Hi Ladies
Reading your posts so many of your problems sound familiar but Leorah is now a year old (on Friday!) and I cant believe how far she has come. As a newborn she never slept during the day at all, it turned out she was MSPI which didnt help but also I realise now that she wasn't just an alert baby but chronically overtired. When I first came home with L I completely dismissed BW, there was no way the routines were going to work with her, I agree with Michelle there should have been a seperate book for spiriteds
However once I worked out she was MSPI and I sorted my diet out I went back to the book and followed a loose EASY but didn't stick to times but just watched for Ls cues which was hard as she never really gave tired signs but I noticed she'd get a glazed look, from here I would quickly bundle her up in her snowsuit and put her in her pram to sleep (she still sleeps outside as we are in Denmark), within 3 days she was falling asleep before I could do her snowsuit up! Her A times were very short but I had a lightbulb moment that although she isnt like the babies you read about in the books she does really need a routine probably more than another kind of baby. We have had short naps and NWs galore which I now realise were due to OT, spirited babies get OT and OS so easily. As for toys and bouncy chairs, mobiles etc we had to banish them until she was at least 3 months and then limit their use, L was only a few weeks old when she was swatting the dangley elephant hanging over her on her playmat, we first thought wow isn't she clever and then realised it was making her furious, oops!! We used to also get a lot of evening fussiness and suddenly we had another revelation that she was just asking to go to bed, I wish we had realised this so much earlier, our rule now is she does not go to bed any more than 12 hours after she woke up and we never have a cranky baby before bed and I see even my friends with angel babies do, honestly I am the poster girl for babies sleep being top priority, they need sleep to thrive! We never did swaddle but L was always a jumpy baby (still jumpy when napping when OT), we got round this by putting her to sleep on her tummy with a breathing moniter, she rolls all over the cot now but still sleeps on her tummy. As for feeding we were lucky and BF went very well and she was a quick feeder and being a bit of a prude I'd always take her somewhere private and found wearing a BF necklace kept her occupied...sometimes
Anyway to jump to the present day we still struggle with short naps for periods and I had a horrible time around the 10 month mark where she had accummulated OT but have found consistancy and the WI/WO method for older babies wonderful. Looking back on her first year I realise although it has been hard work I wouldnt change her spiritedness for anything. Spirited babies have such huge personalities, are very intelligent, fearless, cheeky and bring such joy. L has lots of baby friends and absolutely stands out from the group and the other mums point this out, she notices and has to touch everything
, she charms strangers from her pushchair, she climbs like a monkey, she has a proper sense of humour, she is very advanced in her communication and problem solving skills and loads more. Yes I am bragging but after all those mums showing off about theír fabulous sleepers and how they take their babies along wherever they are going it's my turn!!!L still gets easily OS and OT but I now know I can control this most of the time, she is the only baby in our circle that isn't having a 1st birthday party but I know she needs her naps and sleep to stay on schedule much more than she needs cake and balloons (for this year anyway!)
My biggest advice to mums of spiriteds is make sleep the priority. Ok it's not easy but you can almost hear our LO's brains going 100 mph and the energy they use tearing around the place when they are mobile is crazy they really need their parents in control of making sure they are rested otherwise they will charge on relentlessly! It has been hard refusing invitations and leaving early from places so L can get her sleep but our lives are so much better and stress free now compared to how they were with an OT baby. People always comment on how sociable and happy L is and that's because I remove her before she gets OS.
So wow I have written an essay but I am so passionate about spirited kids now. We may have to work harder but we are the lucky ones that have been chosen to have these special kids. I always notice spiritied babies and kids now, they have a special sparkle about them and an invisible energy that you cant put your finger on but makes them so much fun to be around. I feel like us parents of these children belong to a special club, noone else could understand parenting babies and kids like this and the good really outweighs the challenging, it makes me feel better to think this on NWs lol!! Now when I get comments about L being a handful or hardwork I turn around and say yes its lovely having a child full of energy and enthusiasm for life, I'm really proud she is such a little character and cant wait for all the joy she's going to bring with her lust for life. We are so lucky and lets try and remind each other of that on the challenging days, hugs to you all and your little superstars