Happy 8 months old, Bjorn!
Our highlight this last month was that Bjorn is now consistently sleeping through the night!
After just one night of sleep training, he has been sleeping through the night every night since! Hallelujah! This is huge for me because Cullen didn’t sleep through the night until he was 18 months old, and even then it wasn’t consistent, so this feels like a big win! Now I just need Bjorn to take longer naps; thirty minute naps are not long enough to get anything done. However, I will take good nighttime sleep over poor day time naps!
We did have a couple hiccups with early morning wakings (which is considered anything between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.), but I got that figured out luckily. The first time was due to his room not being dark enough. I had two blackout curtains up, but I had to add a blanket to prevent every little bit of light from coming in. Since the sun was starting to rise around 5a.m., and he started waking up between 4:30a.m. and 5:15a.m. Now I have to hang a blanket over the window, which now makes his room dark-dark.
The second time he started having early morning wakings was because I started putting him down around 7:00/7:10p.m. instead of 6:45p.m. As soon as I went back to a bedtime being promptly at 6:45p.m., the early morning wakings stopped. He now wakes up right around 6:15a.m. and doesn’t cry, which is also a huge win because he still wakes up from every nap crying. That was also a problem with the early morning wakings–he would cry and fuss when he woke up that early.
When these early morning wakings did happen, I also made the mistake (without know it was a mistake) of giving him a nap shortly after waking, which only solidifies the early wakings.
I’m no sleep expert, but I have learned a TON over the last several months of Bjorn’s life, and I have Taking Cara Babies to thank. I made A LOT of mistakes with Cullen–mostly because I didn’t know any better! So I was bound and determined not to make those same mistakes with Bjorn. Like I said, Cullen didn’t start sleeping through the night until he was 18 months old, and even at that time he only slept through the night about 50% of the time. I don’t think it was until he was about 3 years old that he consistently slept through the night every single night. Uff! I remember being so incredibly sleep-deprived during the first couple years of his life because not only was I getting up with him 2-3 times every night, I was still getting up early to run most mornings too.
Other notables this past month for Bjorn:
– He is starting to army crawl.
– He can sit up on his own.
– He loves solid foods, especially applesauce, peas, bananas, Cheerios, avocado, and shredded cheese.
– He got 4 new teeth in the past week for a total of 6 teeth now.
– The separation anxiety and stranger danger are very strong these days since we’ve been in quarantine during the last few months. Usually people at church would hold him, we would go over to my in-laws, or friends of mine would hold him, but since that hasn’t been happening, he often just looks at a stranger and bursts into tears. Poor guy!
Today Bjorn turned 8 months old, and this is a recap of our day yesterday.
Tuesday, May 26
5:45 a.m.
My alarm goes off for my run. I lay there for a couple of minutes wanting some extra sleep but also hoping I don’t fall back to sleep. I get up, go to the bathroom, and then start getting ready for my run.
6:05 a.m.
I turn the monitor on and see Bjorn is already up. I give him a few more minutes by himself before I go and get him.
6:15 a.m.
I go in and get Bjorn and nurse him. It is the one time of the day he definitely wants to eat. Other than that it is almost like he could go without nursing the rest of the day.
6:30 a.m.
I hand Bjorn off to Craig and then head out for my run. I have a 9 mile run planned. It is a gorgeous morning (albiet a bit cool), but it is so wonderful to see green leaves on the tree and hear the birds chirping. (Have I ever said how much I live for summer running?)
7:45 a.m.
I return home and find a happy baby, which is always much more welcoming than when Craig tells me Bjorn has been super clingy while I was gone. Not a minute after I got back, Cullen wakes up for the day.
8:00 a.m.
Craig starts his work day from home. Craig already fed Bjorn, so he goes in the exersaucer while I get breakfast for Cullen and myself. I have a Kodiak Waffle and protein smoothie. Cullen has a waffle, apple, and milk.
8:30 a.m.
I nurse Bjorn again because he is getting fussy. He often does this where he almost seems to cluster feed in the morning after he wakes up.
8:40 a.m.
Cullen and I play with Bjorn on his bedroom floor for a bit before his first nap.
8:55 a.m.
Time for Bjorn’s first nap, so we did his pre-sleep routine: lamp on, draw curtains, change diaper, sleep sack on, pacifier, read book, sing a song, and then I put Bjorn down at 9:00 a.m.
During Bjorn’s first nap, I often shower and get ready for the day. I spend a few minutes stretching and replying to texts, while Cullen “reads” and looks at his magazines, and then I hop in the shower.
