My Busted Bubble

During the week I can get lost in my time with JoJo, spending 30 minutes helping her back to sleep when she wakes early doesn't phase me. I plan my day around it, I know when she will wake early and I prepare myself with an article to read or a hot cup of coffee. During the week when it's just the two of us, we consume each others schedule and we need nothing else.

However, when we go away for the weekend things fall apart. Suddenly the 30 minutes spent helping her fall back asleep feels like forever and I start to feel foolish for not being more flexible. I know my baby girl needs lots of sleep and she is a much happier baby when she gets it so how do you find a balance between keeping your structure and allowing for some flex?

I just returned from my second trip out of town in two weeks, both where just a quick weekend trip to see family.  Our first trip was a complete new parent fail. We put our desires before JoJo and payed for it for 2 days upon our return home. She was so overly tired from 3 days of poor napping that her night time sleep was all over the place. She went from waking 1-2 times a night to 3-4. By Wednesday we got back on schedule, finally getting in some good naps and we were back to sleeping better with only 1 waking a night. Then Friday came and so did some company and we where `on our way again early Saturday morning. This time we took a different approach to our day. We committed to getting at least one good long (90mins+) nap a day. We also tried to not have more then one nap in a row on the go. We still had a lot of waking in the night but she was much happier when the evenings came around. We just arrived back home and I'm curious to see how tonight goes. I'm hoping I can contribute her poor night sleep to a new environment and varyingly room temperatures that are drastically different then what she is use to.

I'm still left with a classic new parent question, how do you find the balance while traveling? We have yet ANOTHER trip coming up in 2 weeks that includes a two hour time change so what can we do differently to help our next trip away from home go smoother? Here are a few tips that I'll be trying and will report back.

- Our trip is 3 days long, 2 hours ahead. I plan to stick to our time zone while there and move everything ahead two hours. Starting our day at 9am and ending the day at 9pm.

- I'm going to get things back on track and limit disruptions as much as possible for the next two weeks.

- Experiment with which nap can be disrupted without too much trouble, she is already taking her shortest nap at the end of the day (about 30-40min) followed by her longest wake time (about 2hrs) I'm hoping the evenings will be her socializing time with family, starting to wind down about 30 minutes before putting her to sleep.

- Continue to help JoJo to sleep through her 45 minute nap transition. I'm seeing some progress as long as the environment is good.

- Try and relax! Sometimes things are just out of my control and we will all live regardless. I need to keep reminding myself about his one!

Good-Bye Dreamfeed

Since JoJo was a few weeks old we have been giving her a Dreamfeed at 10-10:30pm before going to bed. We had some success but it has been real spotty, some nights she will only eat 1 or 2 ounces and others she will eat more then 4 ounces.

I insisted on doing a Dreamfeed because I've read so much about it on multiple blogs and in a few different books. It was my understanding the it was the key to a baby that would sleep through the night. So we Dreamfed, and Dreamfed, until one night when we just stopped. I didn't have a bottled pumped and was exhausted that I couldn't stay away that long so I convinced my husband to skip it.

We dropped the Dreamfeed about three weeks ago and haven't not noticed a difference in her nighttime sleep. We did have a rough few nights when we started the 4th leap of Wonder Weeks but that seems to have past. We've actually have had some of her longest sleep stretches yet, 9, 10, and 11 hours!

She is making up for the dropped feeding with nursing longer at her 4pm and 7pm feeding and waking up happy in the morning so I'm not sad to see it go. Its nice for my husband and I to get to bed early without this last feeding hanging over our heads. Turns out the Dreamfeed isn't for everyone.

I won't lie, I think of it some nights and consider trying it again but then she sleeps great and I forget it.

