monthly fees for way too long and never went. Not good. I'm glad you have some energy now that you're getting sleep. It makes all the difference.

[Michelle]

Oh Cara, you can't leave me here with my non-sleeping 6 mo old. I count on you to be living my life with me. I take solice in the fact that we are both there together! What is wrong with my baby!!!! Why will he still not sleep through the night, or nap for very long. Did you ferberize him? How did you get the energy to do it? I tried, it helped briefly, and then we are back to the trenches again.

AND, I like you, I read the post about wanting to work out and I suffered with you. In a weak moment at 2AM, I went to Sears on-line and bought a Nordictrak Elliptical machine for 50% off. I have been waking up early and doing that in the morning before my mothering duties start for the day. It's helping, but it would help more if I wasn't losing sleep to do this (or Ryan wasn't waking me up still)

AND, even with all that, I hit the honeymoon time frame too. Ryan is so cute now, and so much easier during the daytime. And so cute. I actually said these words out loud to my husband, "I could have another baby."

SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

I cannot handle the 3 I have, I am not sleeping, and I am imagining having more? Good thing I got myself fixed with this last c-section. I had to physically stop myself ... because clearly I have no will power of my own.

Oh lord. Who is this woman in the mirror?

[Stimey]

What a happy post! I'm so happy that things are coming around. And I have to say that I wish my kids were on that sleep/nap schedule. So, yes, count me jealous.

I'm also jealous about a close, cheap gym.

I'm so happy that holding your guy while he napped helped you out. I tortured myself trying not to do that with the first one, then I just gave in and realized it wouldn't wreck them. And it didn't! :)