Saturday, April 2, 2016

Baby post: sleep training...SUCCESS?!?!

I'm actually nervous to post this because every time I talk about sleep success with Bode - we have another rough patch. But we have been in such an amazing sleeping stretch so I have to share!

1) Bedtime Routine 
2) The Sleep Easy Solution! 
3) Daddy check in's at night. 


Our sweet and STRONG WILLED baby Boden (we call him Bode) is 7 months today! We've had sleep issues since day one!!

He has always been a super "nosey" baby. I can probably count on two hands how many times he has slept in public setting (shopping, restaurant, church). I see babies sleeping away while in strollers or car seats and then look down at Bode - who might be beyond exhausted but fighting every wink to stay awake and see what's going on! 

I am breastfeeding and until around 6 months was feeding him every two hours all through the night. Maybe a few 3/4 hour stretches here and there but for the most part it was becoming exhausting...

- Tried co-sleeping, worked when he was super young but after a while Bode would just stare at us or make noises wanting us to play or wake up!
- Tried a little crying it out - it was so sad and rough on everyone (continue reading for more on CIO (crying it out)...)
- Tried feeding every time he woke up to cry (every two hours), thinking he was actually hungry and things would eventually get better.

Nothing was improving and, in fact, things got worse. Bode was now putting up a fight to go to sleep, napping was a struggle in the day, he was crabby, and my husband and I were exhausted!

My husband and I went back and forth on whether or not we wanted to let him cry it out -----crying it out is not for all babies!------ but our doctor gave us the o.k., in fact she encouraged us to let Bode cry a little, rather than rushing in to feed him the second he wakes up. 

Feeding him had become such an easy way to get Bode (along with my husband and myself) back to sleep!

After starting baby foods and reaching 6 months (we started a little before) I decided we needed to do something to help Bode sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. The book I bought, highly recommended, said results in less than a week. So I thought I would give it a try for a week and see if it worked. I truly thought there was no way this baby would ever fall asleep on his own! The few times I had let him cry for a few minutes, I felt like he just worked himself up too much to fall back asleep.

We had already started a bedtime routine that had actually helped a LOT when getting him to sleep! It was the staying asleep for more than two hours that was the issue. 

To be honest, I flipped through the book a few times, but after a night of nearly no sleep - Bode had been up almost every hour and a half screaming until I fed him. I knew I had to try something to help everyone get more sleep! 

Now here's the meat! The good stuff --->

Chapter Three - Step by Step Sleep - We read it, talked about it, and decided tonight was the night. I actually felt better knowing we had a set plan to follow through the night.
Whenever Bode would start crying in the night we waited 5 minutes, I tracked the 5 minutes on my phone, and recorded the time he started crying on my phone, as well. After the 5 minutes, my husband would go in and say a few encouraging words, "I love you", "you're doing great", "go back to sleep", etc. He would only stay in the room for less than 30 seconds, DO NOT pick the baby up, rub his head, or pat his back! Bode sometimes likes the pacifier at night so my husband would replace the pacifier (this might be a no-no but we did it...). The key here is to try and teach the baby to soothe himself, in hopes that when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he can fall back asleep on his own. When we first started Bode would immediately start up crying again. So then the plan was to wait 10 minutes and then repeat the check in. Our check ins were at 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then every 15 minutes until Bode fell asleep.

The first night was rough, but definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. If I remember correctly Bode needed 4 check ins (one at 5, 10, and two at 15 minutes). Then fell asleep...I NEVER thought it would happen, but it did! We did have to do this again a few hours later, same routine.

