Wednesday, July 19, 2006
#1 Family Update
Hi everyone! We wanted to give you an update on the big development at our house. The rest of this email is copied from our other blog, just to save us some typing.
I don't know how much we've shared about Addie and her sleep habits, but she isn't exactly a champ in this department. Though she finally began sleeping through the night, putting her down for naps and for bed was really difficult still. She would not go to sleep- just cry and scream- unless she was rocked and swaddled. It was exhausting and frustrating and we had tried many times to break her of it.
Well, today was the day we had set to try again. We planned to use a program called "Sleepy Time"- oh it sounds cheesy until you are desperate- then it could be called anything and you wouldn't care. Anyway, we were all set for battle- we had a plan and we had been praying about this a lot!The first nap of the morning came and it was time to put Addie down without rocking her, without swaddling her, and prepare for an hour of screaming. I was dreading it!I did what the plan suggested- used a long routine to help her settle down, gave her a lovey to cuddle with, and out of the room I went. She started crying. Five minutes and still crying (no biggie- we're used to this!). But at minute eight, something strange happened. Instead of getting madder and screaming harder like usual, she got quieter and then quit. Nothing! Silence! Could it be?! I thought she was winding up for a big protest, but another minute of quiet went by. I thought she was playing, but then another minute of quiet. Yes folks, she fell asleep. On her own. Perhaps you don't realize just how amazing that is to us- it is BIG.
At her second nap of the day, it happened again. She fell asleep in six minutes. It was amazing. It was fantastic. It was great.
At bedtime, Greg got to see it happen too. His mouth hung open in shock. This morning when I put her down for her nap, she cried for 2 minutes and fell asleep. We feel like we got a whole new lease on life.
So just wanted to tell you all that is what is new around here. We are still battling with her acid reflux but just started a new perscription that will hopefully keep it more under control. We miss all you guys A LOT and Christmas can't come soon enough.
I don't know how much we've shared about Addie and her sleep habits, but she isn't exactly a champ in this department. Though she finally began sleeping through the night, putting her down for naps and for bed was really difficult still. She would not go to sleep- just cry and scream- unless she was rocked and swaddled. It was exhausting and frustrating and we had tried many times to break her of it.
Well, today was the day we had set to try again. We planned to use a program called "Sleepy Time"- oh it sounds cheesy until you are desperate- then it could be called anything and you wouldn't care. Anyway, we were all set for battle- we had a plan and we had been praying about this a lot!The first nap of the morning came and it was time to put Addie down without rocking her, without swaddling her, and prepare for an hour of screaming. I was dreading it!I did what the plan suggested- used a long routine to help her settle down, gave her a lovey to cuddle with, and out of the room I went. She started crying. Five minutes and still crying (no biggie- we're used to this!). But at minute eight, something strange happened. Instead of getting madder and screaming harder like usual, she got quieter and then quit. Nothing! Silence! Could it be?! I thought she was winding up for a big protest, but another minute of quiet went by. I thought she was playing, but then another minute of quiet. Yes folks, she fell asleep. On her own. Perhaps you don't realize just how amazing that is to us- it is BIG.
At her second nap of the day, it happened again. She fell asleep in six minutes. It was amazing. It was fantastic. It was great.
At bedtime, Greg got to see it happen too. His mouth hung open in shock. This morning when I put her down for her nap, she cried for 2 minutes and fell asleep. We feel like we got a whole new lease on life.
So just wanted to tell you all that is what is new around here. We are still battling with her acid reflux but just started a new perscription that will hopefully keep it more under control. We miss all you guys A LOT and Christmas can't come soon enough.
// posted by Greg, Niki and Addie @ 11:11 AM 
