Recently we decided that it was officially time for Kacey to start sleeping in her own room in her crib. While we didn't mind having her in our room, she had seriously outgrown her bassinet and Timmy really didn't think having her sleep in her car seat every night was the best solution (can you believe him? :-)
Well, I've always described Kacey as a great sleeper since she's been sleeping through the night since before she was 6 weeks old. She has always needed to be rocked to sleep though, either in our arms or pushed back and forth in her stroller. Sometimes this process could take more than an hour. And not only was this true for nighttime, but daytime naps as well. We spent a lot of time on this, but because she slept so well once we could get her to sleep, we didn't have too much to complain about.
For the past week, we've been trying to get her to sleep in her crib and have her continue to sleep through the night there. If we could get her into a deep sleep by rocking her in our arms, we could put her down and she could go several hours (3-4) before waking up and screaming inconsolably. If we tried to put her down too early, this screaming would start as soon as she hit the crib. The only solution was to just pick her up and bring her into bed with us. All of a sudden, at 4 months old, we were co-sleeping again. All in all, the situation wasn't working.
We made the somewhat controversial and difficult decision to "ferberize" Kacey. Ferberizing is a sleep training method developed by Dr. Richard Ferber, Director of Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital here in Boston. I purchased and began reading Dr. Ferber's book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems and was amazed to find that it could have been written about our little Kacey and her sleep habits. We were certainly desperate to find a way to get her to sleep happily in her crib at night and we just were not able to figure out how to do it on our own. And here came Dr. Ferber with simple ideas to solve our problems. Could this by too good to be true?
Essentially, Dr. Ferber emphasizes a "cry and console" or "progressive waiting" mentality in order to break the sleep associations that are causing your child's sleep problems. The goal is not to have your baby cry until they fall asleep from pure exhaustion (which I believe is cruel and unnecessary) , but rather to teach them to fall asleep under the same circumstances in which they will wake up to during the night. If your baby is used to being rocked to sleep in your arms (as Kacey was), waking up in a strange place like a crib without being held can be a jarring and scary experience, causing inconsolable crying until they are "reunited" with the circumstances under which they fell asleep. Dr. Ferber's method can also be used to break the habit of multiple night feedings, needing a pacifier to sleep, or co-sleeping, to name a few.
Parents are to begin with a happy bedtime routine centered in the room where the child will be sleeping for the night. Then you lay them down in their crib drowsy, but awake, say goodnight, rub their belly (etc) and leave the room. Since this will be a departure from what they are used to, they will undoubtedly begin crying for you to return and pick them up. At increasing intervals of time, you are to enter the baby's room, reassure them that all will be fine, rub their belly, tell them you love them, and leave within 1 or 2 minutes while they are still awake. On the first night of ferberizing, you go in and check on the baby 3 minutes after they first start crying, 5 minutes after that if the crying has continued, and then every 10 minutes your baby cries until they fall asleep.
It's important, as in our case, not to pick up the baby, but only soothe them while they lay in the crib because you don't want to teach them that if they cry for a certain amount of time, you will come in and pick them up. Then you will be doing more harm than good. Ferber lays out a 7 night plan where you increase the length of your "response time" each night (e.g. On night 2, the intervals change to 5, 10, and 12 minutes and on night 7, they are 20, 25 and 30 minutes). Get the gist? Stay tuned for Part II: Kacey Meets Dr. Ferber...
Friday, February 1, 2008
Packing on the Pounds
As I mentioned in my last post, Kacey's weight and length weren't charting well at her 4 month pediatrician appointment. She's a very tall, very slim baby and the doc wanted to make sure that she was getting a sufficient amount of calories everyday to sustain how quickly she is growing in height. Click here to find out more about growth charts.
In order to help her get these extra calories she needs, we add a teaspoon of powdered formula in with each 3 ounces of breast milk she receives while I am at work. For reference, she averages about 4x 4 oz bottles on those days. I'm only really able to pump enough to give her 3 bottles so that 4th bottle has become all formula. While the transition was difficult at first, we found a formula that works well in Kacey's system (Nestle Goodstart Supreme) and she seems to be doing just great with it.
We go back to the pediatrician next week for an official weight check-in, but I've been concerned and not wanting to wait so I've taken the opportunity to weigh her the last two weeks on the baby scale at Isis Maternity after my mommy/baby group. Last Friday (1 week post 4 month appointment), her weight had jumped to 11 lbs 11 oz. I was thrilled. That's a 1/4 lb. in 1 week. Well, 1 week later, she's a whopping 12 lbs 4 oz.! That's almost 1 lb. in 2 weeks! Pretty amazing for a girl that only gained 3 pounds in the first 4 months of life. We're really excited about how she's thriving!
