Baby Sleep Challenge!

I am on a mission to get Isabella (7wks and 6days old) to sleep for at least 5 hours in a row by the end of Oct (at the latest!). I love my daughter so much and I love her personality. She seems to trust me and I want to keep it that way. So I am trying to find a nonharsh way to help her sleep longer. I want to enjoy every minute with her that I can, but nighttime can be a really hard time and I find myself getting frustrated with this cutie. I thank God for every day that He gives me with her and I don't want to be frustrated with her at any time. Hopefully, I can find some solutions.

I am going to be writing in a journal every day (and blogging on here every morning about the previous night) and document when she sleeps and eats at night and during the day. That way I can monitor her and try to find a good combination. I started my journal this morning at 6am (7/21/08) and I have been keeping track of the following things:

when she eats

when she sleeps

how she got to sleep

how long she slept

how she sleep (swaddled, Halo blanket, etc).

She might not be getting enough sleep or food during the day and that might be the problem. Who knows! Hopefully I will come up with a system that works for both of us.

About us:

Izzy is breastfed exclusively

I respond to her cries as soon as I can to help build her confidence in me

She sleeps in our room in a bassinet.

At night we keep things dark (mostly night lights only to feed and change)

We have a bedtime routine: at 8:30pm bath [going to be starting one every night beginning tonight], jammies, night time massage, good night book, and final feeding.

If anyone is in a similar situation and has ideas or wants to join me in this challenge, let me know!

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How it all started:

Probably the week before we found out, we were talking about waiting a couple of years before we started trying. Gary was applying to grad school to be a school counselor and money just wasnt right. We have been talking about kids for awhile and we both adore them, but we thought we should wait.

We were driving an hour away to get my car checked because it was having issues and I mentioned to Gary how nauseous and tired I felt. I joked around (or so I thought! LOL!) saying I might be pregnant. Then I really starting thinking about the last time I had AF. I said out loud, I think I am two weeks late.Gary was like, There is no way you are pregnant. I would know. I said that I think we should get a pregnancy test. We dropped my car off and we went to a friends house who lived nearby. We asked her if we could use her bathroom to take a test and she said she was fine with that. So we bought a test and off we went. To my surprise, the TWO lines came up but they looked so faded and I was like, no way. I think they are too faded. Maybe that doesnt count. So, I sent Gary to get another brand of pregnancy test. He came back with the kind that says pregnant or not pregnant. Well, the pregnant showed up right away and I was waiting for the not part to show up. It never did. We were both VERY surprised but so excited. We had a doctors appt a few days later and that was a definite yes! I was six weeks pregnant. Crazy what life throws at you sometimes=).

Thursday, 15 Nov

I am 10 weeks today...so excited to be pregnant. Morning sickness has been horrible, but I know it is worth it... Worried about my "weak positive" for a blood clotting disorder. Waiting on more blood results...

Wednesday, 26 Nov

I am now 12 weeks...some days I am not so nauesous and other days it hits me again all day. At least it is getting a little better. We are slowly starting to tell more and more people. Sometimes I don't know how to do it because I am not showing yet. I don't want to just say, "By the way, I'm pregnant" Guess I will just wait for the right time...

Tuesday, 11 Dec

I am finally in my second trimester! I actually didn't throw up this morning. Hopefully this is a sign that the nauesous is stopping and I can finally feel human again! We got a picture of our baby on Sunday. It is in our photo book=). Have an appt with Hemotologist for more information on my blood clotting disorder.

Wednesday, 19 Dec

Week 15 is here. I can't believe that I found out I was pregnant 9 weeks ago. Crazy how time is flying. I am not showing as much as I would like to yet. Slowly telling more and more people that we are pregnant. Learned from Hemotologist the other day that I don't have to take shots because I am still testing "weak." It doesn't put me at ease though. What if I still have the blood clotting disorder and something happens? I worry about this all the time. I guess I can only take one day at a time. We really want this baby and we are both so excited about it. I can't wait to meet him or her=)