***Breastfeeding and trying to minimize the number a nighttime feedings*** If you are breastfeeding, like I was (every two hours or so), it wouldn't make sense to simply eliminate all of the nighttime feedings at once. So you have to do a weaning routine, this is all discussed in the book. I'd be happy to write a blog post about the details and ways we cut back on nighttime feedings! Or I can respond to comments below, as well.

~~~~Results~~~~
By the third night, we saw progress! We were only doing a few check in's per night, I was still waking Bode up for ONE nighttime feeding (which has since then been eliminated completely)!
Now Bode goes to bed around 7:00pm, I wake him up for a dream feed at 10:30pm, and then he sleeps until 5:30am when I wake him up to feed, he goes back to sleep until around 7:30am. We still have the occasional wake up in the middle of the night, if that happens we follow the same check-in routine. Bode usually will go back to sleep right after the 5 minute check in. :) This may still seem like a lot of waking up, BUT THE 10:30pm-5:30am chunk of sleep is LIFE changing!  haha!

I know this post was a LOT! But after a few weeks of successful sleeping by a baby who NEVER slept, I felt like I had to share! Letting a baby "cry it out" is super controversial but the two nights we let him really "cry it out" have completely improved all of our lives. Bode is much much more happy, he naps WAY better, falls asleep easier, and with the nighttime feeding schedule we are on now - we have cry-free nights! :)

Please comment below any questions or comments. I'd love to hear other baby-sleep stories!







Monday, March 28, 2016

Easter 2016

I've quickly realized after just a few holidays with our sweet baby boy - that holidays no longer mean relaxing, drinking, eating as a married couple with our families...

Holidays are all about the baby now...

Easter outfit, Easter basket, snapping the right pictures, planning the day around naps (reminds me that I needed a nap today, hah!) 

+++++ And for the record, let us not forget the TRUE meaning of this Easter holiday, to celebrate the resurrection of our Jesus Christ ++++++








While uploading all of the amazing Easter pictures I snapped yesterday, I am snacking on leftovers! 

This veggie bar/pizza appetizer was a hit with my family yesterday!


Thanks to garnish & glaze for this yummy and easy recipe!

>>>Loving my mini chick ornament on my Nora Fleming platter! It is perfect for Easter and springtime<<<
































Hoping everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ahoy! It's a boy! Baby Shower



Theme: Ahoy! Its a Boy!
The nautical theme was perfect as the 4th of July was right around the corner - red, white, and blue was out in full force for all of our favors, crafts, candies, and decorations!



Invitations: This is a sample of the invitations we used from Etsy! Visit here! We received our personalized invitations via email and printed the invites on our own. 



We also ordered a Nautical themed game set from Etsy! Visit here! It came with like 20 different shower games - we only used two (celebrity baby name match & baby word search). We printed them out at home and tied them up with twine. *We also included a name suggestion activity, along with the games, it ended up being super fun to see all of the name suggestions! :)  



Party Favors: Oriental Trading  has amazing party decorations and favors! They had tons of nautical options for us! We ended up getting the Nautical Theme Party Decoration Pack for like $10.00. We also bought those cute little boats - that were actually candy boxes for our guests to take home some assorted candy. We also bought from OT the nautical themed suckers (lifesavers, anchors, and boats). 
The mason jars were purchased on sale at Michaels!

We had the mason jars stuffed with a pen and games, as well. The guests grabbed a mason jar during the party and then took it all home after the shower! 



Sailboat watermelon!
Once the guests had time to complete the games - we simply pulled game sheets from a jar in order to pick a few lucky winners to win a prize bag full of red, white and blue goodies. (Bags and inside goodies mostly from Target $ Spot)

Guests filled up the little boats (shown on the mantle, from Oriental Trading) with candy to munch on during the shower or to take home. 

Friday, July 17, 2015

MY Top 5 Most Exciting Baby Essentials!

Baby isn't here yet, but all of the exciting baby essentials are! These are my top 5 favorite baby items - that I cannot wait to use!



1) City Select - I decided to get the City Select because my husband and I ultimately want to have more than one child --so why not go big, now! Seeing all of the amazing configurations and add-ons is super exciting! I have yet to buy the car seat adapter, so that will be my next purchase. :) 





