New Year, New Baby?

Nora is 12 weeks old today, and the past week has been the best week of being a parent yet!  Our attempts to turn Nora into a better napper have found a new level of success since we rang in the new year.  Only recently, Nora has resumed taking a pacifier, she sometimes calms down while being rocked rather than being jiggled or bounced, and she has much less trouble staying asleep when I set her down.  I began reading Dr. Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and I wish I'd read it before Nora was born!  He suggests that sleep is fuel for the brain in the same way that food is fuel for the body, and he advocates limiting waking periods to one or two hours for babies Nora's age.  His ideas make a lot of sense to me, they're well supported by research, and most importantly, they seem to be working!  Now that she is getting more regular sleep in the daytime, Nora is like a totally different baby.  She smiles and vocalizes more, she enjoys being placed on her back to play, and she rarely gets agitated unless she is tired, hungry, or wants a diaper change.  I wonder how much fussiness we could have avoided during the month of December if we'd been able to get her to nap more regularly... but there's no sense crying over spilled milk, I suppose.

My mood has continued to improve since I first began to figure out how to limit and cope with Nora's fussiness, but this week I feel more like myself than I have since Nora was born.  I finally made it to my childbirth instructor's New Moms Group, where it was fun to talk with other moms, see their babies, and be reminded of how much more capable and engaging Nora will be in only a few months.  Nora has been cheerful and playful in the evenings, which means I get to look on as Billy smiles and plays with her instead of feeling guilty that he came home to a crying baby after a long day at work.  I've also enjoyed having a goal each day, even though that goal is as simple as getting Nora down for three decent naps.  When I'm successful, the positive benefits are manifold: I get to have a break, I can get a few things accomplished around the house, I can continue reading more of Dr. Weissbluth's book, and I get to interact with a happy baby when she wakes back up.  These payoffs make the unsuccessful moments, like when I know Nora is tired but continues to fight falling asleep, or she wakes up as soon as I set her down, much less frustrating.  Working toward establishing a somewhat regular schedule for Nora also gives me hope that I'll be able to get some work done when I return to my academic responsibilities at the end of this month.

According to the book, she's only now entering the stage where her brain begins regulating her sleeping patterns.  I hope that by teaching her to sleep during the day and establishing good sleep habits now, we can avoid a lot of problems down the road.  I know I'm at my best when I'm well rested, so if there's anything I can do to help make sure Nora, Billy, and I all get enough sleep, I'm up for the challenge!