Here we are again. Our little man is already another month older and this mama has no idea where the time is going. The last time I updated you guys on Fischer, we talked the four-month sleep regression and what we were doing to cope. If you watched my Instagram stories a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know that we went through ANOTHER rough sleep patch just as I thought we were in the clear. That eventually led to my commitment to sleep training. But more on that later! I want to take a second to reflect on the past month and how much Fischer has grown.
highlights.
Fisch is truly shedding his newborn “baby” ways (and look!) and it’s like every morning we wake up to a new characteristic, behavior or ability. He intently studies objects and can grab them with little hindrance. And he LOVES the Itsy Bitsy Spider ;).
Fischer is definitely an observer. He loves to listen to people talk – especially his daddy – and smiles the biggest ear-to-ear grin in return. In fact, he’s always smiling. It doesn’t take much to see those precious little gums.
Perhaps one of my favorite developments this past month has been his inclination to be out and about. Before, it would stress me out to take him even to the grocery store for fear of a public meltdown. But, when our friends visited one weekend we decided to pack a bottle and bite the bullet. We went downtown for a few hours to walk, shop and have lunch. During which we were pleasantly surprised at how well he did! So much so that we’ve taken him for an outing almost every weekend since. It’s definitely helped to bring some much needed “normalcy” back to our lives and I’m so grateful for that.
Sleep training update.
Real-time updates on the decision and first few nights of sleep training can be watched under the “MOM LIFE” highlight on my Instagram.
As an update, I can say that sleep training was extremely hard. Emotionally and physically. It took everything in me to abide by the stopwatch I set each and every time – even when it went on for hours. But the brunt of it doesn’t last forever. And I can genuinely say it was the best thing we could’ve done for our boy.
He now knows how to put himself to sleep and, although he does still need help every now and then, his sleeping habits are WORLDS better than they used to be. Currently, he’s sleeping from about 7:30 – 1:30, eats and then goes right back to bed until sometime between 7 and 8.
I used to dread going to bed because the unknown made me so anxious – and for good reason. There were many nights were I would be up almost every hour and on more than one occasion I resolved to sleeping in the rocking chair next to his crib because it wasn’t worth walking into the other room and getting comfortable in bed just to have to get right back up again. It was exhausting y’all.
But now, I watch him on the monitor as he stairs up at the ceiling for a few minutes before quietly letting himself drift to sleep. There are even times when I’m trying to cuddle him for a few minutes before I put him down and he squirms until I lay him in his crib.
If you guys want a dedicated sleep training post I’d be happy to go through our entire experience, but for now I’ll leave it at this: It’s so hard, but so worth it.
The 5 products we’re loving this month.
1. Merlin suit
I talked about how we started using this last month to help him sleep and how much it was a GAME CHANGER. We love it so much that, when Fischer grew out of his first one about a week ago I ordered the next size up! He may or may not do just fine without it.. but I’m not willing to find out just yet 😉
2. DocATot – Deluxe
I sort of forgot we had this in the early days. It was a gift off our registry. But we have gotten so much use out of it lately and I love it! He’s at the point where he can’t really use his Boppy newborn lounger anymore because he tries to sit up in it and is too mobile to hang out in it safely. The Doc A Tot, however, keeps him from rolling or scooting around so I can set him down in it while he plays on the floor or while I am doing something in the kitchen. I also love to put it in between G and I in bed on Saturday mornings when we’re all just trying to wake up and hang out for a little bit.
3. Portable Clip-On Fan
With all of the outings we’ve been embarking on I wanted to make sure Fischer stays as cool as possible in this summer heat. This fan clips securely onto the handle of his car seat and is battery operated so we can take it anywhere! It also rotates all the way around so you can customize how the air flows!
When we first put him in this activity center he wasn’t all that interested. But recently he has started to LOVE all of the little activities and toys it has attached. And he seems to really like practicing his standing in it!
5. High chair
Although he’s not too thrilled about solid foods just yet, Fischer does seem to really like his high char. It’s another place he likes to hang out while I cook or work. I attached his to one of our spare dining chairs. We strap him in with some of his toys and he’s happy to sit there and play for a little while. I love this particular high chair because it saves space by not being its own standalone chair. We just keep it attached to a chair at the table and its not too bulky or big. It also adjusts in height, tilts forward and backwards, has an easy to clean tray cover and can be used as a booster chair once he gets older!
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