Eloise at Three Months

CLOTHES SIZE: Newborn and 0-3 Months
DIAPER SIZE: One

LIKES:
 - Looking at window blinds when light is shining through
 - The words "Hi!" and "Good morning!" in obnoxiously high voices
 - Bathtime
 - Being outside and looking around
 - Raspberries on her tummy
 - Toe nibbles
 - Cheek/neck tickles and kisses
 - Soft blowing on her face
 - Sitting up (with help)
 - Standing (with lots of help)

DISLIKES:
 - Car seat
 - Laying down while being held
 - Tummy time
 - Lips buzzing noise
 - Loud singing while nursing
 - Pacifier
 - Nap time
 - Bassinet during the day
 - Hiccups that last longer than a few minutes

FIRSTS/MILESTONES:
 - Putting herself to sleep and self soothing at night (10 weeks)
 - "Sleeping through the night", 6-8 hour stretches at once (10 weeks)
 - Sleeping in her own room (11 weeks)
 - Valentine's Day <3 (12 weeks)
 - Bringing her hands to her mouth to suck on them (12 weeks)

RANDOM NOTES:
 - Consistently sleeping between 6-8 hours straight at night without nursing
 - Eyebrows turn red as she gets upset and cries
 - Nursing 6-7 times each day
 - Every single person we meet comments on her hair ("No, we don't style her hair, it just does that.")
 - Giggles occasionally in her sleep, SO CUTE
 - Smiles less when in unfamiliar places or with unfamiliar people
 - Stares at Dustan when ever he is near, even when I'm holding her
 - Nicknames: Lou, LouLou, Wiggle Bug, Booga Babe, Honey Bunches, Pretty Girl

As I mentioned in Eloise's Two Months blog post, after Christmas Break Eloise just refused to sleep for nap times, and was often still waking up every few hours at night to eat. One of my good friends recommended that I read On Becoming Baby Wise. Dustan and I read this baby book together and decided to start implementing what it taught. Basically, this book stresses the importance of having your baby on a fairly strict schedule, having your baby eat, play, then sleep (in that order) about every three hours. Eloise wanted to only fall asleep while nursing, which often led to her not eating well, and wanting to eat far more often during the day. I also felt that her cluster feeding in the evening wasn't really helping her eat as well as getting a couple full feedings would. So right at the start of month three, Dustan and I put Eloise on a schedule and did our best to stick to it. Here is the schedule that we started with and followed for a couple weeks:
7:00 am - Wake Eloise up, feed her, have play time, put her down for a nap
10:00 am - Feed, play, nap
1:00 pm - Feed, play, nap
4:00 pm - Feed, play, nap
7:00 pm - Feed, play, short nap
9:00 pm - Feed, play, short nap
11:00 pm - Feed, bed time routine, down for the night

We love our bed time routine. I feed Eloise for the last time, then Dustan and I trade off giving her baths. Afterward, we lay her on our bed in the near dark and dry her off, lotion and massage her, and put on pajamas and swaddle her up. Whoever didn't do bath time, gets Eloise put to bed. That person rocks her a little, sings a short song, then lays Elosie in her bassinet.

We were shocked! The first night after starting the schedule, Eloise slept from midnight to 7:00 am!! We thought it maybe it was just a fluke, but then she did it the next night, and the next night, and kept doing it! After following this schedule for a few days, we tried just laying Eloise in her bassinet wide awake when our efforts to get her asleep didn't go anywhere. She cooed and talked to herself and did a few small wimpers, but was asleep within 20 minutes. From then on, we were able to put her to bed at night completely awake, and she would put herself to sleep every time. After following this schedule for a couple weeks, Eloise became so tired for the last feeding, that she would barely eat, but continued to sleep through the night. So we decided to drop the last feeding and slightly alter her schedule to this:
7:00 am - Wake Eloise up, feed, play, nap
10:00 am - Feed, play, nap
1:00 pm - Feed, play, nap
4:00 pm - Feed, play, nap
7:00 pm - Feed, play, nap
10:00 pm - Feed, bath, down for the night

Eloise continued to sleep through the night even once we dropped a feeding during the day and moved up her bed time by an hour. During month four, we plan to move up her bedtime another hour  to 9:00 pm, and potentially drop another feeding, but we'll see!

Valentine's Day outfit :)

Eloise was sleeping so great at night, Dustan and I felt so great! And after her first 7:00 am feeding, Eloise is such a happy girl. But naps are still a struggle. Eloise is actually napping during the day now, but every single nap is a fight. She hates to go to sleep during the day, and typically cries and thrashes for between 5-20 minutes for each nap before finally falling asleep. Even after a month. We've tried putting her down earlier (having shorter awake times) and putting her down later (letting her be awake longer), and neither helps. In addition to that, Eloise refuses to go down in a bassinet for nap times. She has to be held for all of them. We did notice that occasionally Eloise will stay asleep for a while alone if in our bed (we will cuddle her until she stops crying and falls asleep, then sneak away), but even this isn't consistent. For a few days mid-month, I tried letting Eloise cry it out for naps in her bassinet, with absolutely no success. She cried the entire way through naps until it was time to eat again. I'll try again when she is a little older. But we are still so proud of how she is sleeping through the night! We'll take that over naps any way :)

Also, after a few weeks of sleeping on her own, we decided to move Eloise to her own bedroom. Our mattress is pretty squeaky and Dustan moves around a ton in his sleep. I checked on Eloise every time she made a noise. All together, I think we were all just keeping each other awake more often. Moving Eloise to her own room was a good choice, though I do still often check on her at least once a night, haha.

About half way through the month, Eloise had what we think was a growth spurt. She became a little extra cranky for a few days, and wanted to eat more often. She woke up a few times around 4:00 am inconsolably crying until she got fed. But I didn't even mind. In the past when I had to feed Eloise at night, it included feeding her for about 40 minutes, then spending another 30-60 minutes trying to get her asleep in her bassinet alone. This time, I just quickly fed Eloise while swaddled, then put her back in her bassinet immediately after burping, and she went asleep on her own soon after. It was great!

Not a fan of the big girl high chair, haha

Ever since getting on this new schedule, Eloise is just the HAPPIEST girl! It used to be that she really only had a smiley and happy time in the morning after sleeping at night and eating. Now, she is happy all the time! She is at her very best after taking a good nap and a full feeding. She is so playful until it is time for her to go down for her next nap. It has been a joy figuring out what sorts of goofy behaviors bring out her sweet smiles the most. We love our girl!