7-9 Months: Sleeping & Feeding

7 Months

• Up around 7am
• Nurse, solids (veggies), nurse
• Nap 9am (unless she seemed fussy then I'd put her down at 8:30)
• Sleep no more than 2 hours
• Nurse, solids (veggies), nurse
• Awake for three hours until next nap (aimed for 2pm)
• Sleep until woke up
• Nurse right after waking
• Around 5-5:30 give 2 oz of formula in pack-n-play, feed oat or rice cereal using formula, nurse
• Bed between 7 and 7:30pm

8 Months

Completely stopped nursing by end of 8 months

• Up around 7am
• 8 oz bottle, solids, water
• Nap 9:30am
• Sleep no more than 90 minutes (did this because the afternoon nap was shorter than morning nap)
• 8 oz bottle, solids, water
• Up til around 2:30pm
• Sleep until woke up
• 8 oz bottle
• Around 5-5:30pm give 4 oz bottle then finger foods while making dinner
• 4-8 oz bottle
• Bed around 7:30pm

9 Months

• Up around 7am
• 8 oz bottle, solids, water
• Nap between 9:30 & 10am
• Sleep no more than 90 minutes
• 8 oz bottle, solids, water
• Up til around 2:30-3pm
• Sleep until woke up
• 8 oz bottle
• Around 5-5:30pm give 4 oz bottle then finger foods while making dinner
• 4-8 oz bottle
• Bed around 7:30pm

Mommy Reflections

• Pray.  Ask God for wisdom, patience, and joy.  Put on thankfulness.
• Let a routine serve my family.  Don't force my family to serve my routine.
• Nap time stuff became way easier around 7 months. 
• If Geoffrey's schedule ever changes make bed time 7pm.
• If naps become hard try putting baby to bed earlier than I have been doing.  Sometimes the fifteen minutes makes a world of difference.

4-12 Months: Solids

Resources

• Loved this website!
• Printed this LIST and had it inside cabinet to help think through what feeding Carmen.
• Super Baby Food is an overwhelming book that friends swear by... maybe try getting through it with second kiddo.

Real Food for Baby

• Introducing Liquids
• Never gave juice because didn't want baby to have so much sugar.
• Use small see through cup of water to have baby learn how to sip out of it.
• Also use sippy cups: 
• Do consistently and at most meals.
• Model how to use it.
• Try a soft straw in a cup with the next one.

• Introducing Solids (Mainly Veggies)
• Tried to do a lot of various veggies and non-sweet foods before fruit.
• Month 6 & 7 only did veggies and avocados with Baby C.
• Order of foods started with Baby C: oatmeal, avocados, acorn squash, butternut squash, green beans, rice cereal, carrots, peas, apples, bananas, pasta
• Used formula with solids to make them less thick instead of trying to pump for it.
• Used oatmeal before bed for the first couple of months to help with sleeping through the night

• Introducing Fruits
• Think through what fruits are binding and which ones break down.
• No citrus, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries until after a year.

• Introducing Dairy 
• Start with whole fat yogurt (banana flavor is especially mild, watch out for berry flavors!), mild cheese (like mozzarella), then not as mild cheese...
• No milk until after a year old.

• Introducing Finger Foods
• Started at 8 months.  Maybe do earlier with next one.
• Finger Food Ideas
• Don't put finger into mouth to pull out food baby is choking on unless you can see it.  Do a hooking motion to pull out food.  Swatting baby's back is best!  Don't want to accidentally shove food further down the neck.

• Foods to Watch Out for and Avoid:
• Highly allergenic foods: dairy, eggs, peanuts, strawberries, wheat
• Peanut butter and nuts
• 6-12 months
• Maybe give baby right before doctor appointment in case swells?
• Not until after a year: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, citrus, honey, eggs, whole milk, shellfish/crustaceans
• Grapes and hot dogs are super big choking hazards!

Mommy Reflections

• Be patient!  Baby is learning!
• Know what allergies run in the family.
• Wait 3-4 days with introducing new foods to see if there are any allergic reactions.
• Baby C had big time rash with poop changing for 1-2 weeks.

Parenting

• Flick the side of baby's mouth if spitting food to nip that practice in the bud right away. Don't do it hard! Even a little flick hurts.
• From beginning of solids hold baby's hands down in lap while feeding him/her. This keeps baby from from grabbing the spoon and pulling on the bib.  Down the road as you no longer need to hold the hands he/she won't grab the spoon when being fed.

