Progress

Abby is going through her first phase. Since Monday, she has not wanted to be put down to sleep at all. She will only sleep on my chest or right next to me. Every time she falls asleep I try to put her down in her co-sleeper, but minutes later she is wide awake and so angry. It becomes so frustrating because she will be dead to the world, but the second her head hits her bed, it's like she was never asleep. The only time she allows me to put her down to sleep is in the evenings. Those 2-3 hours free are heaven.

We have made some progress, though. She finally seems to be getting her days and nights in order. The last couple of nights, she has only woken up to eat. I have been up for an hour at a time, tops. Last night, she actually stayed asleep when I put her back down in the co-sleeper for another 1.5 hours. AND, the night before, she woke up after she had been asleep for a couple of hours, but Damon gave her a pacifier and she fell back to sleep BY HERSELF! She's starting to develop self-soothing skills. Some people have suggested letting her cry it out, but everything I have read says that she is just too young and it is impossible to spoil her at this young age. I have been keeping a sleep log to track when she sleeps and when she is awake, and we have a definite pattern emerging. The book I have been reading about sleep habits says it is very important not to keep a baby up more than 2 hours at a time. It is so true! As soon as that 1.5-hour mark comes around, she immediately shows signs that it is time to start soothing to get her to sleep. She has been sleeping pretty well the last few days too, as long as I don’t move too much. She is incredibly noisy in her sleep, though, so it is hard for to sleep well too, but I am so grateful that I have been getting any sleep at all. I have read so many horror stories on the internet of poor mothers who don't get any sleep in these first couple of months. If only she'd sleep in her own bed.



She is getting so strong. It is a rare moment that she is actually happy on her stomach. After a few minutes, she becomes very angry.


Look at all that hair! It is getting so thick in the back and sides.


This is what makes it all worthwile. We actually managed to take a picture of one of her rare smiles. She is starting to smile real, non-gassy smiles more and more.