Sunday, January 13, 2013

Elijah 356- Part 17

This post is late, I know.  Reason being?  We had a rough week there.  As Eli has turned 4 months old, we have begun really getting a good bedtime routine going.  I had a decent schedule going, but it wasn't 100% concrete and he was going to bed at 7- much later then a baby should be.  So this week was spent getting him to bed earlier and focusing on sleep.  I did the same thing with Zach and it worked great once we got the schedule in tact, but it's a rough few days/weeks for a bit in the process.  

The plan I use is from the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child."  It's entire theme is about how important sleep is to a child (and us adults too!).  Not only do children who sleep well have better temperaments, but they are also more attentive to the world around them when they get enough sleep.  That means that they are more easily learning from their surroundings.  There is even research done about brain development's connection to healthy sleep.  He also suggests having your child in bed earlier so they will sleep later.  I thought it was crazy, until I saw how well it worked for Zach.  

So this week I really focused on getting things started.  I have had Eli in bed by 6pm every night (and am focusing on getting him down 15 minutes earlier next week).  It wasn't an easy day or two in there, I found it harder this time because I'm already chasing a toddler around, and Dima was barely home.  But after about 2 days things started improving.  We are still working out the mornings, he wakes a few times in the very early mornings for feedings, which is normal.  I hope to get him to only wake for one of those feedings in the next few weeks.  He currently gets up quite often between 3-7am.  I'm confident he'll get better in a week or so though.  He's still pretty young! In the meantime, I'm pretty excited he sleeps from 6pm-3am at only 4 months old.  

Here are the photos from our week!

Day 121- January 7- Eating his fist.  He also rolled over for the first time today!

Day 122- Jan 8- Tummy time!

Day 123- Jan 9- ready for a run with brother and Mommy!

Day 124- Jan 10.  Hanging out with big brother

Day 125- Jan 11.  Silly smiles!

Day 126- Jan 12.  Silly Monkey boy

Day 127- Jan 13.  He's always in his chair watching mommy and brother!

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