The Plank in My Own Eye

I know I'm off the sleep schedule topic right now, but I want to jump to faith for this blog post, and then we will be back to sleep logs with the next post.

I have been working on a blog post for awhile now which I titled "Something doesn't feel right in modern religious feminism". I kept going back and adding, deleting or changing things, and it never felt like it was getting my point across just the way I wanted it to. Well, this morning as I was trying to finish it so I could post it today, I realized something....who am I to write that post. As I re-read the blog, it was seriously bashing people who I don't even know. That was not my intent. My intent was to show why I don't agree with tactics, executions, or even the base principles of the movement. Instead I just was saying everything that was wrong with the movement and those involved in it.

That is why you will never see that post. In fact, it has been deleted, and this is replacing it.

Instead, I want to share this scripture, Matthew 7:1-4 (KJV):

"1 ^aJudge not, that ye be not ^bjudged.
 2 For with what ^ajudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what ^bmeasure ye mete, it shall be ^cmeasured to you again.
 3 ^aAnd why beholdest thou the ^bmote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the ^cbeam that is in thine own eye?
 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?"

We (especially me) need to remember that we don't know our brothers' or sisters' hearts. We don't know their circumstances. We are not meant to judge, no matter what the issue. We know what we believe, and we are to share what we believe, but we are NOT to condemn others. Only Heavenly Father in all of his infinite wisdom and mercy has that right.

Thanks for letting me post a reminder to myself more than anything. And always remember, your Heavenly Father knows you and loves you. Jesus Christ not only died for you, but he suffered everything you will ever suffer. He is there for you when you are struggling or need someone to lean on. He is the perfect example for us to strive to be, especially as a friend. I love you all!

Sleep Training-Step 1: Redefining definitions

When I was pregnant, I went to a baby shower for a friend. One of the women there said: "All of my kids slept through the night from the day we came home for the hospital, and here is how I did it...." I thought to myself....no way! How does a newborn sleep 10-12 hours straight without waking up to eat??

That is where I began to set myself up for failure. According to my research, from the book as well as random sites online (if you want more info, just ask me) experts define a baby sleeping through the night as sleeping anywhere from 4-8 hours straight. So....wait a minute....if I put my kid to bed at 9pm (the current bedtime for Peanut), and he wakes up around 2am he slept through the night technically?? Sucky!!!

All though this Momma would love to sleep for 8-10 hours straight every night, I had to come to the realization that it just wasn't going to happen anymore. Especially for my son who had trouble gaining weight. He HAD to eat in the middle of the night up until a week or so ago (between 15 and 16 weeks), and he still needs to eat some nights depending on how much he has eaten throughout the day. This means, if Peanut will sleep from 9-2am, wake up and eat a few ounces and then sleep again from 2:30-7:30, not only did I get my 10 hours of sleep, but he got the food he needed, and only interrupted my sleep for a little bit! :-) Now since he is only 4 months old, we need to work on extending his nighttime sleep a little, but so far we are on the right track!

Another thing I need to realize is how much my son really needed to sleep a day. I thought he was sleeping enough, but he really wasn't. Through my research, I've found a few different opinions on how much a child should sleep by age, but it is all pretty close. Remember though that you should always double check with your pediatrician in case there are certain reasons your child should be sleeping more or less.

Here are some sites where I found information.

Baby Center
Parents.com
WebMD

As you can see, they are all a little different, so again, check with your pediatrician and decide what is the right amount of sleep for your little one!

And then here is some random information on children and sleep, just for the heck of it! National Sleep Foundation: Children and Sleep


Next post: Step 2-Sleep Logs

Sleep training is from the devil....

Ok, so it's not really. It is actually an amazing thing, but my son seriously hates it...like a lot! I'm not too much of a fan right now either, but it is working. Training myself to train JD to sleep better is as tough as training him. LOL! He has been sleeping through the night much better than before, with only 1 or 2 nights a week where he wakes up now. I can live with that. Hopefully soon it will be even better!

I know that when JD was born, I didn't realize that sleeping well and on a schedule was a learned skill. I just figured it would happen totally naturally. Don't get me wrong, it did to some extent, but little Peanut needed a little help figuring out how to sleep enough, because he is so dang curious he doesn't want to miss a thing! *Insert cheesy Aerosmith song here* I had to do some research to find out how to help him, because he was super tired, but just wouldn't sleep. My research simply started by going to the non-fiction section of the library and picking up the first book about getting your baby to sleep through the night. Here was my thought process: "I'll grab the first one I see, read it, realize it is total crap, return it, and try again....probably many many times before I find something I can actually use, or just give up and figure it out on my own." Let's be honest, as parents, that's kind of what we do, right? Look at all the information out there, realize most of it is absolutely useless, ask for advice for all of the parents we know, determine most of that won't work for our child, and finally we just muddle our way through, hoping to get it right.

This time though, I caught a break. The first book I picked up was actually awesome! It challenges and contradicts itself by presenting multiple theories for multiple experts. It teaches you a few different techniques that are so different that most parents will find a solution in there that will work for their family, and it allows you to see the benefits and downfalls for each. Most of all, it encourages you to realize that not everything works for every family! I'll be the first to admit that I am a sucker when it comes to crying. I just can't let my child "cry-it-out". But that's ok. This book let me know that there is more than one way to help your baby become a great sleeper! You have no idea how happy that made me!

By now I'm sure you want to know what this miracle book is. Well, here you go!

The Complete Guide to Helping Your Baby Sleep Through the Night So You Can Too: 101 Tips and Tricks Every Parent Needs to Know

Now as I said before, not every method or book will work for every parent, so you may hate this book as much as I love it, but hey, it's worth a shot, right? I recommend checking your local library to see if they have it before buying it just to make sure it is right for your family. No sense in wasting money on something you hate, right?

Well, that is all for now, but I will be posting our progress as we go along so that you can see how this works for our family. See you soon!