Ferber Method for the Father

Well apparently babies aren't the only ones who need the Ferber Method.

Father's of your baby do too!!! 

I will just assume that we've all been there...

Baby is born, everyones happy, both parents are ecstatic for the arrival of their new bundle of joy, all sorts of family and friends come to visit, the baby is passed from loving hand to loving hand, annnnnd then every one goes home.

Suddenly there is this little tyke who screams for no reason, constantly eats, poops 5,000 times a day, and randomly sleeps. AND now there is only 2 people to deal with this life changer instead of the 15 relatives that were just over visiting. Mom has maternity leave and Dad is back to work... "See ya later honey, have a great day with the baby!"

Mom lovingly stares down at the baby and smiles..."have a great day at work babe! I'll have dinner ready when you get home!" (ha! yeah right!)

Dad comes home from work, wipes his brow, kicks his shoes off approximately 6 inches in from of the door way, and plops his butt down on the couch to relax for the evening.

Mom wants a break from her full time baby duty and Dad wants a break from his full time work day.

Well who's going to deal with the baby now!?

Ummm....both parents! But apparently dudes don't have that natural instinct to rock a crying baby, feed them a bottle, change their stinky diaper OR get up to every little peep they make at night. They have to be taught. Just like each baby has to be taught to self soothe, eat, crawl and explore the world!

And what do ya know...the Ferber Method isn't just for babies! Father's can learn from it too!

After I went back to the salon from my maternity leave I was surprisingly excited to get back to work. Although I am so glad I only started back part time because I missed my little man SO much for the 2 hours I was gone my first day. :)

Anyways, my husband had been so busy working during my maternity leave that he hadn't picked up on all the little details that Boden requires. Such as: how many ounces for his bottle, how ofter he eats, how much cereal, what kind of veggies he likes, and what each little cry means!!! Awww!!! What's a mom to do! And NO Mother/Wife wants to be that nagging gal to her man. SO...here comes the Ferber Method!!

One day I had to head to the salon, "here you go Daddy! He's all yours!" and I walked out the door! No instructions, no lists, no nothing!

I just about crapped my pants driving to work wondering what my husband was going to do.

I'm sure they both sat there and stared at each other for a good 15 minutes before moving on to some toy or bouncy chair. Needless to say, Boden and Erik survived! Ha! I win again! Erik did everything himself with NO problems. What great Daddy & Baby bonding time!

So for all you crazy Moms out there...toss that baby to the Daddy and head out for the day! Those boys will figure it out on their own! :)

Ferber Method Madness

Hush little Boden don't say a word,

Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird...

Annnnd some earmuffs for myself.

I did it. The Ferber Method. It was awful yet oh so glorious. I win!!

When we went in for Boden's 4 month check up and shots the doctor asked me how Boden was sleeping. What? Sleep? What does that mean? I have a baby that thinks a 30 minute nap is equivalent to a whole nights sleep.

He continues to ask if I put him to sleep wide awake or after he's dozed off a bit. 

I respond with "well I nurse him every night before bed and he falls asleep at the boob." What can I say..he's a boob man.

"Oh no no no you don't. Not any more! That little man needs to go to bed wide awake and self soothe!" replies my doctor. "Give it a few nights of self soothing and he will get the trick."

"Ok!" I respond...and happily skip out of the doctors office.

Well he never told me how they learn to self soothe. Waaaaaah. Waaaaaaahhh..

So we begin the Ferber Method.

Night One: 8pm: Bottle

8:30pm: Change into PJ's, rock in the glider and we sing Hush Little Baby.

8:40pm: In crib, flat on back, lower half swaddled, snuggles with security blankie, humidifier on, noise maker on, we leave the room.

10:30pm-12:35am: Wide awake, crying. Screaming because Mommy won't give in to his every wish. (Mommy joins in on the crying)

12:35am-2am: Sleeps peacefully.

2am-4:25am: Wide awake, crying. Screaming, again, because what the hell, Mommy still isn't running to my side. (Mommy, once again, joins the cry fest).

4:30am-6am: Rests his puffy little eyes and sleeps.

Night Two: 8pm: Bottle

8:30pm: Change into PJ's, rock in the glider and we sing Hush Little Baby.

8:40pm: In crib, flat on back, lower half swaddled, snuggles with security blankie, humidifier on, noise maker on, we leave the room.

12:30am-1:25am: Wide awake and having a cry/pity party in the crib.

1:30am-4am: Sound asleep.....ahhhhhh finally

4am-4:30am: "I'm awaaaaake Mommy! Waaaaaahhhhh!!!"

4:30am-7am: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Night Three: 8pm: Bottle

8:30pm: Change into PJ's, rock in the glider and we sing Hush Little Baby.

8:40pm: In crib, flat on back, lower half swaddled, snuggles with security blankie, humidifier on, noise maker on, we leave the room.

2am-2:15am: Talks to himself in the crib and blows some bubbles to kill time.

2:15am-6:30am: Dreams peacefully...nighty night.

Night Four: 8pm: Bottle

8:30pm: Change into PJ's, rock in the glider and we sing Hush Little Baby.

8:40pm: In crib, flat on back, lower half swaddled, snuggles with security blankie, humidifier on, noise maker on, we leave the room.

8:40pm-6:30am: Sweet sweet sleep. For Mama and Baby.

