I am entirely prepared for this week to BLOW. Bah-LOE. Here is what I have planned: we are stripping away the layers of Jolie’s swaddle, the tight little burrito-wrap is gone and she’s not too pleased. And we are also doing a little sleep training (a modified Baby Whisperer approach, which means I was up about 10 times last night going in to comfort her). And I am also starting Weight Watchers again today. Basically, I am going to be hungry, grumpy and deliriously tired. Nice combo.
I have just had enough of feeding Jolie repeatedly in the night and sleeping with her on a mattress in her nursery when she was fussy. She is a tank of a kid and is now getting a lot of solid food during the day, so I know she doesn’t need the night-time calories. And she is nearly seven months old and is ready to learn how to soothe herself a little more. So, as I mentioned, we are taking steps to getting her to sleep through the night. Last night I let her cry for 3-5 minute increments and then would go in to comfort her. It was OK, but I was awake a lot, listening for her cries. As far as the Swaddle Intervention goes, we figured there was no point doing sleep training with the swaddle and then having to break her of it later. We are ripping off the proverbial band-aid in one swift pull. The thing is, I think the band-aid is on my bikini line because THIS REALLY HURTS.
As far as the Weight Watchers thing goes, well, here’s the deal. I wrote a couple months ago about how I needed to step back from my focus on weight loss and think about how to really care for my body’s health and portray a positive example for our girls. During that time I started exercising again, purely for health’s sake and for the endorphins I had been missing, and I ate what I pleased. I neither gained nor lost weight and was feeling mentally strong. I have come to realize that my body wants to weigh 150 pounds; I have German blood in me that has given me thick arms and a wide bottom. But I am not happy at 150. It’s as simple as that. So, I am going to lose 15 pounds. I am not going to obsess, and I am not going to blog about it. I am going to continue exercising and make whole food choices when I can. The break I took from WW was good for me; I had time to think and plan and I feel like this is what I need to do.
She’s got the same Rabbi-ish sideburns her sister did. Classy!
“Behind these hazel eyes…”
This week’s going to be a doozy, but we’re gonna make it after all.
22 Comments
I love the rabbi sideburns! Your kids are adorable.
I really hope the sleep training takes quickly – and that you start craving things like blueberries instead of buffalo sauce :)
If I didn’t have to work all week I’d have you over for a Diet Coke (or two).
If anyone can make it through this week, you can. You are one of the strongest people I know.
Love you!
Why make so many changes at once? It doesn’t hurt anyone to swaddle her. It’s not like she’s going to want to be swaddled until she’s 12. Let her be a baby for a while longer and if it helps her sleep, then at least let her be swaddled instead of having her crying and unswaddled at night.
Just my 2 cents.
[…] Original post by kickyboots.com […]
As Bugs Bunny would tell Yosemite Sam, “Of course you know, this means war!”. Battle lines have been clearly drawn; may the best (wo)man win.
just in case you need some kind words today…
your daughters are super cute!
You are a brave woman to do all this at the same time!
I wish you much success and SLEEP. :)
Your girls have the most amazing eyes! Jolie thinks deep thoughts doesn’t she?
Here’s to overcoming! And to baby whispering! Thinking of you and your little ones.
We too are about to embark on the adventure of long nights with “hopefully” learning to self soothe. I keep coming up with excuses. The most recent is that she is teething. I know she will be teething the next 2 1/2 years so I might as well. Your girls are absolutely beautiful! Good luck with your 15 pounds!!
Good for you all around!!!
We unwrapped and sleep trained (Baby Whisperer) Hola when he was 6 months old. As you said, it ain’t easy in the least bit, (DUDE!!!!) BUT being 4 months ahead of you now, I can say, KEEP AT IT!!!
When we do have to go in now, we walk in, walk out, with seconds worth of comforting, rather than the longer kind we had to do when we started. He gets it that we aren’t going to change his scenery, so he might as well go back to sleep. ahhhhh.
You can do it!!
The girls are so sweet. Love the pics.
I really hope that this week surprises you and isn’t nearly as awful as what you are preparing yourself for.
It’s funny….right now I feel like I have a newborn again except it’s the four-legged variety! Man, they are needy when they’re babies. On a brighter note, he is already sitting on command and coming fairly reliably whenever I call. Not bad for knowing absolutely nothing yesterday. Liver treats help.
I’m trying to make Sophia sleep in her crib right now and it’s soooo hard. So I totally empathize with you. Hope it goes well for you. Sometimes they surprise us and let us actually sleep. Hope this happens for you.
Your kids are adorable.
I’m a long time lurker and just wanted to say good luck with everything. None of my three kids slept through the night until we sleep-trained them at 7-8 months. You will feel so much better about everything (weight loss, more patience, etc.) when you can get full nights sleep!! You can do it! It’s so worth it.
Those two girls are growing so quickly! Good luck, you’ll survive this week and I’m sure by next week will look back and see that it was worth it!
Hang in there… you can do it!! Boy, it’s strange how we’re living parallel lives :) We did some sleep training at the same time as the swaddle removal as well… although we’re still working on getting him to go to sleep on his own (I am beginning to think he just needs more time to settle down than Jack did)… anywho, we have gotten away from feeding in the night. You can do this!! I know you can :)
We are doing exactly the same thing. My 5-month-old was still swaddled, but was getting increasingly pissed off when doing so and waking up. We’ve also been rocking her to sleep.
We can’t sleep train her swaddled, because she just busts out and get angrier. And we can’t unswaddle and rock her because she wakes up the second her head nears the crib mattress (tried one night and gave up after 4th attempt).
So…I hear you sista. We’re CIO, though (did this with our first, although the second kid is much more dramatic). And I’m exhausted. Hoping it only takes a few nights!
My eldest has the same brown polka dot sleeper. I’ve seen others we have on your sweet girls, too. I think we’re both Carter’s fans.
Here’s to hoping that your week goes by smoothly! It will get easier as they get older, I promise! They will be knocking each others barbies heads off and stealing each others clothes before you know it! Gotta love those memories! Sisters are such a blessing, they are so lucky and they don’t even know it yet!
Good luck with the sleep training and swaddle eliminating. It sounds like you’ll need a weekend away just to catch up on all the sleep you’re missing out on right now!
I’m going through the same thing with Abby. It’s time for her to learn how to sleep through the night without sucking me dry every 2 hours. It’s not going to be pretty.
sleep training sucks but is sooo necessary sometimes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you! Remember it makes them happier during the day if they sleep better at night so it’s not that you’re being mean, you’re just being their parent.
We just stopped swaddling my 6 month old a couple weeks ago. She had been sleeping through night since 5 weeks, and those first nights were HORRIBLE!!! But, after a couple nights, she started to figure it out. I know its rough, but I know little cutie will figure it out! Good luck!
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