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So how did I get my infant to sleep at 5 weeks old????

When my little girl was just 5 weeks old, she began to sleep through the night.  You're wondering, "How did she know it was 5 weeks precisely?"  Well, she was born on a Sunday.  The Saturday night before her 5 week "birthday" my husband was on baby duty.  I woke up realizing I must have been exhausted because I didn't hear her once.  I then peeked over my husband to look at the video monitor, which woke him.  I said when did she get up, he said she didn't.  I immediately jumped up in panic thinking something was wrong.  Now we do use the Baby Sense V, so I knew if it did not detect movement for a short period of time, the alarm would sound.  No alarms.  I went in and she was soundly sleeping.  I immediately begin going into panic that she must be woken up and fed because she couldn't sleep that long.  It was nearly 9 hours.  My husband did what I asked and, for the next week, I woke her every night after about 6 hours of sleep.  We then went to the doctor and he asked why I would wake her.  I said she needed to eat.  He assured me that if she was hungry she would let me know.  So with that, I let her sleep. 

Initially, it was for about 9.5 hours then it slowly progressed to 12-13 hours of sleep, which she consistently does.  She's now almost 11 months.  We don't have any problems with waking up in the middle of the night unless something is wrong.

You will find tons of resources about assisting an infant to sleep.  Here's what I have found works for her and seems to work for others who have tried these techniques.

First, before your baby is born, I highly recommend purchasing The Happiest Baby on the Block.  You can go to www.happiestbaby.com to order it.  I recommend the DVD and CD.  The swaddle blanket is a must have.  The one that they offer is the one my sister-in-law used and she swears by it.  I liked the Summer Infant Swaddle Me Blanket.  It was simple to use - it seemed easier than the blanket on Dr. Karp's website.  Again, my sister-in-law swore by the other blanket.  BOTTOM LINE:  You need a swaddle blanket.  Babies seem more secure in them and they seem to enjoy being in that cuddled position.

Now, for the DVD, it explains some techniques to calm.  We found the techniques to be HIGHLY effective.  We could always calm her easily using the techniques.  Even before we were able to get a bottle.  She was like a crazed lunatic when she became hungry, and she went from not hungry to hungry in the matter of two seconds.  However, she liked her milk warm, which took time.

The CD - or lifesaver as we like to call it.  She loves the hair dryer sound.  Some people argue that white noise is not good.  The doctor said it will not effect her hearing unless we have it extremely loud and close to her - we don't do either.  I have found that white noise works.  She HATES car rides and it makes life so much easier when she has her hair dryer playing.  She doesn't cry and she's more comfortable.  I tried different noises - the CD has five - but have found that the hair dryer works best for her.

So, how did I get my infant to sleep through the night at 5 weeks?  I used the swaddle blanket, Happiest Baby DVD and CD - Dr. Karp's method.  It has truly worked.  One other thing that I have found very helpful is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.  This is my guide for every stage.  It has guided me when I was having trouble with naps.  It has answered questions and given me additional techniques.  These are MUST-HAVES, in my opinion, to help your infant sleep. 

What a good night ...

My daughter's almost a year old.  I used to hold her and rock her until she fell asleep every night for a long time.  I then began to allow her to let herself go to sleep.  She didn't really fuss too much.  She's more of a "I'm going to talk to myself and then I'll fall to sleep" kind of kid.  She got to the point where she enjoyed that time in her crib.  It was her play time. 

But .... every once in a while, she'll let me hold her and rock her to sleep.  I do cherish these moments so much.  I love holding her and cuddling her and then letting her drift off to sleep in my arms.  I hold her for a little bit after she goes to sleep as I stare into her little angelic face.  She's so beautiful, peaceful and pure.  She doesn't know any bad ... only good.  She sleeps so soundly in my arms.  She does not startle.  She just seems to enjoy the time as much as I do. 

I look at her in this deep slumber and think of how lucky I am that she's part of my life.  I think of how wonderful she truly is and what a wonderful gift she is.  I think that if I could keep her this small forever I would.  I would hold her and rock her to sleep every night.  I would look into her face and study every centimeter of it.  However, I know what is is and what I wish will not happen.  I will enjoy every second of these wonderful moments that I get with her as if it's my last. 

