Saturday, March 14, 2009

It's Hard To Say Goodbye. . .

Hey ya'll. This is going to be quick because Brennan is in his swing "sleeping", but I know it wont last long!

A brief update. . . my Grandma McMahon passed away early Sunday morning- so Wednesday we took a 9 hour road trip to Buffalo, NY. Thankfully Brennan did pretty well and slept most of the way. It was interesting finding places to breastfeed, we ended up putting receiving blankets up in the car and me feeding him in there. Seriously, where do you all breastfeed when on the road??

The service was honoring to my Grandma, which was awesome. My mom and Aunt Maureen did the eulogy and my mom did a great job weaving in the gospel. I'm going to miss her. Whenever we went to Buffalo growing up, Meg and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. We would stay up super late watching I Love Lucy episodes and eating hot fudge sundaes on the couch. I will always remember those times!

It was funny how Irish everything was. The McMahons, and South Buffalonians in general are proud of their Irish heritage (were talking our family china has shamrocks on it-kind of proud). Get this- my Grandma and Grandpa met because my Grandma was asked to write to a WWII soldier. She got my Grandpa's name and they corresponded for quite some time. When he came home from the war, they met ON St. Patrick's Day on the front steps of their church, cool huh?

Well, I think the little man is on his way to waking up so I should go. Before I do though, I have a favor to ask of you- will all you mamas that read this blog (the three of you!) PLEASE either comment or email me (chaeliackerman@gmail.com) whether or not you scheduled your baby or not? I am trying to decide whether to adhere to the strict BabyWise every three hour schedule, or taking a more flexible approach to it (i.e. every 2.5 - 4 hours feeding him). I'd love to know how you scheduled your YOUNG infant, what you did in the day vs. the night, what your reasoning is, etc. Also, I'd love to know how you fit in time to shower every day :) I'm excited to read the comments!!! I know every baby is different, but I want to compare notes with ya'll and try to formulate some sort of plan for the little guy (or perhaps he's too young for a plan)??

Gotta run!

P.S. Thank you to Lacey who graciously walked me through BabyWise the other day!!!

6 comments:

Meaghan said...

It was so good to see you! Though I am not a mother, I'd say do what nature tells you- why adhere to a strict 2.5 hours when people probably didn't do that for most of history? I mean, if you want to, do the babywise, but I certainly cant believe its bad for the lil guy to be a bit more liberal with your precious time.

Beforethehunt said...

great post chaeli!
-john o

Laine said...

The thought of trying to put my newborn on a schedule just gave me a headache but thats my personality. I know other moms that do it and it works for them, feeding on demand works for me. I think its a matter of personal preference and whatever gets you the most sleep! :)

Carrie Feitl said...

Okay, so here's my two cents... I am all about having a schedule for baby. This allows you to plan outings and chores and showers, etc. It also provides for better sleep habits as baby grows. Don't know if someone just told you about Babywise or if you read it yourself, but it is not a strict 3 hr deal. It is really quite flexible(21/2 - 31/2 hr parent directed feeding at this stage). The most important part of babywise is the routine or pattern that you establish to organize your child's life (eat, awake, sleep). This is way more important than the hours between feeding. This pattern REALLY helps your kid learn to sleep well and at the right times. Baby Whisperer calls it the EASY plan (eat, activity, sleep, and you time). Have fun!

Erin Zubert said...

Hey Chaeli, you've already heard my experience. And looking back, Westin was eating every 1-2 hours for the first month during the day. I can't imagine making him wait an extra hour and a half or more, I would have had a very cranky boy! He worked it out and got on his own predictable schedule. And no matter what, you're always going to have to think ahead about emergency feeding locations when out and about, it's just the nature of the beast;)

C said...

You already know my thoughts on this, but to me scheduling is so inflexible, it would never work for me.
I have friends who schedule naps and everything, and they're always stressed and watching the clock saying "Oh no, I have to get him home before nap time, or our day is going to be thrown off!"
I've always just gone with the flow with Brooklyn, and she'll sleep anywhere and thru anything, which makes errands, time with friends, traveling, and just life in general so much easier:) I don't have to plan around a nap, and I definitely don't have to plan around her needing to eat, since I can just feed her wherever and whenever...the only time I "schedule" feeding is if we have to drive a ways, and I know she'll need to eat soon. Then I feed her before we head out, but otherwise, I let her dictate the schedule...and she's fallen into her own pattern for naps that's very predictable at this point, though still flexible enough that she'll take those naps wherever we are, which is wonderful!