4 1/2 months now. She had a 2-month-long break from rolling and now she is reliably rolling again; still just from front to back though. I recorded a video but my internet speed won't allow me to do anything else on the internet if I were to upload it for a few hours.
Crystal is so full of energy all of the time that it's still difficult to get her to sleep when she's tired. The only thing that will calm her down enough for bed time is to hold her while walking around. Otherwise, she transforms into a irritated banshee, squealing at the top of her lungs. With how big she has gotten, it has become increasingly difficult to constantly hold her. Lately, I've only been holding her for 5-minute increments before putting her back down to sleep/play.
Ever since before she was born, I was considering using Ferber's "cry-it-out" method when she would be old enough for it. Now, I think I'd rather continue what I'm doing, which is the walk-her-around-until-her-eyes-are-droopy method. This way, she doesn't ever cry all day and all night and she still gradually learns to go to sleep on her own as she's still awake when she's put to bed. She is also able to go to sleep anywhere, which is helpful when we're not at home. Maybe when I'm older and have more children I won't have the energy for carrying her around all of the time, but maybe I will have, with the experience, found easier ways to do it all.
I also don't want to let her cry herself to sleep because when I do let her cry it out after I'm too tired to comfort her anymore, I eventually pick her up anyways, try feeding her and learn that she's actually hungry and not just cranky. So, I don't want to make the mistake of trying to make her cry herself to sleep when she's actually hungry. Again, by the time I have more babies, I may be better at recognizing hunger before the crying starts. I can read a newborn's hunger cues but not a 4 month-old's.
She has pretty good naps: 8-9am,12-2pm, and 4-6pm. I'm pretty happy with the night-time wakings for the most part, as I'm only awake for a short time while I nurse her and she goes straight back to sleep. She is still waking up every 3-4 hours or so. Apparently My own sleep rhythm seems to have matched this because I woke up last night around 12:30 only a minute before Crystal woke up to eat. Though, I've always tended to wake up multiple times throughout the night anyways even before I was pregnant: nightmares, stress, snoring, who knows why.
One thing that I wish is that Crystal would go to sleep before 9 pm so that Steve and I can stare into each other's eyes, hold hands, and say sweet nothings to each other each night. Oh well, I guess that we'll have to remember to do these things while half-ignoring the baby or wait till Saturday.
4 comments:
Yeah, I could never stand to do the "crying it out" method. When my babies were crying, I wanted to help them stop crying; I didn't want to just shut the door and stop listening so that they'd be abandoned, still crying, and probably even more upset. They've done studies too that show that a mother's hormone levels actually change when they hear their baby cry. So I find it ridiculous whenever I hear a male pediatrician suggest the "crying it out" method. Toddler tantrums are a different story though :)
Yay! good update. All the theories of how to raise a child are great for providing ideas; but the best way to decide is what works for you and your baby. All the experts in the world don't know the two of you like you do.
I love reading your updates on Crystal...she is so cute and you are doing a wonderful job! I once heard someone say.."babies cry for a reason..." (as they are older you sometimes might find that the reason is to manipulate you...) ...there is no shame in attending to Crystal when she fusses...(can you tell I am also not a proponent of the cry it out method?)...I tried it with Alex...turns out that all his crying was from actual ailments...I learned, babies cry for a reason...
I never believed in letting them cry it out either...like you and Tammy said, you don't want to miss legitimate problems that way.
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