We've decided that lil' Monkey needs a routine. A co-worker of DH's gave us the basic plan and I was hesitant at first (since she has four kids and in general has a stricter, more aggressive view on things because of that). But we've modified the plan to suit us and be a little more gentle. I just can't bring myself to turn the monitor off and shut the door but I can say that with each passing night, the volume on the monitor gets lower and lower.
You see, he still does his grunts, especially at night, especially after feeding. So if I feed him at 2:30 am, he grunts, LOUDLY, until 3:30 sometimes straight through until his next feeding at 4:30 - 5:00. I can't sleep through that so hence the monitor volume has been turned down a little more each night.
In the mommy group I attended on Wednesday, a member brought in a video by Dr. Harvery Karp (the Happiest Baby on the Block guy). He has a five "S's" theory. I can't remember all of the S's (Monkey was fussing through most of the video) -- but the one he kept suggesting was swaddling.
Now we haven't swaddled lil' Monkey much since he was 3 weeks old. He would always break out of it and if we tried to use the hardcore velcro kind, he'd pitch a fit until we took him out of it. However, tonight, he was battling the bedtime and I decided to try again. The nurse who monitors the mommy group meetings suggested just swaddling from the waist down so his arms were free. And that's what I did. So far, it's worked! I'm completely amazed!
Of course, now my SIDS radar has kicked in and I'm petrified that he'll wiggle out of it and suffocate himself.
