I love you, Dr. W

Napping. It's been an on-and-off, good-and-not-so-good thing with the Critter. She sometimes napped well, other times, not so much. Once she began sleeping through the night, the naps got crappier but hey, she was sleeping from 8pm-7am, so who was I to complain??

Well, that all changed a few weeks ago. Her sleep became a bit more erratic at night. Waking super-early (5am is not morning. It is late night.), or having trouble going to sleep at night. And naps went down to 20-30 minutes. Not good.

And the fits. Oooh boy, that Critter Girl had some major meltdowns over the last few weeks, for no good reason. Almost every day. Not good.

So, I started to think, we need to get on the nap program much better than we have been. She's at 4 months now, I think she is ready for a nap schedule, the same way she was ready for a nighttime schedule a few months back.

I picked up the Healthy Sleep book by Dr. Weiss.bluth again. This book has been sitting on my coffee table for months, skimmed but never really read. I don't know why, but I had such trouble reading this book in my sleep-deprived new mommy state. But now, it is like the Gods from Sleep Heaven speaking directly to me.

Seriously, this book has changed my (and the Critter's!) life. Within 2 days of doing what he says in the 5-12 months chapter, I have a sweet little girl again. She now takes 3 naps a day, for no less than 45 minutes at a shot. And usually at least one nap is 1.5 hours long!! OMG! I can shower, and clean up around the house and post here! I have time to do it!! And when she wakes up, she is happy and rested. It is truly amazing how quickly the difference came about.

Granted, the Critter Girl is by nature a pretty good sleeper, a pretty mild-tempered baby. But seriously peoples, if you are having sleep issues, read this book.

Thank you Dr. W. You have changed our lives!