Sleeeeeeepp!

In the now 3 full weeks since I've been back to work, Jon and I have been sort-of banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out Katie's sleep patterns and getting her on a schedule. We've learned (and books have told us) that she will develop her own nap schedule, and it's up to us to encourage her sleep. We've learned that sleep during the day=sleep at night and early bedtimes=full nights of sleep. In these 3 weeks, (well 4 weeks really because we practiced the week before I went back) we have been more sleep-deprived than we were when she was a newborn. BUT, I'm pleased to report that our persistence is starting to pay off.

We started by creating a bedtime routine for her. This is a pretty strict bedtime (7 p.m.) and we have sacrificed our sacred dinners out on the weekends to foster this routine (we now have entered the world of carryout). She took to the routine and bedtime pretty well, and now...drumroll please...she has started to take a 2 hour morning nap! Ideally, I want her to nap like that in the afternoon, so I can sleep too...but we'll just have to wait for that to develop too. She shows signs of sleepiness around 8:45 a.m. and so we put her in her crib and she's usually out until just before her 11 a.m. feed. It's GREAT! She chose the time when she was ready and we're hoping she does the same for the p.m. nap.

The best part of all of this is that she is giving us nights here and there where she sleeps straight through. Friday night was one of those nights....and let me say that by Friday, we're both cashed out so it was a welcome, welcome surprise. She was SO tired so I put her down at 6:45 p.m. and she didn't wake until 5 a.m.! We both woke at 3 and checked on her and then went back to sleep until 5. We felt like a million bucks on Saturday! Saturday night, however, she woke at 1:30 (her usual time) to be fed, so we're not over the nighttime feeding hurdle yet. While this feeding time seems like murder for most of you, it's actually perfect for me...I'm able to feed her right before I leave for work. This morning, I came in to find her at the foot of her crib (we place her in the middle), rotated 90°, on her side with her thumb in her mouth. Another reason why we're willing to risk her being a little chilly instead of covering her with a blanket.

Ok, I realize this post isn't really funny, but the above has made things so much easier, I thought I'd share!