While it was hard for me to originally get over my "breast feeding snobiness" and come to terms with her having formula, seeing how well she's doing makes me realize that nothing matters except her happiness and her health. It's all about her and that's a great thing. We'll let you know what the pediatrician says after her appointment on Friday, February 8th! I almost can't wait to show off our mighty little Kacey!
In order to help her get these extra calories she needs, we add a teaspoon of powdered formula in with each 3 ounces of breast milk she receives while I am at work. For reference, she averages about 4x 4 oz bottles on those days. I'm only really able to pump enough to give her 3 bottles so that 4th bottle has become all formula. While the transition was difficult at first, we found a formula that works well in Kacey's system (Nestle Goodstart Supreme) and she seems to be doing just great with it.
We go back to the pediatrician next week for an official weight check-in, but I've been concerned and not wanting to wait so I've taken the opportunity to weigh her the last two weeks on the baby scale at Isis Maternity after my mommy/baby group. Last Friday (1 week post 4 month appointment), her weight had jumped to 11 lbs 11 oz. I was thrilled. That's a 1/4 lb. in 1 week. Well, 1 week later, she's a whopping 12 lbs 4 oz.! That's almost 1 lb. in 2 weeks! Pretty amazing for a girl that only gained 3 pounds in the first 4 months of life. We're really excited about how she's thriving!
While it was hard for me to originally get over my "breast feeding snobiness" and come to terms with her having formula, seeing how well she's doing makes me realize that nothing matters except her happiness and her health. It's all about her and that's a great thing. We'll let you know what the pediatrician says after her appointment on Friday, February 8th! I almost can't wait to show off our mighty little Kacey!
Friday, January 18, 2008
She's 4 months old!
Well, little Kacey is 4 months old and just as cute as ever! We saw a new pediatrician this month since Dr. MacAulay (our usual pediatrician) had a baby girl last week. Here is some new info on her stats: Kacey is a ridiculously tall 26" and a very slim 11 lbs 7 oz. These stats place her in the 95th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight based on her gender and age. Although this sounds normal, when her growth is charted by her weight in relation to her height, she's not even on the chart. She is well below 0%. Understandably, we were concerned, as was the doctor. The new pediatrician thinks we need to start upping her calorie consumption so she starts gaining much needed weight to match her height. So, we've started adding a formula in with the bottles of breast milk she drinks while I'm at work. More on this will follow in another post soon.
Anyway, she's strong, happy and beautiful and we couldn't be happier with our little girl. Check out some of my favorite pictures from this month's birthday photo shoot!
Anyway, she's strong, happy and beautiful and we couldn't be happier with our little girl. Check out some of my favorite pictures from this month's birthday photo shoot!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
We've come a long way, baby...
Today marks the one year anniversary of my telling Tim that we were having a baby! It's strange to think back on how crazy and scary a moment that was. When you aren't expecting to hear those words (or read them as he had too), a lesser man may have, for lack of a better word, freaked. And while he was certainly shocked, his love and support made those first few weeks so much easier on me. I'll never forget that.
Now that Kacey is here, reliving those emotions is pretty surreal. I couldn't imagine our life without her in it. She is such a true blessing and I love her with the deepest, purest, rawest love that one person could ever have for another. I can say, without any hesitation, that I would sacrifice anything and everything for her. I feel honored that God chose us to be able to watch her grow and learn each day.
Honestly, it wasn't too long ago that these pictures were taken. It was my actual due date (September 6th). Of course I still had to wait 12 more days for her arrival (she's such a Keegan like that), but being pregnant with her was one of the most amazing times in my life. Back then she was just a little Tazby!
In other news, Kacey turns 4 months old tomorrow. We have our doctor's appointment in the morning so I'll update with current stats tomorrow. Wish us luck with her shots! Hopefully it won't be too bad and she'll handle these like her 2 month shots, like the little trooper that she is!
Now that Kacey is here, reliving those emotions is pretty surreal. I couldn't imagine our life without her in it. She is such a true blessing and I love her with the deepest, purest, rawest love that one person could ever have for another. I can say, without any hesitation, that I would sacrifice anything and everything for her. I feel honored that God chose us to be able to watch her grow and learn each day.
Honestly, it wasn't too long ago that these pictures were taken. It was my actual due date (September 6th). Of course I still had to wait 12 more days for her arrival (she's such a Keegan like that), but being pregnant with her was one of the most amazing times in my life. Back then she was just a little Tazby!
In other news, Kacey turns 4 months old tomorrow. We have our doctor's appointment in the morning so I'll update with current stats tomorrow. Wish us luck with her shots! Hopefully it won't be too bad and she'll handle these like her 2 month shots, like the little trooper that she is!
