Baby Schedules (Newborn)

Damien @ 3 weeks old

I have started implementing a flexible nursing / sleeping schedule with Damien since last week (just after he turned 2 weeks old), and it has been going relatively well.

I (loosely) use the principles of Babywise, although definitely not all of them. The key elements that I take from this method are:

• The pattern of eat - wake - sleep rather than eat - sleep - wake. The reason for this is so that baby isn't dependent on nursing to fall asleep.

• Encouraging full feedings instead of "snacking" (nursing for a suitable amount of time so that the baby isn't hungry an hour later).

• Encouraging full naps instead of "cat napping"

• Having a regular but flexible daily routine, for many purposes, but a key purpose being to encourage day time / night time awareness and regularity and to promote nighttime sleep.

I think that this is important to our homeschool program (for both Hunter and Damien) because

1. It promotes regularity, routine, and habit in our days (and I get 100% more done with routine)
2. Healthy sleep is essential for the well-being of everyone in the family

Right now, this is our feeding routine:

Nursing at

5:00 - 7:30 - 10:00 - 12:30 - 3:00 

5:30 - 7:30 - 9:30 - 11:30

Sometimes he sleeps straight through until 5:00 am, sometimes he wakes up at 3:00.

The bold feeding times are our day time feedings. After these feeding, he ideally has an awake period, followed by a short nap before the next feeding. 

The non-bold feeding times - 5:00 am, 9:30 & 11:30 pm - are "night time" feedings, after which he goes straight back to sleep. These are the feedings that we will eventually drop, one at a time.

It's definitely not perfect, and the times are loose. If he gets hungry sooner than one of these times, I certainly don't deprive him. I change things up a bit, as needed, without feeling any remorse. A schedule is, by all means, a tool, and nothing more.

During most of the day, he eats every 2.5 hours, but in the evening I feed him every 2 hours. I only found out later that this more-frequent-evening-feeding is actually a technique (called "cluster feeding") used to help babies sleep longer through the night - but we actually started doing it because he wanted to eat more often in the evening and tended to be fussy at that time. However, it really does help him sleep better, so we are keeping it up even if he doesn't necessarily demand it.

He rarely has a "perfect cycle", i.e. staying awake for exactly a half hour after nursing, and then falling peacefully asleep until the next feeding. It's flexible - sometimes he sleeps almost the whole time period between feedings, stays awake almost that whole time period at others, or splits even at other periods.

We'll strive for more regularity as time progresses, but for now he's little and I try to go with his flow, offering only minor guidance and structure, and seeing a regular schedule as something to work towards and gently ease him into.

And, of course, to adapt (or throw out the window) on days when the need is there.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"  

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Damien is 3 weeks, 0 days old

Prenatal Stress... and Babies with Sleep Problems?

Hunter, sleeping at age one

A recent interest of mine (for pretty apparent reasons) has been the whole body of research behind the idea of fetal origins. That is, how research continues to show just how much life in the womb can effect pretty much the entire rest of your life (especially when it comes to health), often in surprising and substantial ways.

One such way is the link between prenatal stress and sleep problems when the child is a baby and toddler.

From this study:

"...children born to mothers who were depressed or anxious during pregnancy experienced more sleep problems. For instance, mothers classified as clinically anxious 18 weeks into pregnancy, compared to their non-anxious counterparts, were about 40 percent more likely to have an 18-month-old who refused to go to bed, woke early, and kept crawling out of bed. The child’s rocky relationship with sleep often persisted until he or she was 30 months old."

The connection continued even after controlling for multiple other influences. Forty percent is a pretty big number, don't you think?

And sleep, as I've been recently discovering by the available research, is really important for little kids.

"...sleep ranks as one of the most highly regarded indexes of healthy development, and plays a critical role in consolidating memory and facilitating learning, regulating metabolism and appetite, promoting good moods and sustaining both cardiovascular health and a vigorous immune function."

They also hypothesized that the poor-sleep connection may also have something to do with why "mood-disturbed" pregnancies are often related to children with "behavioral disorders, like depression, hyperactivity and anxiety"

"It remains to be seen if the sleep problems we witnessed may play an active, causal role in priming the path for these children’s emotional and cognitive problems in later life [listed above], or if both conditions merely fall out of the same stressful pregnancies."

You can read the full story and the details of the study here.

Maybe it's time I quit stressing about my stress level, don't you think?

"The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace." 

Psalm 29:11

Baby #2 is 8 weeks, 0 days gestation

Shot Time

Hunter had to get his first shots today.

It may not be too popular, but I practiced delayed vaccination and these were his first shots. It was a hard decision to make but I had to do what I really thought was right, even if not too many people agreed with me.

The doctor's trip was quite comical. He was scared stiff about getting his shots, thanks to a special someone who so lovingly tortured him about it for two weeks.  While getting dressed and seeing Hunter's distraught composure, I realized that this was not just a shot session but a well child check-up. Which, I knew, meant they would not only be checking his weight and blood pressure but his physical and intellectual development as well. Great, I'm thinking. My kid is going to be scared stiff and they are going to think he's a mute and on the social level of a shy two-year-old.

So, I resorted to bribery.

I told him that the doctor was going to ask him a lot of questions [fill in examples] and that if he was really good and really nice, we would wait for another day to do the shots (I thought we would be going to the vaccine clinic, which is walk-in).

He was more than a little bit relieved. And, he was an angel.

He talked as openly to the doctor as he does to me. He told her how old he was and even volunteered his birthday, answered every question, commented on the astronaut pictures on the wall, and even confessed that one time he rode his bike without his helmet. The doctor left saying how cute and sweet he was.

Amazing what a little bribery can do, isn't it?

