Friday, May 1, 2009

Baby Boot Camp: Phase 1

Yesterday I was much too ashamed to post in regards to my previous one about not swaddling the big man. Britton and I totally chickened out. We laid him down, Britton sang him his little song, and after 15 minutes of grunting and whining and whimpering we just gave in.

NOT GOOD.

We put him in his swaddle, we put him on his sleep positioner, exhibit A:

This kind of snugs them in and helps them feel secure. In my case, it helps Pollard not to flip over like the gymnast that he is. When I went to get him at his usual 3 a.m., he was in fact not on his face at all, still miraculously on the sleep positioner. The problem with the previous sentence is the still waking up at 3 am bit.
So last night was THE night. I put him in his night-night onesie, sang him his song, and onto the positioner he went, sans swaddle. Somehow, some way, because of God's great mercy, he fell fast asleep. I prepared myself mentally for the night that was to come.
At midnight he started in. First the grunt, then the whine, then right into the annoyed cry. Not the "oh my gosh help me something is terribly wrong" cry, just the "why is no one coming?" cry. By 12:09 he was back to sleep, hard as a rock. Man, that was awesome!
I crept into his room at about 12:15 and he had somehow pushed the positioner to the bottom of his crib and slid onto his tummy. Amazing.
He stayed this way until 4:00 when he really started in on the howling. I let him do this for 30 minutes...can you believe it?!?!? Me, who can hardly stand to hear him whine a little let alone cry! But it wasn't a sad cry, just an annoyed cry, so that made it a little easier. At 4:30 I went in and gave him his pacifier and rubbed his back for about a minute and he was out like a light until 6:30 when I gave him his bottle.
HE MADE IT!! HE DIDN'T DIE OF HUNGER WITHOUT A BOTTLE!!!!!
I have to admit that Britton is the weak one of the 2 of us, and I totally thought it would be the opposite. He wants to go in and check on him all the time, and open his door, etc. I just wave my finger and say "DON'T move, don't get up, DO NOT GO IN THERE." Who am I?!?!?
He also napped for an hour and a half on his tummy this morning (with about 85 breathing checks from his mother), and that never happens. His naps are so short, and that's what makes him so daggum ornery. But I'm gonna tell you this: After this long morning nap, he was just dreamy.
Tonight marks night number 2. Wish us luck. I'll report back....
Love,
Hitler

2 comments:

The Johnsons said...

I'm so proud of you!! I think tonight is going to be a great night! You are doing awesome!

Melina said...

Hi Lindsey,I found your blog through Leslie R., and I adore it! I read your post about baby boot camp. I have a 10-month-old, and that's exactly what I had to do. My son is a tummy-sleeper, and the best thing I ever did was spend $130 on the Angelcare Movement Sensor monitor. It beeps if the baby stops breathing (or in my case, when he wiggles his way to the bottom of the bed). Best piece of mind! Good luck. Sounds like you're doing a great job, and your son is an adorable, chunk!