I was talking with Nathan's mom a couple of days ago and she had suggested that we ask Kate, Nathan's cousin's wife to come and help his learn how to care for Luke. She has been a nanny and has taken care of infants before. She came last night and took a look at what we were doing and found ways for us to better help Luke get through the day and the night. It turns out that a lot of what we were missing was structure. I kept him on semi-regular feedings throughout the day, but I had not paid much attention to how much awake and sleep time he had. When we learned how to soothe him from the Happiest Baby on the Block, we learned how to quiet him and get him to sleep. We were missing how to keep him awake more during the day and interact properly with him.
Today we went to Baby's R Us to pick up a floor mat with hanging toys for him to look at and a couple of toys to hang from his stroller. He is an alert baby and I just needed to play with him more. He is not a new-newborn anymore who needs to sleep all day.
Kate also introduced the use of the exercise ball. Luke loves to bounce up and down. It also helps him get out more of his gas, which makes everyone happy.
I am used to structure and am realizing that much of my anxiety comes from not having that anymore. (Also thank you all for the natural suggestions for anxiety. I am taking magnesium and omega 3's for starters and am trying to take a few minutes to relax in the evening while Nahtan plays with Luke) Kate's introduction of a schedule is just what I need. It is not a rigorous, strict schedule, but we do set benchmarks for how much nap time and awake time happens during the day. I have to write everything down so that I can see how things go day to day. I love this part of it. I love seeing what is happening and where we need to change things to make the day better. In the schedule we are also going to attempt a bedtime routine- a bath, nursing, and soothing to sleep.
I am definitely feeling more positive about everything and was so grateful for the help. Thank you Kate!
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2 comments:
Yeah for Kate!! I am so glad that she helped you. When I think of it, Nathan was a baby who needed a lot of stimulation. He needed for me to take him outside and visit with the neighbors, walk around with him and let him see what I was doing, to interact with someone else, to swing, etc.
Katie, you are doing a great job and being such a wonderful mom for little Luke.
Kathy
Dear Katie,
Thanks so much for mentioning "The Happiest Baby" DVD and book. They have helped countless babies calm faster and sleep longer! The DVD is the best way for moms, dads and other helpers to learn the 5 S's!
Also, do you know about our "Super-Soothing" Sleep Sounds CD? It has specially engineered white noise that can calm crying babies and - when played all night - can instantly boost sleep by 1-3 hours. Dr. Karp recommends it to help sleep for at least the first year (it's so comforting to little kids....like an auditory "teddy bear"). Parents love this CD because it’s super easy to control the volume and wean babies off of (whenever you want), it keeps babies calm on car rides, and helps them sleep when spending the night at grandma's.
All Best Wishes,
Suzana
suzana@thehappiestbaby.com
www.thehappiestbaby.com
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