Good Night, Sleep Tight

Elli is almost 7 months old. I have to say that she is the best baby. She is so easy, she sleeps well (now) and eats like a champ. She has been a dream since she was born. We had a little bit of a hiccup in the beginning of November when her two bottom teeth came in and I/we didn't sleep for about a month and a half.

I need to give a shout out to my friend, Anne Mill. She recommended this book called, Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West (who happens to live in Annapolis.) I bought this book before Elli was born, read the first few chapters and then forgot about it. At two months Elli was sleeping 10 hours a night, so I didn't think I needed it. I actually lost my first copy and ended up buying another around the middle of December. This book and the fact that we put Elli in her own room has saved our lives and she is now on a schedule and back to being the gem that she is.

I would ask friends about schedules, but I think I needed something in writing to follow. This book breaks it down for you and tells you the signs to look for when the baby is tired. The book recommended when was the best time to get out of the house and run errands and now we work our schedule around Elli's nap schedule. Sometimes when we miss a nap or are off-schedule, you can really tell. Elli loves to be on the schedule and all of us are much happier when she is on-schedule.

At first, I went to the pediatrician to talk about what we could do and he said that we would have to let Elli "cry it out" - which was so hard for me to do. The first night we tried, we actually left Elli with my brother Michael to watch and he let her "cry it out" and did the hard work for us. (Thank you, Michael.) But, ever since December 20th everything has changed for the better and now Elli sleeps 11-12 hours a night and takes two 1.5-2 hour naps a day. It's wonderful and I just wanted to give a shout out to the book which I think saved my sanity and to Anne for recommending it. (Anne has plenty of practice, she is a mother of three herself.)

So, Thanks!