Adapting Babywise and Baby/Family Update

First, I've decided that Baby Nemo will be #3's alias on my blogs. He doesn't really have a nickname yet and he was born during Winter Storm Nemo. The storm was really bad in many places but kind if a flop around here. I had more than one request to actually name him Nemo, so it's kind if funny... To me anyway...

Nemo is 6 weeks old and the family is adjusting nicely. He is a great baby! He's packing on the pounds and sleeping way better than my other two did at this point.

We have struggled with Acid Reflux and the poor guy is fighting his second cold. His siblings have been bringing home lots if germs from school and I have had one thing or another since October. Blah.

We have been lucky that Nemo has really put himself on a nice schedule since about week 3, so I haven't had to put a lot of effort into it. However, in 3 weeks I have to go back to work and I'd like to adjust things a little bit.

One resource that I have relied on is a book called Babywise. A friend recommended it to me when I brought Little Man home from the hospital and was going through a torturous time getting he and Princess to sleep. Princess had never had a good bedtime routine and had always slept with us. We had lots of adjustments to make.

Babywise has received some criticism for being to strict, not following a child's natural cues and forcing infants into an unnatural schedule. I can see how this may be true for some children. You need to use your best judgement as a parent and be aware of your child's needs. Nothing is one size fits all.

I read both Babywise and The Sleepeasy Solution and adapted what I liked about them to my children. Having to work on two children's schedules at very different developmental stages was a challenge. We finally got Princess in her own bed at a regular time each nite and I felt like my life was saved! Getting Little Man on a schedule was easy after that.

Basically, I aim to follow the eat- play- sleep plan. Instead of allowing Nemo to "snack," I make sure he eats at regular intervals appropriate for his age. I know he seems to eat best every 3 hours during the day, so that's how I schedule it. When he eats more often, he doesn't take a full feeding and wants to nurse more often. When he goes longer, he acts as though he's starving and gulps his milk. This results in taking too much air giving him gas and gagging. Man, does he have a strong gag reflex!

At night I do not wake him to eat. He has always let me know when he needed to eat within the recommended guidelines. He has just begun sleeping 5ish hours at a time and I am thrilled!

I can't believe that Nemo is 6 weeks old already. Feels like I was just hugely pregnant and couldn't wait get labor started. I prayed and prayed about how I wanted my labor to go and for Nemo to come into our family seamlessly. I could not have asked for a better birth and labor experience and this baby was meant to be apart of us.

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