It's hard to believe how fast time goes with the second child. I took this photo on January 30th and meant to post about Kendall at 2 months, and somehow it's now two weeks later! Seriously, she's going to be 11 weeks on Sunday, and it's unbelievable to me that we are almost out of "the fourth trimester."
I haven't been blogging as much recently, but should be able to get back on track now that Kendall is sleeping pretty consistently through the night...for about 10 days now. For the past 3 weeks I have been working really hard to get her on a consistent schedule and it has paid off! I'm hoping that this trend will continue, although I'm aware there may be growth spurts and the four-month sleep regression in our future.
I want to document my schedule here for future reference, and maybe it will help out some other moms in the future who are trying to get their babies to sleep for longer periods at night. I used Babywise and the Baby Whisperer as my guides, but ultimately I did what works best for Kendall and me. Right now, Kendall's schedule looks like this:
6:20/6:30 - 8:00 Wake up for the day, eat, then play (longest nursing session of the day)
8:00 - 9:30 Nap in crib
9:30 - 11:00 Eat, then play
11:00 - 12:15 Nap in crib
12:15 - 1:30 Eat, then play
1:30 - 2:45 Nap in crib
2:45 - 4:00 Eat, then play
4:00 - 5:30 Nap (sometimes in swing)
5:30 - 6:15 Eat, then play
6:15 - 7:45 Nap (almost always in swing)
7:45 - 9:00 Eat, then play
9:00 Eat (cluster feed before bed)
9:15/9:30 Down for the night in crib
9:30-6:20 Sleep through the night
A few weeks ago when I was working toward a schedule, it felt like one step forward and two steps back. I started recording what times she was eating and napping and it felt like no days were the same. I tried to get a consistent morning start time which was also a challenge. My first goal was 7:00, but it seemed like we were waking more at 5 or 6, then sleeping until 8:30 or 9. I honestly just tried to be as consistent as I could throughout the day, but it wasn't easy. Sometimes when I see schedules like this, they can be overwhelming because you can't always control when a baby is hungry or how long they sleep. Obviously, I always feed Kendall when she's hungry, even if it's not on my schedule. However, I pay attention to how many times I'm feeding her (which is currently 7 times), and sometimes if she takes a longer nap in the morning, it's ok for her to take a shorter nap in the afternoon (or vice-versa.) I also had to get it in my head that she's not on a 3 hour schedule, or 2.5 hour schedule. Each eat, play, sleep cycle may be a slightly different length during the day, and it's easier to get them on a schedule when you work with your baby.
Anyway, I'm really pleased with her progress, and although I know that sleeping through the night may not be the most important thing to some parents, I know that for me it's extremely important. I need my rest and I believe that my kids do better when they are getting enough rest as well. It was basically my number one goal with Kendall to getting her to this point as quickly as she was able. This schedule has also eliminated her "fussy periods" ( read - crying straight for 2 hours ) which also may be just her age now that she's almost 3 months.
She also has started smiling a lot, and cooing. I'm working to get a laugh or giggle, but we're not there yet. She definitely follows my voice, and watches me when I get up or move around. She also loves watching Avery and I can't wait to see how they continue to interact. With Kendall, I am not as concerned about her reaching milestones (maybe since I've already been through them with Avery) but I am really excited to see how having a big sister will affect her, and the differences I'll see in Kendall because of Avery.
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