9:30 a.m.
On the dot, Bjorn wakes up from his first nap. It is rare when he takes a longer nap, so I only expect 30 minute naps these days.
I am not quite ready, so I put Bjorn on my bed with some toys, which keeps him entertained for about 5 minutes. I play with him for a bit, and then I put him on the floor of Cullen’s room, so the two of them can play together. That lasts about 10 minutes.
10:00 a.m.
I am finally ready, so I tidy up the bedrooms–making beds, picking up clothes, putting things away, etc.
10:30 a.m.
Time for breakfast number two because the first one didn’t hold me over for very long. I have a half of a bagel with butter and jam as well as an apple. I also put clean dishes away and tidy up the kitchen while the boys play with each other.
11:00 a.m.
I do an Instagram post, reply to my direct messages, and read my emails. Since Craig is working from home, he takes a short break to play with the boys while I do this.
11:30 a.m.
I nurse Bjorn and then feel him solid foods. He devours everything I put in front of him: bread, banana, and shredded cheese. This time period is still a lot of multi-tasking–getting food for myself and Cullen, cleaning up the kitchen, sweeping the floors, etc.
12:20 p.m.
Time for nap number two of the day. After I put Bjorn down, I do a quick Facebook live video for my Beautycounter group, and then prep the Crockpot for our dinner. Cullen plays with toys in his playroom during this time.
1:00 p.m.
Once again Bjorn is up after 30 minutes. I nurse him before our outing of the afternoon.
1:20 p.m.
We leave for our play date. We meet friends at the Campbell Creek Estuary, which I had never been to. The kids find all sorts of critters under the stumps, jump in puddles, and enjoy the outdoors. Bjorn rides in the backpack, which he loves and happily hangs watching the kids play.
3:30 p.m.
We head home from our play date, which is right in time for Bjorn to take his last nap of the day.
3:50 p.m.
Bjorn goes down for his last nap of the day. I draw a bath for Cullen since he was cold and wet from puddle jumping. I then make biscuits to go along with our dinner.
4:20 p.m.
I nurse Bjorn after he gets up from his nap. After this, I catch up on a few emails and finish making the soup.
5:00 p.m.
Craig is done working for the day, so I do a FaceTime call with an athlete to check-in and talk through her plan.
5:50 p.m.
I wrap up my call and go and eat dinner. We have Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup along with the biscuits.
6:15 p.m.
I start getting Bjorn ready for bed: bath, baby oil, pajamas, sleep sack, feed him a bottle, read a book, and finally sing a song with all the lights off.
Craig cleans up the kitchen while I put Bjorn down.
6:45 p.m.
I place Bjorn in his crib (awake), say goodnight (I say the same thing each time: “Goodnight, Bjorn. We love you.”), turn his sound machine on, and then walk out of the room. I walk downstairs, turn the baby monitor on, and he is nearly passed out already.
7:00 p.m.
The rest of the evening is about the only time slot I have to get any of my work done since the boys require so much of my time the rest of the day. I work on this blog post, while Cullen plays some games on my phone.
7:30 p.m.
I tidy up the house, figure out what I need to get done for the next day, and update my training log.
8:00 p.m.
Bedtime for Cullen. He brushes and flosses his teeth, puts his pajamas on, and then we read a book together. Craig takes Sadie on a walk.
8:30 p.m.
I lift weights in the garage for my strength session of the day. I can’t wait to get back to the gym because I am much more focused and productive there.
9:15 p.m.
Time for me to get ready for bed. I take my makeup off, wash my face, brush my teeth, put pajamas on, and then I crawl into bed and do a little more computer work before going to bed while icing my Achilles that has been giving me problems.
10:00 p.m.
Lights out for Craig and me.
The end!
Oof! I’m tired just reading about it. I’m especialy impressed that you lifted weights at 8:30 pm- that takes a lot of discipline!
Your boys must feel so happy and loved!
Haha! My days are busy and full, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Wow, that’s a tight schedule! And I was barely able to make a sleeping time routine ja ja ja! Well I was forced to by Max’s needs. We were following Susan Urban’s sleep training book: http://parental-love.com/shop/baby-sleep-training and she’s saying a lot that routine is a must. Although I’ve read online as well. So I did it but that’s my TOPS! 😉
Yeah, I’m pretty strict with Bjorn’s schedule. The routine makes him a lot happier, which makes me a lot happier. 🙂