Oh boy!!!! It's been a rough couple of weeks (or has it been months?). Amelia decided to switch from sleeping ALL NIGHT to not sleeping hardly at all. If I remember right, when she WAS sleeping through the night, it was a dickens to get her down for naps and STAY down. Now she goes right to sleep for naps, even though it only ranges from 30-60 minutes! Last night a decision had to be made! I've read online articles about sleep, bought a book, listened to advice from friends and family and had finally compiled a plan in my mind.
1. Put Amelia down earlier than 10pm (this had been her bedtime before)
2. Don't let her fall asleep in my arms. Instead, get her drowsy and lay her down in the crib so she KNOWS she's in her crib. We don't want her mad that I'm not there when she wakes up and is alone and not in my arms.
3. If she wakes, simply "shuush" her and gently touch her shoulder and cheek.
4. DON'T PICK HER UP!!!
5. I will only feed her if it has been AT LEAST 4 hours since the last feeding... Hopefully stretching this out soon, because I know she's capable of sleeping through the night.
6. DON'T PICK HER UP!!! Unless she is screaming bloody murder. Only hold her long enough to calm her then set her back in her crib :-/
7. Finally, don't swaddle her. This is hard for me. She used to sleep the best when swaddled, but now that she's getting bigger I suppose she needs to get used to her body movements and start learning to soothe herself.
So there it is, my 7 step plan. If you can call it that. May Mr. Sandman bring her, and me, many dreams!!!!
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