Parenting Hailey Elizabeth

Thanks for stopping by! This is the page where I will talk about my views and practices in parenting my baby girl. I majored in Child Development in college, which is where I formed some of my opinions. Others have come from books, friends, and family. I would first like to state that even though other parents have completely different ideas on parenting, I do respect them and appreciate if their practices work for them.

Setting A Schedule

Well, with the advice of a wonderful friend of mine, a mother of twins, I discovered a remarkable book... "Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D. The focus of this book is on Parent Directed Feeding or PDF. Based on this book, which I have found to be invaluable, you should put your baby on a schedule. The schedule is regarding eating, sleeping, and wake time. We have had Hailey on a schedule since the day we brought her home. We know exactly when she will eat, when she needs to sleep and when she needs to be awake. We made the schedule and she gets to benefit from it.

Keeps her metabolism stable.
Digestive system will have fewer problems.
She was sleeping through the night by 10 weeks.
She doesn't have to be manipulated to sleep. She knows when it is bedtime and goes to sleep with limited or no fussing at all.
Her stimulus barrier (ability to filter out unnecessary noises) matures more quickly.
Hailey moves (and will continue to move) more naturally from dependence to independence.
She easily allows others to care for her.
She is learning to be at peace with her environment.

In listing these benefits, I have not given them the justice they deserve. You would really need to read the book to understand all of them completely. However, I will say that I have found all of these benefits to be proven facts.

Crying

Okay, here is a tough one! There were times in the beginning when we did let Hailey cry. It was very difficult at first and by no means did it mean that we didn't care. She needed to learn how to put herself to sleep, and she did. It didn't last very many days and she didn't cry each time. The important thing to remember was that crying is healthy (emotionally and physically) and tears do release toxins from her body. The reassuring part is that whenever she wakes up, she is full of smiles. The important thing to know though is that one should know the different cries of their baby. I would never let Hailey cry without holding her if she is crying due to pain or sickness or being afraid. But I can tell the difference in her cries... and therefore that made it easier for us to let her cry herself to sleep on those few occasions. And I must say that she is a very happy baby!

Fun & Education

This is my favorite part! Like all parents, I want to give Hailey the best start I possibly can. Now, of course that included trying to stimulate her before she was even born, but here I will just talk about the things that my husband and I have been doing since. The basics...

Talking to her. It is easy to do and babies really enjoy it!
Repeating the sounds that she makes to us. For her it is communication and that is important.
Singing to her. Another form of communication and fun, it can also be very soothing.
Reading. She loves books and it is a nice habit to start at an early age.
Flash cards. I made them myself and she behaves very excitedly whenever we go through them, which is at least once a day.

Exercise and time amusing herself is also important. We try to do each of the following things everyday.

Playpen time.
Floor time, both on her back and her stomach.
Floor time w/Mommy and/or Daddy
Swing time.
Exercise time which includes practicing crawling, sitting, walking, rolling over, etc.

Well, that is all for now. I am sure I will be updating this page regularly as Hailey grows. If you have any comments or question, please email me. I would love to hear from you.

Thank you, Donna, for this beautiful gift!

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