Once More Into The Fray

Today just got cancelled. We're going to start tomorrow instead.
More screaming (Audrey) more tears (mine) and we've gone back to the.....drumroll......baby books. We need help.

Problems;
- She wakes at 6am but isn't hungry and wants to go back to sleep on one of us for a few hours
- She is cranky before and during her feeds, screaming and inconsolable most of the time
- She won't nap until she exhausts herself by which point out nerves are frayed
- She screams for long periods once she's woken up in the day and finally falls back to sleep again yet a week ago she was all smiles.

I am no longer The Happiest Mum in Chorlton.

Books suggest;
- She needs to get into a routine, waking hungry at 7am to start day off correctly
- If she wakes before 5am, try cooled boiled water that way she'll be hungry at 7am
- Her morning nap should be no longer than 45mins
- She needs swaddling and putting down for daytime naps at roughly the same time every day to prevent her from getting overtired (the likely cause of the screaming)
- She needs a long lunchtime nap of between 2-2.5 hours which is important for her development and will prevent crankiness in afternoon
- She should only have a 30 min afternoon nap before a 6pm bathtime

When we tried to get her into routines early on, many people told us she was too young, her stomach wasn't big enough and to wait until she was 3 months old. So we pretty much stopped. And for a while, life was easier, more flexible and less rigid. But recently we've noticed bad habits forming and we wish we'd stuck at some of it especially as now is around the time we'd like to get her sleeping through.

We know routines, the internet and baby books make many peoples eyes roll. And they are seen as unnecessary and stress inducing for parent and child but we can't carry on the way things are. So off we go again, into the world of Gina Ford, Tracey Hogg and Simone Cave. Let's see if it works now she's older. Tomorrow is day one and thank goodness there are two of us on duty....

Today's blip pic of Audrey and my husband in the park. In one of her calmer moments obviously. He's been great with her today and giving me a break after a tough week.