Elsie slept for a 4.5 hour stretch this morning. It was about 5 hours between feeding times. I feel guilty. I slept and didn't wake her up to eat. I knew it was time to eat when I woke up slightly to my chest throbbing a little, but went back to sleep. She was making little noises in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. She hadn't slept that long at a stretch ever. I think I will attribute her sleep to a 15-minute feeding, and a really good burping session at 1:30 this morning accompanied by a dang good swaddle that kept her arms down, which really is trick, but I still feel uneasy about her only being 3 weeks and going that long between feedings.
Did I do the wrong thing?
Also, the feeding thing has stabilized. She's eating for about 10-15 minutes total and then not getting hungry again for about 2.5 to 3 hours. That's working out well for me, because then I burp her for about 10-15 minutes, and we've done the whole cycle in 30 minutes, and I get a guaranteed 2 hours of sleep at night, if not 3.
And the verdict on the relocation? Eli and I are going to sign the lease for another year on this apartment in just a few minutes. I will talk more about how we made our decision in a later post.
Finally, for all you new parents out there (or going to be new parents), I have really enjoyed reading The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, which talks about the 5 S's--techniques for soothing fussy babies. I feel very confident to calm my baby. Now, take that with a grain of salt because Elsie is a very good baby. I am so blessed. She doesn't need a whole lot of calming. But (for JT, especially) it would be a good read to check out from the library, and then to later purchase or register for. I read it a little bit at a time when I'm feeding Elsie.
6 comments:
ooo the DVD is great, too! The 5 S's worked wonders with James, only the swaddle worked for Lowell (everything else only made him miserable. I had to nurse him swaddled, then he slept swaddled on his stomach - bad mommy, I know), and I haven't used any S's with Korben. LOVE Dr. Karp's stuff! He really "gets" babies.
You did fine by going back to sleep - otherwise she would have let you know!
Don't worry about letting her sleep...when she's hungry she'll wake you up for sure. With Hannah I set my alarm clock every 3hrs because my pedi told me to. I was SO sleep deprived, at my 5-6wk check up, my OB said "Do not wake up that baby" you get sleep and the baby will let you know when it's time to eat. She was thriving and gaining weight, so I quit setting my alarm. It was still about 3 1/2hrs between feeds. So I could relax a little. You're doing great!
No Guilt!! Micah gave us a 6 hour stretch around 2.5 weeks. It was glorious. And I didn't think twice about it. Since you KNOW your little one is gaining weight, you know she's fine. That's HOW they sleep through the night...they get bigger, can go longer and longer between feedings, are more aware of day and night....that's how they learn. Great job mommy! :) Need more pics!
Ditto - everything they said. Especially more pics
Michaela slept for a 6.5 hour strecthes beginning at 4 weeks- i'm of the mind set let a sleeping baby sleep, love love love happiest baby on the block, currently reading happiest toddler...
I totally already bought that book! It was recommended to me so I bought it...I have not been able to open the pages, but I am glad to hear it works in real life!
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