Naptime

Two weeks ago, I decided that Hannah needed a nap routine. Poor baby had never learned how to take real naps, thanks mostly to her adoring, paranoid parents.

When Hannah first got home from the hospital, all she did was sleep (apparently due to lack of oxygen). And she could sleep anywhere--in our arms, in her bassinet, in her car seat, in crazy-loud family gatherings, literally anywhere.

When Hannah got home from the hospital the 2nd time, she didn't sleep nearly as much during the day. And we thoroughly enjoyed that. We never even thought of putting her down for a nap. If she happened to fall asleep in our arms, we'd let her nap there. Occasionally, I would put Hannah down to make a quick trip to the bathroom, but I never put her down for an actual nap. I never wanted to let her out of my sight--I was pretty much terrified that she would quit breathing again. Sure, I didn't get much done because I was almost always holding Hannah, but I really didn't mind. I certainly didn't have anything more important to do. That lasted for about a month or so. And then I started having serious back muscle spasms (a clue that I wasn't taking care of myself very well). It got so bad that for about a week I didn't dare carry Hannah anywhere for fear that I would collapse and drop her. I basically just held her on the couch all day, and that certainly did not help my back. But I soon went to the doctor and got on meds to fix my back problem.

But another problem had been occurring for weeks. Hannah had been having overtired meltdowns almost every evening. Apparently, she wasn't getting enough sleep during the day. Her naps were too often interrupted by my need to cough or talk or fidget or whatever.

So I pulled out a book that I had meant to read before Hannah arrived--"Secrets of the Baby Whisperer"--and I went right to the chapter on sleep. I loved the author's middle-of-the-road approach. I knew that Scott and I were too big of softies to ever let Hannah cry herself to sleep, but I also knew that we couldn't hold her to get her to sleep for the rest of her life. I won't go into detail about the baby whisperer's approach, but the gist of it is that you have a sleep routine (NOT a schedule) and you teach babies that they can be independent and fall asleep on their own in their beds. And when they cry, you respond to their cries, as opposed to rescuing them.

I really liked the philosophy behind this approach, and I immediately started using it 2 weeks ago. The first few days were pretty rough, especially for Scott. (He was on board at first but later had a few choice words for the baby whisperer and then eventually became supportive again.) Scott's just a total softy, and Hannah knows this. Thus, she cries harder for him and smiles more at him to try to get out of naptime. It's usually pretty darn cute and funny.

Anyway, Hannah has definitely gotten better at this nap thing (she has always been a great night sleeper), although some days are better than others. Overall, she is sleeping more during the day and is happier throughout the day and evening. And no matter how much she resists when I first try to put her to bed, I think she secretly likes her naps.

Just look:

This is her first real nap ever. Doesn't she look so relaxed and happy? I don't think she misses her baby burrito days at all.

Hannah's latest favorite sleeping position is turning her head and tilting it back 90 degrees. She's kind of a weirdy.

And she's super duper cute!

I'm feeling pretty good that my baby can learn some independence while still feeling loved and slightly spoiled. :)