Smooth Transitions Leaping

Have you heard of "The Wonder Weeks"? According to Dr. Plooij, developmental leaps are age specific and can be predicted down to the week.  These leaps differ from a physical growth spurt but can have some similarities. If you are unfamiliar with them and you have days that blow your mind because your baby is suddenly a different baby and it feels like maybe someone swapped them out overnight, read this book! There is also an app that includes a nice little chart predicting your babies sunny and stormy periods, along with a scary countdown until the next leap but it is amazing once you understanding the pattern and can help with some of the frustrations that come with those hard days.

We just started with the 4th leap, the leap of smooth transitions.  JoJo's typical leap behavior is a few cranky days followed by a sleepy day and then she will develop some new skill.  It's an amazing thing to watch now that we know what's going on. At first her cranky days threw us through a loop and we had no idea what was going on. She would go from getting up once a night to four times during the night leaving us exhausted and confused. This last week has been her cranky phase, multiple wakening at night and the witching hour has returned in the evenings.  Starting last week her sleep got progressively worse over a four day period leaving us with an overly tired baby in the evenings. Things then gradually got better over a 3 day period and we have now reached a new stage. Last night JoJo slept through the night for the first time, everyones definition of sleeping through the night is different so I'll clarify what it means to me, I put her to bed last night at 7:30pm and she didn't get up until 6:30am this morning. This was an hour before her usual wake up time but we went with it and will adjust the day as we go. I know this doesn't mean we have a new norm on our hands but I noticed she is shifting her eating schedule around, she has been nursing much longer before bedtime the last two nights then she has in the past but only time will tell if it will stick. 

So far JoJo seems to be much more aware of her lower body, she has started kicking her feet at the toys on her activity mat and started grabbing her knees. She also seems to get excited when anticipating something might happen. Your classic, I'm going to get you game, is becoming more fun! Can't wait to see what other new skills will arise with this new developmental leap.

 

My 45 Minute Intruder Solution

The newborn sleepiness has warn off and you now have a baby that is a classic cat napper.  Waking after only 45 minutes all wide eye and bushy tailed. How do you handle it? When JoJo first started taking 45 minute naps around 6 weeks we could easily sneak in and rock her back to sleep. Now that she is much more aware of her surrounding and her body it's becoming more and more difficult to get her back to sleep without waking her up more in the process.

I would consider JoJo to be an okay napper. We usually end up rocking her to sleep for most naps and she wakes at least once part way through and requires more rocking. I know she is too young to really consolidate her naps yet and soothe herself to sleep. I'm home most of the day and she is my first baby so I don't mind the extra snuggles and attention required to ensure she gets enough sleep during the day. 

However, JoJo is 10 weeks old and I'm going back to work and I'm bringing her with me. I am hoping to get some longer naps from her so I can be more efficient at work. Here is my solution for those darn 45 minute naps.  

The Fisher Price Rock and Play, I was desperate and this did the trick. JoJo has been napping in her crib since the day we brought her home from the hospital. Her room is centrally located so it was easy to lay her down in there and listen for her. I'm glad we did this because we have yet to face any resistance with her sleeping in her crib for naps or during the night. however, the problem with the crib and the short naps was me. When I come into help her go back to sleep I'm too distracting and she gets excited when she sees me. While this completely melts my heart and I love all the smiles, it almost surly means nap time is over.  Insert rock and play. I can face her away from the door so when she wakes during a nap I can now sneak in and rock her back to sleep without causing too much distractions. 

This works most of the time and she will normally sleep for another 45-60 minutes and wake up happy has a clam. I know this solution is not for everyone and I might be creating a bad habit that we will have to work on later but it is working for us now. I still try and do a couple naps a week in her crib just to mix it up and keep her comfortable with her napping in there during the day. 

First Holidays

The holidays are finally over and I couldn't be happier! I'm ready to go back to hiding out in my home and get back into our grove. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a first time mom or if it's because I have a two month old to bring to events now but this holiday season has been more stressfull then enjoyable.

