Look Mommy...No Swaddle!

We stopped swaddling our little munchkin and so far so good (I should probably knock on wood because I may be speaking too soon). My hubby and I had a long talk this morning about what we should do about the whole swaddling issue. Recently Isabelle has been kind of fighting the swaddle blanket. It seemed to help her calm down and sleep, but as about two weeks ago, when she would wake up she would thrash around a bit and wiggle her arms so that the blanket would essentially end up bunched up around her neck (NOT GOOD). Then I'd have to re-swaddle her during the night (also not good) and that would wake her up and then she'd basically be in her straight-jacket wriggling and almost turning over onto her face until she would wear herself out and fall asleep. Needless to say that we felt it was time to ditch the swaddle and get this little girl to sleep without it. So today we put her down in her crib for her morning nap without the swaddle. We put her on her back because as new parents we are innundated with the advice to sleep babies up to 6 months old on their backs because of the SIDS issue, which I agree with, but I also can understand why it is difficult for many babies to fall asleep this way. I don't know of many adults who enjoy sleeping on their backs. She moved around and talked to herself for a bit and then flipped over onto her belly, then back to her back, then back to her belly and so and and so forth for about a half hour to forty five minutes. Finally she fell asleep on her belly, which we didn't freak out about because she's 6 months old and perfectly capable to move to her back if she needs to (plus, we finally got those Breathable Bumpers in the mail yesterday). She napped relatively well for the morning nap and then REALLY well for the mid-afternoon nap and she went down to sleep for the night pretty easily as well. I seriously hope that this is a sign that we did the right thing and it's not just cause she was super tired from not sleeping that well last night. Next obstacle to tackle is limiting the night feedings...that should be fun. :-(

Don't You Want to Nap Little Girl?

Oh how I love my little Senorita Crabby Pants

I don't know about anyone else, but when I've had a rocky night's sleep all I want to do the next day is take a nap. Not the case with my little bundle of joy...or actually, my little bundle of crankiness. Last night, Isabelle had a bit of a tough time with the whole concept of sleep and today she just wouldn't nap. She was exhausted, and super crabby, but she would only sleep for about 30 minutes (if I was lucky) and then she was up and whining and being a fairly large pain in the keester. Not one of our better days to say the least. I think it has something to do with the while rolling over milestone from yesterday. I read that when a baby experiences a milestone, such as rolling over from back to belly for the first time, it tends to affect their sleeping. I can only hope that she will have a better night tonight. I just felt so bad for her...she actually had little black circles under her eyes. :-( When she gets enough sleep she is a joy to be around, but just like most people, if she doesn't get enough rest she is an absolute bear! But tomorrow is another day and I have to keep reminding myself when I experience tough days with her that "this will not last forever" and we can start fresh in the morning.