Funny thing, though, is that the doctor said we would be doing his vaccines right there, in the room. She left, and I asked Hunter about it (I wasn't going to do them today unless he agreed, since I gave him my word). But strangely enough, he was fine with it, since I told him they would only be doing a few since he was so good.

Comical part two? My brave little boy got right up on the examination table and smiled at me from across the room, and after they gave him the first two shots (simultaneously) he started laughing. Yes, laughing. See, I said. That didn't hurt too much! Just a little pinch, like I told you!

Still laughing triumphantly, they went in for round two. Suddenly, the smile was gone and he looked at me in shock and disbelief. Not moving or making a sound, his jaw trembled and his eyes got watery. It was more of a look of heartbreak coupled with offense than of pain.

Smart nurses, I thought. Saving the painful ones for last. I still felt bad for the kid.

He started crying, ever so pitifully. But it was definitely not the hysterical, arm-flailing, head-jerking, loud-screaming mess I envisioned a few days ago (maybe my visions were a little overly-dramatic but, he was scared!)

And thus ended our hospital expedition, that and a few extra-large stickers to make the pain feel better. We're double-dosing on vitamins, eliminating sugar and keeping iboprophen close by to help with the typical side effects. He is very healthy, very, very rarely gets sick, and has a strong immune system to handle the strain. So, with that and a little prayer, I'm not too worried.

"An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more." 

Psalm 41:8

Hunter is 4 years, 9 months old

Bed Rest

So, Hunter is officially on bed rest today. He has been just slightly ill for the past few days, and keeps feeling better (so he gets up and starts playing) and then all the running around makes him feel lousy again.

So, I'm keeping him in bed so he can rest and in turn, get better. Pumping up on the vitamins and healthful foods, too, and he should be better in no time.

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."

Psalm 43:5

Hunter is 3 years, 7 months old

Pink Eye

Hunter got his first case of conjunctivitis, or "pink eye". I thought something was wrong with his eye yesterday but wasn't sure, but it's been confirmed that it is indeed pink eye.

It's not that bad of a case and just looking at him straight-on, it's not that obvious. It's a nice little addition to this cough that we have been trying to get rid of for the past few days. Poor baby, he just really needs to get better.

Hopefully it won't get any worse, it's really the last thing he needs. I have been doing some research on it and thankfully pink eye is nothing serious. He just needs to wash his hands frequently and keep them out of his eyes as much as possible and it should go away quickly. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all which is good that he's not uncomfortable.

"I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick..."

Ezekiel 34:16

Hunter is 3 years, 7 months old

Motherhood Make You Smarter?

I happened upon this article today and was tickled. Of course, you didn't have to tell me that having a baby has bettered me, in every conceivable aspect from intellect to character. Sharpened my senses? Duh. Given me better understanding, better judgment, better patience, better empathy? Of course. Inspired me to learn every thing I possibly could about ear infections, brain development, classical music, nutrition, education? Infinitely. Made me a better person in every possible way? Undoubtedly.

Then today I read the article, Giving birth to a better brain, and smiled at the research. And even though mothers are often "saddled with an unflattering stereotype -- incompetent, dull-witted, frazzled, and preoccupied with domestic affairs" there is research that possibly suggests that "motherhood may actually rewire the brain, making mothers (and involved fathers) more perceptive, competitive, efficient, and even socially aware."

Cool, huh?

"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world."

John 16:21

Doctor's Visit

Today was our appointment for a doctor's visit to check up on Hunter's wound. I don't go to the doctor for frivolous purposes, but I was a bit concerned about the way his cut has been healing and wanted to make sure it was okay.

The glue has looked pretty much disgusting since he got it. But the doctor who did the stitches said that it would be alright, that it looked bad but once the glue fell off it would be fine.

The glue was disgusting. It turned all purplish and green and yellow. On Sunday when he bumped it a little and it bled only a small amount, half of the glue came off and it looked pretty bad.

The next day the rest of the glue came off, and the wound looked as separated as it did before he even got the stitches. I didn't want to go back to the hospital, after the way the doctor was hounding me about vaccinations and all the time we spent sitting around (we waited for hours in the ER). I really didn't want to go through that again.

But I did schedule this appointment with his pediatrician. And after driving twenty minutes to the office and waiting an hour and forty minutes for him to talk to us for five, I was not all too pleased.

He said that it had already healed so much, that there was really nothing he could do except cut the scab out and stitch it back up. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to do that.

He contemplated the idea for about three minutes, thinking out loud what he would do if it was his kid. He eventually came to the conclusion that it would be best to just let it finish healing and if in six months or six years the scar was still bad, that he could do the same procedure - cut out the scar and stitch it up. So, really, after all that time of waiting the most we came out of there with was an Elmo sticker. At least I brought our bits so we weren't entirely bored the whole time. And talked about all the equipment in the examination room.

But, apparently he's never seen the glue come off like that. Too bad it had to be on my kid! But I'm hoping that applying vitamin E oil will help with the scaring. And it's not the worst thing in the world for a little boy to have a cool battle wound.

And we also found out that he's allergic to latex, as was apparent from the rash all over his face where the bandaid once stuck. At least we know now!

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

Psalm 147:3

Hunter is 3 years, 4 months old

Eye Doctor

Hunter had his first appointment at the eye doctor today.

There was nothing wrong with his eyes, and I didn't have any concerns, but it was just one of those well-child check-up sort of things.

Leading up to it, we talked about how to listen to the doctor when he gave instructions, how to sit still and pay attention, and how to use a quiet voice. He brought his little doctor's kit with him, and had a fun time playing with it while we waited.

His eyes were just fine, he had perfect vision from the tests they took, which is such a blessing.

"Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal."

Psalm 17:2

Hunter is 2 years, 5 months old