Monday, January 14, 2008
On going back to work
Well, I officially started my second week back at work today. Timmy stayed home with Kacey since the weather was too bad for him to drive up to Wenham. All in all, I'm doing pretty well with my return. It helps that I only work 4 days a week and that Kacey is being watched by people who really love her (and keep logs on her comings and goings which I love reading when I get home). I do really look forward to Friday and the weekend. It's easier for me to treasure every moment with her now. I think my patience has really increased overall. I now am fine with the idea of spending 3 hours rocking her to sleep just because it gives me a chance to hold her at night. FYI for anyone returning to work: I love the digital picture frame that Timmy gave me for Christmas. It just scrolls through Kacey's pictures all day long and that just gets me so excited to go home at the end of the day.
It also helped that as soon as I returned, I was thrown in on a large project with a good team., one of whom is the father of a 5 month old girl so he's good to chat with (here's their blog if you want to check it out) although I try and keep baby talk to a minimum to maintain some semblance of professionalism. Anyhow, it keeps me busy enough to make the day go by fairly quickly. I'll be really excited to have Danielle come back to work next week so at least I have someone to talk baby with all of the time. I'm branching out though. I went to lunch today with a girl from the office who I've never spent much time with. She just announced she's 3 months pregnant so I thought I could be a listening board for her and "new resident expert" on all of those things that only pregnant women and new moms talk about. There is definitely a camaraderie there.
Anyway, one of the hardest parts of going back to work is all of the time I have to spend pumping in our office's "quiet room". I seriously had no idea how much time this was going to take out of my day! So far it makes me feel a bit guilty and unproductive, but I know how important it is for me to maintain my supply. Basically, I pump 3 times a day (once when I get to work, once around lunch time, and once about an hour before I go home). Each pumping session averages about 30 minutes which can really add up. I'm not getting as much output as I would like either so I've started taking fenugreek. Not only does it up your milk supply, but it makes your urine and sweat smell like maple syrup (I kid you not). So, pretty much it's a win-win, well, except that Timmy hates the smell of maple syrup...I'll let you know how that one turns out :-)
For moms returning to work from maternity leave, these are the websites that I found most helpful:
Work and Pump
Kellymom
Bluesuit Mom
Baby Center
It also helped that as soon as I returned, I was thrown in on a large project with a good team., one of whom is the father of a 5 month old girl so he's good to chat with (here's their blog if you want to check it out) although I try and keep baby talk to a minimum to maintain some semblance of professionalism. Anyhow, it keeps me busy enough to make the day go by fairly quickly. I'll be really excited to have Danielle come back to work next week so at least I have someone to talk baby with all of the time. I'm branching out though. I went to lunch today with a girl from the office who I've never spent much time with. She just announced she's 3 months pregnant so I thought I could be a listening board for her and "new resident expert" on all of those things that only pregnant women and new moms talk about. There is definitely a camaraderie there.
Anyway, one of the hardest parts of going back to work is all of the time I have to spend pumping in our office's "quiet room". I seriously had no idea how much time this was going to take out of my day! So far it makes me feel a bit guilty and unproductive, but I know how important it is for me to maintain my supply. Basically, I pump 3 times a day (once when I get to work, once around lunch time, and once about an hour before I go home). Each pumping session averages about 30 minutes which can really add up. I'm not getting as much output as I would like either so I've started taking fenugreek. Not only does it up your milk supply, but it makes your urine and sweat smell like maple syrup (I kid you not). So, pretty much it's a win-win, well, except that Timmy hates the smell of maple syrup...I'll let you know how that one turns out :-)
For moms returning to work from maternity leave, these are the websites that I found most helpful:
Work and Pump
Kellymom
Bluesuit Mom
Baby Center
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Baptism
Miss Keegan Catherine was christened yesterday at St. Ignatius of Loyola where we were also married and attend mass weekly. It was a beautiful ceremony and she did wonderfully (despite really needing a nap!) We were just so proud of her. It was a small, intimate ceremony with just our families present and it was very meaningful to have all of them there to help us celebrate another one of Kacey's big milestones.
Timmy, Kacey and I after the ceremony
Kacey and her daddy waiting to get started
Kacey with her proud parents and grandparents
Kacey's Godmother (Aunt Sarah) and Godfather (Uncle Rory) light the baptismal candle
Timmy, Kacey and I after the ceremony
Kacey and her daddy waiting to get started
Kacey with her proud parents and grandparents
Kacey's Godmother (Aunt Sarah) and Godfather (Uncle Rory) light the baptismal candleSaturday, January 12, 2008
Yeah, she's a genius...
I don't want to brag, but seriously, Kacey is amazing. She's just started rolling over and she's SO good at it! On Wednesday, she did it 5 times in a row! Check out this video of her...it's too cute to miss.
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