Thursday, 27 Dec

We were hoping to find out the sex of the baby yesterday, but it didn't happen. I am kinda tired of people saying it's a boy or it's a girl, so I just want to find out already! Our next appt is Jan 30. Hopefully we should find out then. I can't wait. It seems so far away. We are thinking of getting a 3D/4D sono so we can find out sooner

Saturday, 29 Dec

I am feeling so tired today. My husband made me breakfast in bed, which is a nice treat, but now I feel nauseous. I thought the m/s was supposed to be over. Yesterday I threw up three times. I haven't done that in about two weeks. I hope this goes away soon. I am tired of feeling so "unhuman" all the time. I know it will be worth it in the long run...never knew pregnancy was this hard. I am going to take my OB's advice and try vitamin B6...hope that works.

Friday, 4 Jan

Time is flying by! June is going to be here in no time! I still haven't quite felt the baby move, although sometimes I think I do. It is so hard to tell since this is my first. We got a ton of hand me down stuff from my sister the other day and now our future baby room is almost packed. I just think she wanted to get that out of her house. That kinda stuff can pile up fast! Still throwing up...I really hope the m/s ends soon. I threw up three times already and was nauseous all morning. So hard when you are working with kids and want to puke. Wish I could just sleep all day...

Monday, 14 Jan

Today is my last day in week 18. Sounds like everyone has been feeling their babies according to messages, but I just haven't been sure. I felt a "muscle twitch" a few times over the last few days and I wasn't sure it that was movements. Every time it happens though it makes me smile, so it has to be it! According to what some of you have been saying, it sounds like that is what I am feeling. So exciting! It almost like a reassurance that the baby is doing okay...can't wait for the them to get stronger and the day my husband can actually feel them, too=)

Friday, 18 Jan

Only a few more days until week 20 and I will be half way there. We have been thinking a lot about our nursery and what colors we will use. I guess everything will be more definite as soon as we know the gender of the baby. January 30 could not come faster. Not only do I want to know that everything is going well with the baby, I want to start planning and buying things for him/her. I have been so tired today I can barely keep my eyes open. Thank God for snow yesterday and I could stay home and relax and catch up on sleep. Today, though, my body needs another snow day! Still throwing up every morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Today I have been nauseous all day...the vitamin B6 did not work. I am buying Fintstones plus Iron vitamins this afternoon and trying those. Hopefully the nauseous was from the vitamins and not the pregnancy so I can make this feeling go away! Keeping my fingers crossed....Oh-baby just moved=) so cool...

Tuesday, 29 Jan

First day in week 21...every time a week goes by in this pregnancy, I breathe a sigh of relief. Because this is my first, I am very nervous that something will go wrong or something is going wrong. We have our 20 week sono tomorrow and I am excited about finding out the sex of the baby. I am also nervous, about how the pregnancy is going. I am mostly a positive thinker and I believe that everything is going fine, but then again you never know. Especially hearing other stories on here about how things went wrong. Tomorrow afternoon can't come fast enough. Hopefully everything we will be fine and we will know whether it will be an Anthony or Isabella=). I feel the baby moving everyday-that makes me feel like everything is fine so far.

Wed, 30 Jan

Gary felt the baby move last night! It was so exciting. We were in bed and starting to fall asleep and he put his hand on my stomach. The baby started kicking and I moved his hand to the spot where the baby was. After about a minute, the baby kicked and he felt it! I was so happy he finally felt it. I have been having him feel my stomach for two weeks now hoping he would feel something. He was very excited about it=)

Thurs, 31 Jan

Well, we went for our ultrasound. The good news is that the baby looks good. The heartbeat, head, fingers, etc all looked good. The baby weighs 14 oz. Bad news is we never got to see our baby's lucky charms=(. He/She had his/her legs crossed the whole time. It was so disappointing because I was really looking forward to finding out. Plus on top of that the placenta was in the way of the face, so even though my doc's office has a 4D u/s, we couldn't get a good look at it. My sister works in a hospital and said she is good friends with a u/s tech so hopefully on Friday I can go and find out. Glad the baby is doing well though!