Since having JoJo I've suffered from a lot of anxiety when taking her out in public or letting others, even close family members, hold her and try and soothe her. I know in my gut that it's okay and good for her to become familiar with other family members, I know it, but it's eating me up inside to let it happen. I have shed many tears over this which I'm sure is my post partum hormones going crazy mixed with a little of the baby blues. I'm hoping that time with heal these feeling because it's causing a lot of guilt like I'm keeping her away from family. I know it will get better with time, I need to believe it will get better.

I should give a little background about my anxiety, it is not something new since having JoJo. I've suffered from social anxiety for many years and it was a major struggle for me all through college. I was the student who loved class sizes that were more then 200 people because I could easily slip in and out unnoticed. As I got further along in school my class sizes started to get smaller and I had my first panic attack in 2008. That was a tough year for me and I finally started taking Zoloft to help calm my nervous and get me through school. Once I graduated from college I stopped taking it but I still have my days that I know my life would be less stressful with it.

So even though I was a nervous reck through the holidays, JoJo did great! She slept like an angle in a moses basket and actually slept her longest stretch to date, 7 hours! I woke in a panic when I realized she had slept so long but she acted like it was completely normal. She handled the sleep disruptions pretty well and it had no effect on her nighttime sleep. We've been having a tough time with the evening nap anyways so it was nice to have something to do outside of the house. I think we are still in that golden newborn stage that strict bedtimes and nap schedules are not really an issue.

We all survived but I'm glad it's over!

JoJo's Arrival

This is my birth story, a story I searched for before going into labor myself. I was induced with pitocin at nearly 42 weeks and after many internet searches I could only find horror stories about labors that were so intense that a natural labor was near impossible with contractions over contractions and pain that was unbearable. The stories left me scared out of my mind on our way to the hospital. After having JoJo, I can now say it doesn't have to be that way. I had a successful natural labor with pitocin and left the hospital feeling like it went perfectly. Her is my story of JoJo's arrival. 

The 40 week appointment. It's the one that you hope you never have to attend because by that point your huge, uncomfortable and ready to get the show on the road. You've also been receiving calls and text messages daily with those close to you predicting, "this is it, today's the day." Well... I made it to that appointment and my 41 week appointment and was then induced just before 42 weeks. I tried some weird natural things to induce labor but the truth was, JoJo was not ready to come out. No matter how much walking, bouncing on a ball, pineapple eating, or chocolate "labor" cake consuming I did she did not budge. If you google "how to induce labor", which doesn't everyone at that point, you will get some crazy old wives tales. They lie. 

Let's fast forward to November 6th. 

At 7:30pm we checked into the hospital to start the induction. I was giving JoJo's arrival. 

This is my birth story, a story I searched for before going into labor myself. I was induced with pitocin at nearly 42 weeks and after many internet searches I could only find horror stories about labors that were so intense that a natural labor was near impossible with contracts over contracts and pain that was unbearable. The stories left me scared out of my mind on our way to the hospital. I can now say it doesn't have to be that way, I had a successful natural labor with pitocin and left the hospital feeling like it went perfectly. 

The 40 week appointment. It's the one that you hope you never have to attend because by that point your huge, uncomfortable and ready to get the show on the road. Well I made it to that appointment and my 41 week appointment and was then induced just before 42 weeks. I tried some weird natural things to induce labor but the truth was, JoJo was not ready to come out. No matter how much walking, bouncing on a ball, pineapple eating, or chocolate cake consuming I did she did not budge. If you google "how to induce labor", which doesn't everyone at that point, you will get some crazy old wives tales. They lie. 

Let's fast forward to November 6th. 

