Baby Blanket
This week has been quite the week. Z has decided to give up napping during daylight hours. I kid you not. She started doing this on Monday and as of the end of Thursday she's still maintaining this pattern. She takes an evening nap now (which she never did before) and has not given up sleeping through the night. And nothing we seem to try during the day works -- except carrying her and letting her fall asleep on one of us. And even that tends to be fleeting. If we get an hour that way, we consider ourselves lucky. We're baffled. We have no idea what has changed -- or if anything has really changed. She's also gone back to wanting to nurse every three hours (when she's not sleeping) and when she nurses, it's usually a 45 minute session. I would love her to sleep some more, because it seems to me like an 11 week old baby needs more than about 12 hours of sleep a day.
Which is a long way of saying that I haven't gotten very much knitting done this week, since my days are filled with keeping Z from getting bored and wailing in all this awake time she has created for herself. I'm beginning to think that my baby has decide that she's going to adopt an "I'll sleep when I'm dead" attitude. Scary to think what could be ahead!
Fortunately, since I can't talk about my own knitting (well, I could, but I would have no interesting pictures to show), I do have someone else's knitting that I can talk about. Z was gifted with a lovely handknit blanket from one of her Babcia's close friends.
It's not a huge blanket, but having knit a couple of baby blankets myself, I know that a 3' x 3' blanket is a huge amount of work, even with a simple stitch. This blanket is plain stockinette in the center, but has a lovely eyelet motif all around the edges.
I am sure I have seen this pattern in Barbara Walker's Treasuries, but I can't remember the name (not surprising, motherhood seems to have robbed me of the few memory brain cells I had left). John tells me that this blanket is a fairly traditional sort of Polish baby blanket. Probably because there is a lacy pattern in it. I love the scalloped crochet edging with the little bit of pink detail.
It's also a practical blanket -- it's definitely made out of an acrylic yarn. Once it gets a little colder we'll be able to use it and know we'll be able to wash it if Z does something that makes washing required. I'm really touched by the gift. While John's family knows the woman who made the blanket, I don't and it really gets me when someone that I don't know does something really nice for us. I know it's for the baby, but the person who really gets to enjoy the hand knits is me. At least until Z is old enough to appreciate that sort of thing.
Of course, I couldn't close an entry about something that was a gift for Z without including Z in the post. She very gracefully agreed to model the blanket so you could all see how well it co-ordinates with her wardrobe. And while she's not smiling, I just love this picture of my very bright eyed baby showing us how well she holds up her head -- this picture was taken when she was about 7 weeks and had just figured out how much there was to see if she could keep her head up and move it around.
she's getting ready to grow. I remember getting all settled into a routine, and thinking I had this motherhood thing down, and the schedule would change all of a sudden, and my daughter would start nursing constantly - ta da! All of a sudden, nothing fit her anymore - she'd grown. Then things would settle down for a bit and I'd get complacent again, and it would happen all over again. I finally figured out that things change - constantly. In fact, that is the ONLY constant. So, hang in there. This too shall pass.
We adopted my daughter from China when she was 8 months old. I should frame the journal entry I wrote shortly after our return home describing her as "a champion sleeper." Ha. When I could never get her to sleep within two hours a day of what the baby books said she should be getting, I threw away the baby books.
What amazes me about having children is that you might look just as normal as the single woman shopping next to you at the supermarket, but the world can't see that one of you has been spending the past 12 hours trying to keep a baby fed, clean, and occupied in almost every waking moment. It's a big job!
That's a beautiful blanket! It looks like a very fine gauge, I can't even imagine having the fortitude to finish such a thing. And, as always, Z is SO CUTE. I love how her little eyebrows are lifted, shows her curiosity.
I was going to say a growth spurt too. If I remember from my sister's kids correctly, they eat all the time and don't sleep, then they sleep for like three days straight, then they're a whole new size when they wake up!
Z is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing her!
My oldest was a sleep later baby & he's making up for it as a teen!
I was shocked by the number of strangers who gave me gift when Dan was born. He was the only child on our block at the time & I got gifts from neighbours I'd only ever said hi to.
Chiming in to echo - growth spurt!
This is frequently a time where baby eats round the clock and mothers think, "Oh no! Baby won't stop nursing - she must not be getting enough to eat," and the slippery suplimentation slope starts. This is a baby's way of getting more to eat and simultaneously telling your body, "Hey! Can I get a little more milk down here? Ramp up the production now!" Nature is nifty.
The wisest baby wisdom I was given is to never think you've figured your baby's schedule out. Just when you think you've spotted the pattern, it changes. There is no pattern. You'll make yourself crazy if you try to figure it out.
What a sweet blankie! I love that it is girly and has pink, without being overbearing. (Also, I too like that stitch!) She looks so cute with it in hand!
What a lovely blankie, Miss Z. looks so cute modelling it.
Ah sleep. I have the same here, Miss T. will only have 20 -30min naps during the day. She will only have a long nap if I carry her around in the sling. But at least she sleeps at night, I tell myself I can't have everything.
But I will try and get her into a daytime nap routine once she is 4 months old - I am the Mum therefore I am the boss!
