This is the perfect picture of what a sleeping newborn should look like – and yes, I do see the resemblance to a frog. Sleeper, check. Baby on back, check. Absolutely nothing else in crib, check. As you can see Gage knows the correct procedure. At least every time but nighttime. I consider it a little funny that this night owl has a son who seems to think daytimes are for napping and when the sun goes down it is time to party. I won’t go into the sleeping woes of this new mama because my parents came for the weekend and I got two nights of extra sleep. I’m feeling good and ready for the mostly sleepless nights of the upcoming week.
The following book was given to me for a pregnancy gift, but I only read it after Gage arrived. My loss. It has proved invaluable.
This photo was taken when Gage was 2 weeks old. He’s pushing 4 weeks now 😉
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Finished 11-6-10, rating 4.5/5, parenting, revised & updated 2006
I am not a huge fan of schedules but I think that babies and children can benefit from them so I was happy to read this book on how to give my baby some structure. The book recommends forming and maintaining a routine for your infant that is based on sleeping, feeding, and waketime. There are tips on how to establishing a schedule for your child and I have found it useful. I have not been able to follow it to the letter (Gage is only a newborn, after all!), but by using the guidelines loosely I have found my day to have a little more certainty.
I think there may be a danger if you try to follow it too closely. I’ve tried that and there are some things that I think will not work for Gage. Making him nap when he wants to play for a few hours seems counterproductive to getting him to sleep at night. But keeping in mind the three blocks of time and shaping them to suit your needs I think will help many first time parents feel more in control and knowledgeable. Having a plan, whether you follow it to the letter or not, goes a long way in making you feel prepared.
While I think the first chapter called Your Baby Needs a Family was well intended it did seem to lack empathy for most mothers and fathers out there that for whatever reason do not have the ideal nuclear family. If you are one of them, as are most families these days, I might just skip that chapter altogether.
This book was a gift from my friend, Kate.
Stacy's Books 
I can’t believe that he’s almost 4 weeks old already!! I love that picture of the little frog man!!! Schedules will be the life saver down the road 😀
He is a pretty cute frog man 🙂
What a little sweetheart! I love the sleeping position!
I can’t believe he can sleep like that!
How times have changed – my baby slept on his stomach. Gage is such a cutie. I found that everything just naturally evolved into a schedule with little effort on my part.
Yes, but unfortunately his internal clock is like mine a little too much. His schedule wants me to sleep the afternoon away with him and stay up all night!
My daughters slept like that too when they were babies. 🙂 I find that sleeping position so cute!!
I love it too 🙂
Its going to fly by so quickly. My little man is rapidly approaching 1!
Some tips I have which may or may not be useful. I too am not big on routine but our night routine is basically solids feed (obviously you cant do this one yet, so before solids we did a walk) bath, feed, downtime in bed with mum and dad (lights off).
Get your little guy out into the fresh air I found this made a huge difference and it gets you out too (again might be hard if you have winter!).
Have day sleeps with the curtains open and dont be afraid to make noise. My little man can pretty much sleep through anything now.
Hope those help. Good luck. Eventually Gage will work out a routine for himself and you will get some sleep! Just enjoy those night time cuddles with your little guy 🙂
Good tips. Winter is fast approaching and it’s only been the past weekend that I’ve been well enough for walks. He can sleep through anything. But he only wants to do it during the day.
I can’t believe your little guy is almost 1 already!
What a precious photo, time is flying … you probably don’t think so when you’re sleep deprived but glad you could make the most of an opportunity to grab some extra sleep with your parents around!
They were lifesavers. Jason and I even went out on our first date since baby. It was wonderful 😉
He looks super adorable. I hope you get some sleep in the coming days 🙂
Sleep is overrated 🙂 I got 4 hours (in 3 increments) last night and feel pretty good.
Gage is growing up fast! I love that view from above. Gage looks super adorable!
Thanks, we think so 🙂
Very sweet little man. I have no personal experience with what you are adjusting to – but in watching friends and family through the years I can see that it is all so subjective. What works for one doesn’t work for another. There is no absolute – and it sounds like you are not stressing over that and taking the right approach for you. Such a smart mom!
Well, last week I tried following it exactly so I could see what would and wouldn’t for us. Still trying to figure that out!
Gage is a bundle of joy, whether sleeping or awake. His Mom and Dad are doing a great job of parenting. I am so proud!
Wow, he is almost a month old :o)
I wish I had this book too, but luckily my Mom was there to help me out when I had to sleep- train him for the night. Aarya also slept the whole morning till afternoon frm 3:00 AM. And it was very difficult 🙂
But then, once he crossed 3 months, we started keeping him awake a little at a time, and trying to get him tired in the late evenings, so that he would sleep in the night. At first, it was just 4-5 hours at max, but now he sleeps much more.
Gage is supa-cute sleeper. Looks like a little Angel, I keep wondering, how he gt his hands up like that 🙂
Yeah … I’m always hoping for a Gage photo when I visit. He’s so tiny … I have such a hard time remembering my own little one at that age … it seems so long ago now.
And sleep was always my number one issue as a mom. I say whatever you can figure out that works is what you need to do!!! : )
Oh he is adorable!!!! And not just because he is sleeping. I love me a little night owl. The photo of your family looks great. Very photogenic 🙂
I love it when babies sleep with their arms up like that! He is so cute!
Wow, I’m just a wee bit late congratulating you on your beautiful baby boy. I just want to hug him. Give him one for me please!