Okay, so I know many of you might roll your eyes at the naivete of a mom whose baby is just now getting to a night-night routine at 11 weeks. Well, when your newborn has colic, most nights end with you and baby collapsed on the couch, half undressed from the heat of the crying fit, and too tired to get up and even dress the little bundle in some pajamas. The whole "dinner, bath, book, sleep" routine isn't really an option when your baby spends more waking hours screaming than just plain breathing! As the weeks go by, however, the collicky screamer gradually turns into more of a "fusser" who is wide awake looking around the room for entertainment after 9PM. So, here I am at just about 11 weeks, still turning to my trusty Dr. Sears Baby Book for guidance on what to do with my fussy baby. Dr. Sears
mentioned getting your little fusser down to sleep with a bedtime routine....Novel idea, huh? So, I followed the routine last Friday night, thinking it may take weeks to take effect. Must to my surprise, it worked like a charm the very first time! For those of you who don't think I'm a few cards short of deck for not figuring this out sooner and those who understand that parenting a collicky baby is just a little bit different, read on to find out what I did and what Baby Fashion Finds I used to do this whole bedtime routine in style...
Step 1: 2nd to last nursing/feeding of the night around 7:00pm. Dr. Karp and Dr. Sears both recommend "cluster feeding" to "tank up" baby for bedtime and get them to sleep more soundly through the night. This generally means feeding at intervals of 1-2 hours during the evening and 2-3 hours during the day. Baby is more likely to get all the calories he/she needs during the day rather than waking during the night to squeeze in all the nutrients needed in a 24 hour period. Sounds crazy to some, but we have been doing this all along and thankfully Emme sleeps 9 hours straight during the night, so it's worth a try!
Step 2: Rub-a-Dub-Dub and a soak in the tub! Finally, Emme's skin is not so sensitive and she can take a
bath daily or every other day. I'm in love with all natural aromatherapy baby bath products like California Baby and Little Twig. Aromatherapy is clinically proven to help babies relax, with herbs such as lavender. You can buy California Baby on their website and in some Target stores nationwide. Find Little Twig at Polka Dot Whale.
Step 3: Baby Massage! We all know the value of a good spa treatment to calm the body, mind and spririt and it's no different for baby. Again, I employ the use of my arsenal of all-natural baby pampering products. My favorite for baby massage is the California Baby "Overtired and Cranky" baby massage oil. While I'm at it, California Baby Calendula Cream is what I use on Emme's chubby little creases, diaper area, and face. It cannot be beat for sensitive babies and you wouldn't believe the compliments I get on Emme's glowing skin--I'd love to credit my stellar skin genes, but I think it has a lot to do with the Calendula Cream and I'm not ashamed to say it:) Even if baby screams during the whole after-bath process of massaging, moisturizing, diapering and dressing in pajamas, it still seems to have a calming effect...go figure!
Step 4: Rocking and nursing to sleep! I had the rocking and nursing thing down
to an art prior to testing out the bedtime routine, however, it wasn't quite as sleep-inducing. Now, with the combination of the bath and dressing for bed and diapering, the nursing puts her right to sleep for the night. I think it is key that she had nursed just one hour or 1 and 1/2 hour prior because she isn't just voracious and nursing like it's her last meal on death row. One more tip: Put the baby in her sleep sack as soon I put on her jammie-jams. Otherwise, it's possible she'll awake when I put her down in bed and still have to wrestle her into the sleep sack. Yes, I know, it's another one of the those "no-brainers" that seems to have eluded me until recently. My favorite sleep sack is the Cloud B Pointelle Cotton Lullabag. Unbelievably soft and snuggly, generously sized, and breathable--perfect for summer, find it at Polka Dot Whale!
I hope this sleepytime routine can work for you, too. Nighty-Night and Happy Dreams!
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