Baby boot camp

We officially started what I referred to as baby boot camp. I was reading some advice, mostly on getting your baby to sleep better, when I read "if something isnt working for you, change it". Well, okay, I know that sounds like common sense but it really struck a chord with me and there are a few thigns I needed to change around here. There's really nothing "boot camp" about it for Scarlett but more for myself... so maybe its Mommy boot camp :-)

1) Solid food 3 times a day. We were doing 1-2 times a day but the doctor was not happy with how much she was eating, which was hardly anything, so were up to 3x a day.

2) Going to bed by bath, nurse, book, and then laying down and getting her back patted. I had previously been rocking her or nursing her but I read that the way the baby initially goes to bed is how they will want to be put back to sleep during the night, which makes sense, and Im not comfortable with leaving her to "cry it out" so this method was a nice compromise.

3) Spending some special time with her dad every evening WITHOUT me. He interacts with her alot but the combination of our open floor plan and all of us wanting to be together has created a great dynamic for when I am here but a really horrible one for when I go to work. So, time alone with Nick, every single night.

4) If I feed her during the night it will be a full feeding from both sides and otherwise I will be patting her back and getting her back to sleep without picking her up. No more on and off nursing all night.

5) I am really working on trying to get her to start moving somehow. Whether it be crawling or rolling or scooting the doctor wanted to see her moving so we are practicing that much more.



RESULTS:
Since I have been doing this for about a week things are going VERY well. There is one major set back but besides that things seem to be going in the right direction. The bad news first: Since feeding Scarlett much more solid food she became incredibly constipated and has been pooping a small amount every 20 -30 minutes. This has led to TERRIBLE diaper rash. Its so hard seeing her in pain and I cant even let her nap or sleep all night. Its almost open sores now and I have to clean her over and over and over again. I just left her diaper off almost all day today and kept cleaning up messes but it still didnt seem to help. Poor baby.
BUT the good news: Scarletts naping SO much better. Her naps pretty much instantly went from 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. I think it is a combination of being more full from food and being layed down to learn to get to sleep herself. She is going to sleep almost completely alone and hardly crying at all. Thigns with Nick were rough last night but much better tonight. I hope it continues in that direction. So, things have been going really well but this mommy thing can be really rough sometimes.