Monday, 4 Feb

My husband and I have decided that we are just going to wait to find out the baby's gender until it is born. It was a hard decision, but I think it will be a good one. I am very into planning and I think this will help me get used to the unexpected side of being a mom! If, heaven forbid, something happens later and we need another u/s, we will try to find out again, but if not we will leave it to a surprise! My doctor changed my due date to June 12. Closer to the last day of school=).

Thurs, 7 Feb

I have given up on my Flintstones Vitamins since I am still throwing up my breakfast every morning and have gone back to the prenatals (I think it is better for the baby). I feel kind of good today...I just need to keep eating every two hours and I am okay (except for the mornings). We have been trying to get our dogs "ready" for what is to come. I have been carrying around a doll a couple of times a day and talking to it. They are so used to use baby talking to them, they always think I am talking to them! One of my dogs doesn't seem to care, the other follows me around like crazy if I am holding the doll (I think she thinks it is a toy right now). When we get a stroller I am going to practice walking with one of them and pushing the stroller at the same time. Who knows how that will go! Oh, the baby just kicked. He/She just wanted to say, "hi!"

Mon, 11 Feb

The baby has been moving constantly today! Little kicks all day long. This morning, I actually had to turn to my other side because the baby kept kicking me and keeping me awake. It is so exciting, though, to feel the baby all the time. The kicks are definintly getting stronger every day.

Tues, 26 Feb

I am at 25 weeks this week. It is just nice to know that the baby is now viable. I can at least breathe a semi-sigh of relief! For the past few weeks I have been getting heartburn. I never really had it before, so I was really confused when I was getting wondering "what is this feeling?" I haven't had it for a few days now, so I am just glad that it is going away! Still throwing up my breakfast every morning. My dogs have gotten into the routine of whenever they hear me throw up, they know that it is time to go to their crates and I am about to leave the house. I guess they are just well trained! LOL!

I went out and bought a couple of neutral jammies because I just had to buy something since I haven't bought anything at all yet. I am still researching products and have narrowed down my choices for the important parts of the nursery and necessities. I think we are going to wait a little longer before we start buying all the "big" stuff, though. Waiting on the money from my dollar shower in April.

Thurs. 6 Mar

Okay I completely lied about waiting to buy the big stuff. My husband and I played the slots this past weekend and won some money, so I went out on Monday and bought the playyard, bedding set, and the crib. Can't wait to get the crib and start completing the nursery. My husband is painting it over spring break and he is painting some fun pictures for the room. He asked me, "What are you going to make for the baby?" I was like, "Gee, I thought actually making it would be enough! LOL! We chose to do a safari theme for the nursery. So cute! I also get to decorate a bathroom since there is one connected to the baby's room, so I get twice the fun of decorating! Yea!

Mon. 17 Mar

Almost 28 weeks! My husband has been painting the nursery this past weekend and is finishing it today. It has been looking amazing! He picked an intricate design and I was worried that it would be too much work for him to do (since he is not that great of a painter). Glad he is proving me wrong. It looks so good so far and I can't wait to get in there and beginning putting things together. I will post a picture of the walls when it is finished. So happy to be finally really "preparing" for the new baby. Can't wait to meet him/her!

Last night I had the craziest dream:

I was sitting with my husband talking to him and suddenly I saw the baby's head sticking out of my belly. I told Gary to look and get the camara. The baby did it like three times-I could actually feel it. There was a weird sensation in my stomach-makes me think the baby was really doing something in the middle of the night. It felt so real. Then the baby turned its head and I could make out its whole face coming out of stomach. Then my skin started to separate and I could take the baby out. I held it and started to kiss it. The baby had my husband's eyes and it was wearing one white sock and one blue sock, which was weird. Hopefully that doesn't mean something is wrong with one of its little feet! So I asked my husband if the baby is supposed to be wearing something and he said no (duh!) so I took off its socks gave it another kiss and put it back in my belly. Before I submerged it back in the fluid, I thought to check if it was a boy or a girl and it was a girl (I have been having tons of dreams about girls-so maybe it is one!). Then my skin closed up. It was so weird, but really cool. It was like I got to really hold her. I can't wait to meet the baby. Time is just flying by!

