Cameron had his 6 month well visit yesterday. I am happy to report he is growing and developing right on target. He is wearing 9 and 12 month size of clothing!
Head Circumference: 70th percentile! A good jump up from before!
Weight: 70th percentile- 18.11 pounds
Height: 55th percentile- 27 inches
Milestones Cam has conquered this month:
- Sitting! He still tips over some but he can sit supported and unsupported pretty well!
- Holds his own cups and bottles! He could sort of before, but now he doesn't need any help!
- His reflux is pretty well under control, and he doesn't need his medicine for it anymore.
- He rides in the car around town finally without melting down!
My sweet baby is a good baby- but he has always been a terrible sleeper. Naps have been a joke- He would scream and fight so bad. I would be lucky to force him to have 2 naps and cheer if they were 45 minutes each! I had got him to sleep in two 5 or 6 hour stretches at night- but over the last month- he has really regressed and was waking up every 2-3 hours, and some nights every hour! TERRIBLE! Seriously a trial on our marriage and when all 3 of us are missing sleep, nothing gets accomplished the way it should. With his new sleep -or lack of it- routine, he also drastically changed his eating habits over the past month so that he wasn't ever eating a real meal, just snacking almost constantly.
At his well check, I discussed this with our pediatrician. We take Cam to Dr. Zachary Zarbock- he is an amazing doctor. I told him, "I am so frustrated with this sleep problem that I am ready to cry." I also explained to him that Dan can't really handle the crying. So, we haven't been good about letting him fuss and cry a bit. Also, I get so exhausted from getting up, that after the 5th time, I was just taking him to bed with me so we could get some sleep. Both of us were training him badly! Our pediatrician sympathized and said, "With our first 2 boys, I had to hold my wife down in bed and not let her run to our crying babies!"
He asked a few questions about how Cameron behaved in the day, how he ate, napped, and what he did if we ran to him when he was crying.
After that his conclusion and plan was:
Cameron is old enough, and weighs enough that he should be able to pull a 10-12 hour stretch with no meals at night. He should also be napping at minimum 2 solid naps- 1.5 hours each at least. {Obviously he was also very sleep deprived} Dr. Z told us that it appears Cameron is crying for attention, and to be held. He always smiles and stops when we pick him up.
The plan- Dr. Z said- "Consistency is the key, and the first 2 nights will be BAD. But you have to be strong, and remember that the long term goal is a healthy sleeper with life long good bed hygiene. After that, he will be sleeping through and you will find his napping and eating will fall back to where it should be once you fix nighttime." So, what we had to do was basically a cry it out method, but a happy medium between cold turkey and coddling. We have to put him to bed awake but drowsy. When he starts crying, wait 5 minutes. Go check on him, DO NOT pick him up. A pat on the back, I love you, go to sleep, and leave the room is all that is necessary. That way he knows we are still there, but that he has to put himself to sleep. If he continues to cry, wait 10 minutes, repeat. Still crying, wait 15 minutes, repeat.... etc.
Let me tell you- Last night was TERRIBLE. I don't think Dan and I got any sleep. However, Cam did put himself back to sleep every time after about 40 minutes of crying and checking. This happened every 2-3 hours. Bleh!! However, around 7am he woke up completely happy! Today gave me hope that after tonight- things will be better. He ate a real breakfast and played. Had a nap- that he fell asleep on his own for- at 9am-Noon!!!!! Woke up happy, had some lunch played and played and went back down for a nap at 3-4:30. AMAZING! He ate a real dinner, played some more, had a bath, and bottle and put himself to sleep tonight!!! I am sure he will wake up crying, but by the weekend, we should all be sleeping happier!!!
We also started this boy in swim lessons- well, really a get to know and like the water with Mommy class. He LOVES bath time so much that I wanted to start him as early as the pool would let us.
He loved it. He has no reservations about getting soaked and splashing!
Cameron is a social butterfly. He hasn't really shown any stranger anxiety- only one time did he lean in and want me to rescue him. He does like to know we are there, but has no qualms about being passed about. He LOVES his Grandma, and he also adores my Gramps.
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His shirt says- Grandma is the Best!
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I LOVE my Gramp's smile in this one. He is the best man I know, and he LOVES his kids and grandkids so much. He really loves this baby. I am so glad Cameron gets to have time with him. Not too many people get to know their great grandparents!