Before I leave my angel for the night, I give her little kisses on her forehead and place her so gently in her crib.  As I walk out the door, I know that these days are numbered, but when I can get one, I will surely enjoy every second of it.

Again, this is only the occasional thing I get to experience, but when I do, I cherish it so much. 

Cat in the Hat Party

Cat in the Hat Party Hat.  This is the birthday hat I ordered.  It is an Etsy find.  I thought it was frilly and girly but also fit in with the theme.  I bought it from ginghambunny.  Once I receive it, I will post a review.  I also ordered a bib from her as well.  It looks like this:

It met the theme and I thought it was really cute.

I created invites myself.  I just could not find exactly what I wanted.  I wanted multiple pictures of my pretty princess and then I added her pictures that we had taken in her Cat in the Hat costume.  I know some people add a hat to their child's picture and it's cute but the costume just added a little extra oomph.

Again, there is a lot to choose, from but I just liked the designs and quality of ginghambunny.  Remember, right now I'm just going by a picture.  I'm hoping that I'm not disappointed but I don't think I will be.  I'll add a review once I actually have the items.

I also ordered a onesie.  It was a Cat in the Hat onesie with the number "1" and Thing 1, a Cat hat and it was personalized.  I asked if it could say "Lexi I Am."  Of course, playing off of "Sam I Am."  I did receive this onesie.  I was actually surprised at the quality.  It was an excellent onesie.  I've washed it twice now (it's black).  It has not faded at all and looks as good as the day I got it.  I know it's only been washed twice, but it still looks amazing.

If you're going to order from Etsy, make sure you leave yourself enough time to get the items made and shipped to you.  They take a couple of weeks anywhere from 2-6 weeks.  I paid for everything, so I promise you will get a completely unbiased opinion.  I'm brutally honest - love me or hate me.

I'll post more soon baby's up from her afternoon nap.

Wow, this year flew by!

I'm now planning my daughter's first birthday and scratching my head as to where the last year has gone. 

I have said many times that if I had written a book about my baby, I could not have written her more perfect than she is.  Initially, she would only wake up twice a night.  Then after the first week, we employed some techniques that we learned, and she began to sleep for about 5-6 hours at night.  At five weeks (exactly), she started sleeping through the night!  Some people say it's luck.  I think it's a combination of the methods we employed and maybe a little luck. I tend to wake up and check on her as she soundly sleeps oblivious to my watching her peacefully snooze.

People say that time flies by and it really is true.  I wish I could have slowed this whole year down to a crawl and enjoyed every second over and over again.  She has truly been a joy and is the love of my life.  That's not to say that her father is not also the love of my life:)

So now we're planning her first birthday party.  This is in a long line of firsts that we have experienced over the first year - first laugh, first smile, first hug.  I did a lot of thinking about her birthday.  I wanted to have a princess party because she is my little princess.  I then wanted to have a Winnie the Pooh party.  Her wooby is her small Winnie the Pooh who only partially lights up and plays a gargley version of "You are my Sunshine."  I then said I have to think of what she would pick - if she could.  We talked about it and thought about what her favorite things were and came up with her ultimate favorite thing - "Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot about That."  Her absolute favorite thing - she loves the opening song and when she was very young the melody would calm her even when she seemed inconsolable.  When teeth were coming in and she was miserable until the medicine kicked in, it was Cat and mommy's arms that gave her complete comfort.  How could we not have a Cat party?

Easy right?  Not so much but I found some things that were wonderful.  I found a website called Etsy.com.  You have probably heard about this site but I was really unfamiliar until my searches kept pulling up the website.  I'm now a HUGE Etsy fan.  I have found the cutest things on there.  I found a beautiful dress, bib and birthday hat, bloomers and onesie.  Things are starting to trickle in slowly.  I'll post pictures once I have some things to post under Cat in the Hat party.  You have to be clever but you can find what you need.  If your able to sew (I am not) you can get some great ideas from the sites.