I swear that first night was almost as difficult as labor. It was awful! Non-stop crying allllll night. But it was so worth it. Boden now sleeps through the night. He might get up once or twice to check out his feet, snuggle his blankie, or have a one way conversation with himself. But no crying. He can put himself back to sleep..no bottle, no rocking, no diaper change, no nothing! The difference it has made in my day is amaaazing. I'm no longer tired, my patience levels are normal once again, and I can hold a conversation past 6pm without falling asleep!

At first I thought the Ferber Method sounded cruel but after hearing from countless people that it worked I had to give it a try. It's so worth it and it was definitely worth one night of screaming for many many more nights of peaceful sleep!!!

The 4th Trimester

I totally get it now. The 4th trimester. Babies are SO helpless the first 3 months. It's almost like they wake up and realize everything that is going on around them at 4 months. 

Boden did nothing but sleep, eat, poop, cry, & repeat for months 1 through 3. Pretty much at exactly month 4 he opened his eyes and was ready to conquer the toy pen. He reaches for his favorite toy, Mr. Octopus, and grabs on to every bunch of hair he can manage to grasp his little hands on. I can't believe how entertaining a baby can be. 

He's even discovered his pudgy little feet! 

He gobbles up 2 whole bowls of cereal plus whatever new veggie we are trying that day...the kid can eat!

"more cereal please!" -Boden

He has play dates with his buddies...and attempts to yank their hair and hold their hand.

And lastly, he waits patiently at my salon for his Daddy to get a hair cut.

Post Partum Hair Loss

Ok. The streets of Chicago aren't the only thing that has piles on each side. My entire shower floor has mounds of hair piling everywhere! SO much hair loss! 

I definitely did not have the luscious locks and glowing skin that everybody talked about during pregnancy. My hair was brittle and breaking off from day one! I had my little pregnancy horns by my second trimester.

Since Boden turned exactly 4 months (to the day!) my hair has been falling out. I only shampoo my hair 2-3 times a week since it's so dry out. I definitely have changed my hair care routine and products to help with this hair loss.

-Tangle Teezer- 

I have used the Tangle Teezer for years but this brush REALLY helps get through tangles on wet and dry hair. It's especially awesome for me since I have super fine soft hair!

-Redken Anti Snap-

This stuff really works! I swear! I normally only used it for a week or two after getting my color done so I could rebuild the strength of my hair. But since my hair has been awful and falling out I have started using it regularly. I spray it on my damp hair once a week and it really seems to help with breakage.

-Redken Blonde Glam Shampoo/Conditioner-

I have been addicted to this shampoo and conditioner ever since I started coloring my hair. It leaves it SO soft and smells amazing!

-Scunci Hair Ties-

By far the best hair ties. They don't tear away at my fine hair and it seems like my hair is pulled back into a pony 90% of the day so Boden can't yank out what little hair I have left. :)

-Suave Apple Detangler-

As hilarious as it is to use a kids product..this stuff rules. I shower my freshly cleaned hair in this and then use the tangle teezer. And it doesn't hurt that my hair smells like freshly picked apples. I get SO many random compliments on my hair smelling good and I totally give credit to this apple detangler! 

B's First Cold

*sniffle*sniffle* 

It finally happened. His first cold. 

A few days ago I heard his first cough. I didn't think much of it..I figured it was one of many other irritants besides a cold. Dog fur, dust mites, cool winter air...but I had no idea it was the beginnings of his poor little cold.

It took approximately 3 days until I realized it was probably time to call the pediatrician. We took our little man in and they declared him sick! Our doctor is awesome. He saw us within 2 hours of us calling and he doesn't prescribe medication like it's going out of style. We hope to give Boden the least amount of medicine as possible. When we heard we should just ride out this cold because it was such a minor sickness, I was relieved he didn't get antibiotics. 

The doc told us to crank his humidifier and give Boden lot of love. Cuddle him, feed him, play with him and let this cold run it's course. 

Well it's now day 5 of this hellish cold and Boden hasn't stopped sniffling, blowing snot bubbles, and coughing like crazy. He can't eat his normal amount because he can't breathe out of his little snuffy nose! We've resorted to feeding him every 2 hours rather then every 4 and in smaller amounts. This way he keeps up his fluids. The poor guy sounds like Darth Vader wobbling around on the floor with all his toys.

-NoseFrida- I was SO disgusted at the thought of manually sucking boogers out of my sons nose..but this is awesome. Probably the best invention ever for babies with colds. It's amazing how much more snot comes out of their noses with this compared to those old school bulb suckers.

-Vicks Germ Free Humidifier- I did oodles and oodles of research about humidifiers, dehumidifiers, vaporizers and all sorts of air treatment for nurseries. This humidifier has a 2 gallon tank so we can have it running 24 hours without having to refill it. It's also warm mist so it's much better for the dry winter air we are having right now. We also have this Crane Drop Cool Mist Humidifier to keep next to his crib for times when that added heat isn't necessary. I plan on keeping the cool mist humidifier for when he's older and starts to poke around at objects..this way he can't be burned from the mist.

-Vicks Vapo Steam- I have been putting this in the Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier during his cold and it seems to really help with his cough and congestions. I know there are mixed reviews on using this for a baby but it seems to really be helping Boden..so it's a plus for me!

-Little Remedies Saline Drops- These are great! One little drop in each nostril and Boden doesn't seem to have as much chapped skin. He's been having a mixture of runny and stuffy nose so these drops are perfect. The combination of these drops with the Vapo Steam are great for night time!!