At 7:30pm we checked into the hospital to start the induction. I was given cervadil to ripen my "unfavorable" cervix. Upon checking in I was only 2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. The cervidil was used instead of a ripening gel because my twin sister had a bad reaction to the gel with her delivery and my doctor didn't want to risk that. That night I hardly slept, not because of contractions or the beginning of labor, nope none of that even got started. Just the uncomfortable hospital setting and constant monitoring kept me up. The next morning when the Cervidil was removed and they checked my progress I was disappointed to find out I had made none. Nothing. I immediately went to my unhappy place and managed to convince myself in a matter of minutes that my body was not capable of going into labor on its own.  I had read stories about women who were unsuccessful with the induction process and found themselves in the OR for a c-section. This was my biggest fear. I wanted to have my baby as naturally as possible and having a c-section was the last option in my mind. 

Between removing the cervidil and starting the pitocin I was given an hour break to walk around before getting hooked up to the pitocin drip, the next step in my induction. I will not lie, I cried at that moment. I knew this induction was coming but it suddenly became very real, I could officially no longer avoid the induction and I was running out of time before it was going to start. I begged the nurse to allow us to take a walk outside before getting my IV in. I needed the fresh air to calm my nerves and the last few minutes alone with my husband. We walked around the block of the hospital, best decision of my life. It allowed me to clear my head and regain some confidence. 

They started my pitocin at 11am on November 7th at a "2". At 11:30 they increased it to "4" and I was beginning to have consistent contractions. They began the way I expected them to, cramps at first then becoming more distinguishable waves every 4 minutes or so. When the nurse came back at noon to up my pitocin again I asked to sit in the jacuzzi first as the contractions were becoming more painful and moving towards my back. Once getting sumereged into the tub my body instantly relaxed, contractions came and went but I was able to tolerate them better. At 12:30pm our doula arrived and met us just as I was getting out of the tub and going back to my room for monitoring. Once I was out of the water the labor pains hit suddenly, contractions were much stronger and were now completely in my back. On my walk back to my room I had to stop twice to brace myself for a contractions. This was the turning point when things started to pick up. 

Once back in my room I was able to labor on the ball and avoid another hike in my pitocin, my body was responding well and I was progressing on my own. After about a an hour of laboring on the ball I received another check and was already at 6cm! This was such motivating news, by that point contractions were challenging and only bearable with lots of counter pressure from our doula.  

Transition was the most challenging part of my labor, I experienced the most pain during those hours. JoJo needed to be shifted a bit to make it down the birth canal and our doula did this with a sheet under my belly while I labored on the ball. This shifting was the hardest part of the whole labor but once it was done it really sped things up. At around 5 I was checked again and I remember the nurses telling me "you're ready". I responded with a, "what does that mean?", my husband said "were having a baby!" 

The next hour of pushing was a blur, laying on my back at that point was such a relief. The actual pushing was easier to me then the laboring. My contractions became more spaced out and I was able to take a break in between pushes. I pushed for an hour before JoJo was born, her body finally came out in one push and suddenly she was on my chest. It all happened so quickly. I had spent the whole day preparing my body for this moment and just like that it happened. All the pain and discomfort I had gone through was gone instantly. JoJo was here and she was perfect.  

My husband cut the cord and we did skin to skin for almost an hour before the nurses preformed their test, got her weight and wrapped her up before family was allowed to come in to meet her. 

If you are facing an induction and want to do it naturally here are my tips. 

- If you can afford it, hire a doula! This was the best money we spent. Our doula turned my husband into the best labor coach! 

- Don't read the horror stories! Stick with positive birth stories to boost your confidence. 

- Avoid laboring on your back! All fours and the labor ball were my best friend. 

- Use the jacuzzi tub, it's not for everyone but it might help you along and stall another pitocin increase. 

- Look into counter pressure, it will help take the edge off a contraction. My doula did most of the counter pressure during my labor and it was a full time job. 

- An induction is not the end all to your birth plan, stay flexible and make the most of it and make it yours. 

My labor was exactly what I thought it would be even though it didn't start the way I was hoping. It truly pushed my body to the very edge but not more then I could handle. It was not easy but looking back it was perfect and I would do it again. 

Meet my JoJo -