2) Boppy Lounger - I know the Boppy is one of the top baby items, however I had never seen the Boppy Lounger until recently. My best friend has a 2 month old and he has absolutely loved lounging in this boppy since the very beginning!
 3) Cloth Diapers - Yes...I am going to give cloth diapering a try! I not only think these little diapers are super adorable, but I can see how the financial and environmental benefits can be worth the extra loads of laundry. (I purchased the Starter Kit from Amazon). 


4) Peanut Changing Pad - After worrying that the baby's bedding set/decor did not come with a matching changing pad cover, I spotted this trendy changing pad on Pinterest. While it is slightly more pricey than the usual changing pads - I just love the sleek look and feel like the clean-up will be super easy. 
5) Wraps and Carriers - I must admit I am a little intimidated by baby-wearing, but I registered and received the Ergobaby carrier shown in the picture and a Boba Wrap. I feel like theses products will be hit or miss depending on what the baby prefers but exciting, non the less! 



*****Moms, soon-to-be moms, and/or baby-gear lovers - I would love some feedback on my Top 5! What baby items are your favorites!?!?




Monday, June 8, 2015

Pregnancy Announcement


It has been months since I have blogged. :(. However, it's summer break for this teacher and I also have some very exciting news to share with the blog world...my husband and I will be welcoming our first baby in late August! 

I am currently 28 weeks pregnant and officially into my third trimester! 

Via Instagram I have been showing off my belly and pregnancy progress with this amazing pregnancy tunic! Every few weeks I mark my current week of pregnancy and snap a few pictures. I ordered this tunic from an Etsy shop, and the tunic comes with a red fabric marker! Might be a new gift idea for friends and family who are expecting in the future. 

I am so excited to start sharing news and updates about my pregnancy and eventually our baby, on the blog. Newly in Nashville is adding yet another NEW experience to follow along with! 



Sunday, November 30, 2014

Favorite Finds Friday: Holiday Edition - Real Pine Garland

Garlands are one of my favorite Christmas decorations!

I have tons of the cheap, fake, pre-lit garlands, which I love, don't get me wrong. However, I was looking for a few new garlands for my stairs, mainly because I find it hard to decorate my stairs with lit garlands because I don't have an electrical outlet nearby and I don't think my decorations look as polished when I have extension cords all around.
So, I was out shopping at Sam's Club and the wonderful natural pine smelled caught my attention. Sam's was selling 25 feet of this garland for about $11.00! You can do so much with 25 feet! I used a majority of the garland for the stairs. 

I do have to say that while this natural garland is a little sticky and messy, you cannot beat the wonderful smell of pine when you walk in the front door! And now I don't have to worry about the lights at all because the garland is amazing just by itself. 

The garland is definitely substantial and kind of heavy! I used some cable ties my husband had to attach the garland, then used strips of burlap to cover the ties. 

Happy decorating!

~Newly in Nashville 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Favorite Finds Friday: Kate Spade Zip Around Planner

Along with my blog makeover, I have decided to add a Favorite Finds Friday component to my Newly In Nashville blog. Today is my first Favorite Finds Friday post, showing off my Kate Spade Zip Around Planner!

 


Isn't it funny how when you purchase a new planner you automatically feel as though your life is much more organized?!? 
I've been searching for that perfect planner for a while...here was my planner must haves:
1) zip around 
2) small enough to fit in my purse 
3) able to hold a pen, gift/credit cards, and other add-ins
4) refillable 
5) aesthetically appealing 

This Kate Spade planner fits the bill! My sister had the black leather one, and I recently sent the search party out to find this planner seeing as they do not sell this zip around planner on the official Kate Spade website. I found out through Instagram that the outlets were having a sale and usually had this planner in stock. Many of the outlets were more than willing to ship me the planner for under $10.00, along with the sale price of the planner. It worked out great and I ordered my mom the classic black planner for her birthday, as well. 




Happy Friday! 
~Newly In Nashville