Routines

One of the hardest things about newborns is the lack of routine. They nap at different times on different days and sleep for different amounts of time no matter what you do. They also are completely unpredictable. Was it the noise machine that made him sleep better? Or the massage? Trying to replicate what you think worked, almost never does. Each day and night is just completely its own entity.

At 7 weeks now, our baby has developed two consistent things. First, he always wakes up at 6:10 AM. No matter when he went to bed or when he had his last feeding. 6:10 AM. The other consistency is a rather strange one... if he sleeps for more than 5 hours in the first chunk of the night, he will sleep terribly for the rest of it. If he sleeps less than 5 hours in the first chunk, the rest of the night will be smooth. I have no idea why this makes sense. So now it's crazy how we've now begun hoping for only 4 hours of sleep! He seems more likely to sleep only 4 hours if he goes down earlier, so we try for as early as possible. (This is doubly good since he wakes up at the same time each day!)

I'm really hoping we can develop a bit more of a routine before I go back to work... less than a month, now. Here's hoping!