Babywise

Evia had her 1 month check up yesterday. She gained 2 lbs and 1 inch since birth. Wow-I must be doing something right with this breastfeeding thing! She is already holding her head up for a while and cooing. Blaine changed her diaper last night and said he was shocked that her "chicken legs" were gone. For any of you new mothers out there (and I have alot of friends right now who are pregnant) I was given a book that I highly recommend. It's called "On Becoming Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo. I didn't implement its philosophy till Evia was about 2 weeks old -since that is when I was given the book-but I swear by it. As many of you know, the twins were just shy of 6 months when they came home, so the newborn thing is new for us. You hear so many things from the nurses at the hospital, your pediatrician, ideas from Le Leche League, etc... and it can be SO confusing!!! Basically, the book recommends a Feed, than Awake, Than Sleep cycle. Most parents/moms, feed their baby, than lay them down to sleep or allow them to sleep at the breast/bottle. This is opposite to that idea. They do not advise demand feeding, but use a parent educated approach to assessing what your baby needs as far as hunger, etc... By 3 months, close to 90% of babies are sleeping through the night. The babies are happier and less fussy because they are on a predictable cycle and are getting a good eat/awake/sleep pattern. Also, another key ingredient is to make sure the baby gets a FULL feeding every time and no "snacking" at the breast. There is way toooo much to write here, so get the book!! Evia now eats almost every 2 1/2 to 3 hours like clockwork and wakes once, sometimes twice, a night. She was waking every hour the first 1-2 weeks, nursing sporadically, and I was dying of exhaustion!