0-2 Months: Sleeping & Feeding

SLEEPING

• Only keep up 45 minutes to an hour from start of feeding time at the beginning.  
• Wait until baby has surpassed birth weight before letting her go as long as the can through the night. 
• Baby shouldn't sleep more than 5 hours during the night before 6 weeks old.
• 1st & 2nd Night = basically no sleep.
• Don't rush in as soon as she cries. When she wakes up she might not be hungry just rested.
• A good time to wake baby up is during the lighter sleep when her eyes are moving.
• Watch for cues of being tired: fussing, screaming (overtired), yawning, rubbing eyes, etc.
• Crying it out is hard.  Leave monitor on without sound and go in office so don't hear her crying.  Saw the time decrease even after just a couple days.  Started crying it out just for naps once past the six week growth spurt.  Only do the when confident that baby has been fed, burped and changed.
• Down to crying less than 10 minutes for each nap time. 
• C started sleeping through the night around 6 weeks.

FEEDING

• Don't let go more than 2.5-3 hours from feeding to feeding during the day.
• If baby wakes up earlier than the 2.5 hour mark and is hungry then feed the baby.
• Make sure burp after and between feedings.
• Last feeding would wake up for was around 11pm.  
• Put to bed earlier (around 8 weeks) with A.
• Around 4-6 weeks introduce bottle.
• Microwave water until boiling to put bottle into to defrost breast milk.  

Reflections

• If you establish good sleeping habits during the day the night time falls into place.
• Goal is to establish pattern of: Feed Time, Wake Time, Sleep Time
• It is normal for babies to cry (especially during 4-7pm they tend to be more fussy).
• You are doing your best to help baby adjust to a 12 hour time change since in the womb babies are most active and awake during the middle of the night :)

Round 2

• Did feeding times for A more like every 3-3.5 hours due to having to take care of C.
• A started sleeping 8-10 hour stretches during the night right before 3 months.

Resources

• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
• On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep
• Mom & Pediatrician

First Six Weeks: Mommy Reflections

DYING TO SELF. His mercies are new every morning. 

Exhausting!  Survival Mode.  IT GETS EASIER.

FIRST SIX WEEKS

Mommy Life

Round 1

• Submit to Geoffrey and do what is best for our family.  Everyone will have different opinions on how to care for your baby.  Make decisions WITH Geoffrey not on my own and not with my mom.  
• Favorite Article: To Moms of One or Two Children.  
• Miss husband even though see him everyday.
• It is hard to remember to eat.  Eat when you can.
• Showering is one of the biggest accomplishments.
• Everything is new and scary: breastfeeding in public, getting comfortable with a nursing cover, taking the baby to the store with your husband, being scared out of your mind to go shopping with just you and the baby, going to church, going to small group, etc.  Take baby to store right after feeding time, movement of cart can help lull her to sleep.
• Take prenatal vitamin daily.  Passes vitamins to baby through breast milk.
• Make sure spend some time in the sun some for Vitamin D.

Round 2

• Significantly less stressful because I felt like I knew what I was doing.
• Had A sleep in the bassinet by my bed until six weeks because she started being able to rotate and would get stuck angled weird in it at six weeks.
• C ended up sleeping through A crying during the night just fine.
• Put A down within 45 minutes to 1 hour after waking.
• Stay away from broccoli and spicy foods!

General Thoughts

Round 1

• Have a lot of frozen meals prepared beforehand. Meals during growth spurts (approximately week 4 & 6) is especially helpful.
• Fly through diapers and wipes. 
• Went through over 100 diapers/week during first six weeks.  
• Start using cloth diapers with the next one as soon as meconium poop is gone.  
• Luvs diapers seem to be best bang for your buck. 
• Pull gussets out!
• After six weeks the baby's nervous system will be more developed and calm down.  
• Rubbing head upsets baby.

Round 2

• Make tons of freezer meals.
• Stock up on cleaning supplies and toiletries so don't have to go out for awhile.
• Ask for help!
• Guard baby's need for sleep.

Decision Making & BRAINS

Initial Questions to Ask

• Is mom ok?
• Is baby ok?
• Could this situation be normal?

If no, ask BRAINS

• Benefits
• Risks: Draw them out
• Alternatives: Can we try this instead?
• Intuition
• Nothing: What if we do nothing? 
• 'Scuse Us: May we have a minute to discuss it?  How much time do we have to make this decision?

Other Notes

• If in a hospital ask if there are any nurses or doctors on staff who are knowledgeable about and support natural child birth.
• If go against medical advice your health insurance can choose not to cover your hospital bill.

About the Blog Name

I've created this blog to be a resource for me to reference as we Lord willing have more children and for me to be able to share resources I find helpful with others.

The title "Gracious Ezer" stems from the two things I desire to be true of my own life.

GRACIOUS: characterized by charm, good taste, favor, courtesy, kindness, favor, mercy, compassion, consideration of others and generosity of spirit

• "A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches."  Proverbs 11:16
• "He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend."  Proverbs 22:11
• "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." Proverbs 16:24
• "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26

EZER (Hebrew ā'·zer H5828): help meet, one who provides help, support and succour (assistance and support in times of hardship and distress)

• "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'" Genesis 2:18
• "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life."  Proverbs 31:10-12