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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
CapitolBaby
member
When does it get easier?
CapitolBaby
member
Hi girls - visitor from 0-3 here! Just curious when things get easier in the first year? I have a 1 month old who hardly sleeps at night and cries a lot. She's amazing, but has taken such a toll on me. Maybe today was just an especially difficult day. I keep hearing that at 3 months, there is some amazing transformation.. what do you think? When do things get easier or more manageable?
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Re: When does it get easier?
We had a huge turn around at 6 weeks. He had a good 3-4 days of constant nursing and not sleeping well, his traditional growth spurts and then he really started sleeping better, about 6 hour stretches.
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
One day at a time! It got easier for me after a few weeks. By 6 weeks we were in a good rhythm, and then when he started sleeping through the night at 12 weeks, we were golden.
I have loved the age of 6-9 months. LO is so much fun right now.
Hang in there!
I think it got easier every day, although I didn't always realize it until I looked back over a period of time.
3 months was better, but not the giant change that I had built it up to be. 6 months was the biggest shift for me.
As far as sleeping goes, things started to get better around 4 months. Not STTN better, but longer stretches and better naps.
Every month since then has been wonderful.
For me, it has constantly been changing. One thing will get better, but another thing will get worse. She started STTN around 2 months, but then she stopped at 4 months when she became more aware of her surroundings. Now she is down to one or two wakings per night, which is fine with me. But, her naps are terrible, and she now has separate anxiety that is exhausting b/c I have to hold her all the time. Her crying got a lot better at 3 months.
I used to say "I can't wait until she is X age because X will happen," but now I just take it one day at a time and enjoy the stage she's at for what it is.
Three months was a HUGE turning point for us. And then again at 6 mo.
I think understanding them and their needs is a big part of it which for me took a few months and by then we were starting to figure out a routine so a combination of those two things was big. DS also cried alot and didn't sleep well but by 3 mo, he was sleeping a little bit better (not STTN by any means) and either I was used to the sleep deprivation or finally took the good adivce of sleep when they sleep. By 6 mo my hormones were fnally starting to get back to normal and I was physically starting to really feel better (had a slow recovery from a c-section).
It truly keeps getting better and better. Hang in there.
I say around 3 months also-my best advice is what others have told you about routine...I also suggest writing down naps and feedings-you are able to "see" a pattern and begin to look at a schedule with LO. For me, that helped me distinguish the cries. Also, it's always easier to get caught up in the difficult days-for me I can remember those days much more vividly even though she had many more good days than bad ones!!!!
Just wait until around 5 months-you'll forget and begin to feel like a pro! Hang in there!!!
I just posted above about having newborn amnesia. I *know* it was really hard at first, but now I can't even remember it ever being hard. I say that to give you hope! One day you will look back and think "that was a piece of cake, time for another one!" lol
Best thing we did was read and follow Babywise. Gets a lot of flack, but following the feeding every three hours (even if that means waking them up during the day), and doing the eat/play/sleep routine made things so much easier because once we hit that groove, I knew if he was tired or hungry and didn't have to try and guess. It also made my day predictable and much less chaotic.
Hang in there!
The first month was definitely the hardest and after that it just kept getting better. By 3 mo, DD became a little less clingy and able to entertain herself briefly on the playmat and floor with toys. I was also getting a better feel for her natural schedule and how to most efficiently meet her needs (result she was less fussy). 6 mo was a major turning point. She started really enjoying toys and wanted to do things on her own, leaving me more time to breath. She was more easily entertained and just in general more happy and easy going by this point. She got to be really fun too! I also felt like I really got the swing of how to be a mom around then and DD and I had each other pretty well figured out. She started STTN soon after too and getting her to sleep got easier. Newborns are great, but if I had the chose, I would ask that my next baby be born at 6 mo old.
ETA: I didn't read the other replies until after I posted and was surprised how many other people identified 3 mo and then 5/6 mo. Must be something to those ages.