Sunday, Mar 30

29 weeks! We are planning on washing all of the baby's clothing and bedding today so I can finally start completing the crib. I have been doing kick counts and sometimes I have felt that the baby isn't moving as much as it used to. It always scares me, but I drink some juice and lay down on my left side and I can count 10 kicks in an hour. So that always makes me feel better. I think about the baby constantly and imagine our lives with him/her in it. I just can't wait!

Monday, Apr 14

Wow it has been awhile since I have written. Life has just been flying by. I am 32 weeks this week and I have my doctor's appt later on today. I just love hearing the baby's heartbeat. Baby has slowed down movement a bit, but when it moves, it really moves! We registered for our baby things last week and we have our shower this weekend. It is going to be a dollar shower, so I will probably buy most of the things on my registery, which is fine with me because I really want them now! I am probably going to buy Wal-mart out on Sunday after the shower. I just want everything to be ready. Oh, and I am nesting like crazy! The house just can't get clean enough...but if I am tired, I am still able to ignore housework-which is good for me, bad for hubbie =).

Tuesday, Apr 22

33 weeks! Getting closer and closer! Had my baby shower this past weekend. My mom organized a dollar shower where everyone brings money instead of presents. We went shopping right away on Sunday and now we pretty much have everything we need! I read that more than half of babies come early so I want to try to be very prepared. I just need to organize everything. So weird to know that we have everything. Now it is just a waiting game. Still nesting, dirty anything really bothers me! I hate that!

Tuesday, Apr 29

Well today is our two year anniversary and I am 34 wks. We took a four day weekend and had a lot of "us" time before we become three. It was great spending time with Gary and finally finishing the nursery. Seems like everything is completely done (except the car seat needs to be put in). We attend a breastfeeding class next week and then every week after that we have another class to attend, so the month of May will be a big learning month! The baby has been moving like crazy and even kicked Gary in the face! It was pretty funny! We can't wait to meet the baby and finally see if it is a he or a she. Only a few more weeks=) The countdown is on!

Wed, May 7

I am in week 35, although my doctors say I am in week 36-which is fine for me. I always thought they were a week off anyway. I don't want to change my due date though because I love the girls in my week! So technically I am due around June 6th. My feet are now offically really swollen. I can't find a pair of sandals that fit or will fit comfortably for the whole day. I do have one pair, but I can't wear them to work. Too bad, though, because they are so comfy! They are sport sandals and look too casual. I wear them every chance I get! I have been wearing my rings around my neck for two weeks, too. Bending over has been increasingly difficult. It feels like there is a rock in my belly and it gets bigger and harder every day! On the upside, I am loving being pregnant. I love feeling the baby inside me. I know I will miss feeling it when it comes out, but I can't wait to meet him or her! We have a breast feeding class tonight! Hopefully it will be really informative.

Wed May 14

I can't believe that time is flying by so fast. I am in week 36/37 so I guess I could go anytime. I am having a ton of braxton hicks, but makes me worry because sometimes they last an hour and even if I get up and move around they are still there. There are not painful, just constant. Almost like menstrual cramps. the baby moves around mostly in the early mornings and I feel a few kicks and movements throughout the day. Had my first internal on Monday. Lots of pressure, but it wasn't that bad. Baby seems to be doing well and heartbeat sounded good. We are all ready to go-just waiting. Childbirth class this weekend. Should be good. I loved our breastfeeding class. I learned a ton and Gary asked so many questions-really cute=). Can't wait to breastfeed the baby and bond with him/her. Wonder what he/she looks like...

Tues May 20

Almost 38 weeks! Doctor told me yesterday that i am 50% effaced. Nice to know that I am making some progress. Don't think the baby has dropped yet though because I am getting horrible heartburn. My morning sickness came back again after a nice two week break. Oh, well. I guess I am used to it now! I am glad I got somewhat of a break. Okay, less than 20 days away. Next week, I think I am working only half days and then my last day will be the 30! Yea, then I can rest and get ready physically for the baby. The baby movements have been less some days and crazy other days. Yesterday the baby moved around ALL day long. Today not so much. Hopefully before I deliver it will rest and help itself out.

Isabella Simone: Born on May 24, 2008 at 3:19am by C-section!