I agree, I think she is about to have a growth spurt, by next week she will be on a different schedule. Have a great weekend.
Have you tried a swing? My boy doesn't sleep anywhere else during the day, but as long as he's swinging he'll nap for 3-4 hours in the morning.
I was going to say that, too: growth spurt. One thing about extended nursing is that you end up still eating for two and (hopefully) one of you is growing like crazy! By the time we got to the end of 100% breastfeeding, I was eating the same amount as my 50-lbs-heavier-than-me husband.
Growth spurt! I recognize that pattern anywhere. Too hungry to sleep!! Must eat!!! Don't worry, it will change again soon.
Ah, my son had a similar pattern at that age. 13 hours awake, with maybe a catnap at the breast, nursing every hour or two. Then, 11 hours solid sleep. I just about exploded with milk each morning!
It passed- when he began to crawl he added a solid afternoon nap, or could be 'tricked' into napping while I was in class if his dad walked him around town in a front pack. But, he never really needed much sleep and now, at almost 12 years, sleeps less than 8 hours a night.
My second, otoh, slept 20 hours out of every 24 for the first year. Each baby is truly unique.
Has your weather changed? Does she need to be warmer? Maybe she wants a hat and booties and sweater. You have lots of hair, but she doesn't! Try a hat.
Try everything!
I'm part of the "growth spurt" gang ! Especially the increased nursing. Happened every time just before a growth spurt. It's nature's way of increasing your milk production, to match the baby's needs.
And what a bright, beautiful baby ! That's a fab picture.
Just a helpful hint - Baby Einstein videos - they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and will buy you a much needed 30 minutes (or an hour if you play it twice). Prop up baby on boppy pillow and play movie. Works like a charm. My first was dubbed "the amazing un-sleeping baby" and these videos saved my sanity.
Lovely baby blanket. I love that she'll have Polish traditions. Now, I'm not Polish but I treasure the various traditions that I've been raised in and I think having them is special.
Pretty blanket. My college roomate's aunt made me the prettiest sweater/cap/booties for my oldest daughter. I had never met the woman but I still have the knits, after 24 years. I am saving them for when my daughter has a baby. And I echo the growth spurt. I recognize the signs. It's so amazing how fast they grow!
Z is so cute! I can't believe she is holding her head up so high at 7 weeks. How much tummy time are you doing every day?
I remember bawling to my mother on the phone because LouLa had stopped napping when she was about 4 months old. I felt sure that she needed to get more sleep. Plus, I needed some "me" time! She wasn't much of a napper until she was about a year old, less than an hour here or there. But, she's been a good napper since then and once she slept through the night (at 8 weeks or so), she's never had a problem with that. Growth spurts are weird things. I never was able to identify them until after they happened, which wasn't much help.
Okay, I know virtually nothing about babies and growth spurts. I just know that she is REALLY cute! Have a good weekend.
Look at those wide (wide-awake!) eyes! ;-)
I too suggest it's just pre-growing stuff. Only mine's 8 and she's still doing it. She'll eat like a house on fire suddenly for a bit and then boom half an inch taller. Or more. Just recently she did 3/4 of an inch in one month and two weeks later another 1/2 inch. I was very proud of myself for having been too lazy (busy, lazy, whatever) to take her shopping for school clothes before those two spurts. For what it's worth mine never got more than 11-12 hours of sleep after the first 6 weeks or so and she seems ok.
Could she BE any cuter?
Have you tried a sound machine? My kids still sleep with one and they are the best sleepers!
Growth coming! My kids (now 18 and 15 YEARS) had very similar patterns whenever some serious growing was about to happen. The good news -- usually the days of ravenous hunger is followed by days of odd (but lengthy) sleep! (It takes a lot of energy to grow!) This just keeps happening -- and really intensifies again during the teen years (my 15 year old son is still in the eating-sleeping-growing cycle).
Whenever they change their patterns, something BIG is about to happen: growth or mental/physical development. It's exciting to watch -- once you get the hang of watching for the pattern.
Growth Spurt! Only one of our guys takes a daytime nap, the other one never got into them. Babies will continue to throw you a curve ball just when you think you have it down and somewhat organized ;)
My son started doing that when he was 6 weeks old. If I was lucky, he'd sleep two 30-minute naps a day. Didn't get that lucky on most days.
Now he's two and usually takes a nap. :) So hang in there!
I'd say 'growth spurt' but I think you've got the message by now, LOL.
I remember with my first, thinking that he should stay in the 'sleep all the time' newborn stage for much longer, and I'd try so hard to get him to sleep, he'd finally fall asleep, but only for 45 minutes. By the time #3 came along, our routine was very different and she HAD to nap at certain times, and for sure, by 12 weeks, she was in a good rhythm---3 hours up, 2 hours nap.
Around 12 weeks is when babies (usually) emerge from their newborn coma and realize there's a big wide world to explore. Some start to refuse the sling at this time, if they've associated it with sleep, so be prepared to try new positions too.
But definately--measure her soon :)
We got a few blankets too, but none as nice as hers!!