…the baby’s schedule changes! Up until Wednesday, our (very flexible) schedule looked like this:
7 AM – Carrie wakes up, gets a new diaper and nurses.
8 AM – breakfast for both of us, then playtime!
9 AM – new diaper, nurse and nap
— At this point I get to shower, dress, do laundry, clean up the kitchen from breakfast, and maybe putter around doing fun things until Carrie wakes up. —
10:30 AM – Carrie wakes up, gets a new diaper and gets daytime clothes…then more playtime!
Noon – lunchtime, then more playtime!
2 PM – new diaper, nurse and nap
3:30 PM – Carrie wakes up, gets a new diaper and then gets to play more!
6 PM – dinnertime, and more playtime!
7 PM – bedtime starts: bath (some nights), pajamas, stories, nursing
8 PM – Carrie falls asleep.
— Sound good so far? Just wait. This part started happening almost two weeks ago, after some very pleasant weeks of full nights of sleep. —
2 AM – Carrie wakes up crying. Wait 5 minutes. Crying turns into screaming. Stumble down hallway. Check diaper – clean. Offer milk – not interested. Rock baby. Carrie lays there with wide open eyes staring at ceiling. Finally, after 30 minutes or more eyes finally close. Wait a few more minutes. Gingerly place baby in crib. Tiptoe down hallway. Collapse into bed, glance at clock: 2:47 AM.
2:48 AM – Carrie wakes up crying. Wait 5 minutes. (See remaining entry for 2 AM.) Stumble back into bed, clock now reads 3:24 AM.
3:25 AM – You guessed it. Carrie wakes up crying…manage to get back to bed at 4:12.
4:13 AM – Beg Denis to get up this time. Doze until he comes back at 4:47. Hold breath and pray for sleep (or maybe death).
6 AM – Alarm goes off. Carrie must have actually stayed asleep…until 7 rolls around again.
My very smart cousin – who’s turning 30 today! Happy Birthday, Kathy! – listened to my tale of woe while we were out to lunch on Wednesday and asked a very simple question: “How many naps is Carrie taking?”
D’oh!
Wednesday, because we were out, Carrie didn’t take a morning nap. She took a 2 1/4 hour afternoon nap. She slept through the night.
Yesterday we mostly succeeded in skipping the morning nap (there was a 15 minute catnap in there when she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer) and…she slept through except waking up to nurse, but then she fell right back to sleep. (Total time from stumbling down the hallway to collapsing back in bed was less than 15 minutes.)
So, I guess we’re going to have to reinvent our schedule a bit – how on earth do I occupy her for an entire 4 hours between breakfast and lunch, and when do I shower?!? – but it will be totally worth it to not be up for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night, every night!
That’s what I’ve been wondering–how to keep a baby occupied all day, every day? Seriously. I have a 2-month old and he’s already awake for much of the day. I’m not sure what to do with him! :)