Sleep. When we have children we know that we are going to lose sleep. Babies wake for feedings at all hours of the night and then you have those times when baby has gotten day and night mixed up. I’m often surprised, and hubby has commented on it numerous times, how well I can function with little to no sleep. I’m also surprised how different one child can be compared to a sibling.
Austin would fall right to sleep in her crib starting at six weeks. Did she sleep all night? No. She’d sleep for a few hours then wake for a feeding. I refused to let her cry herself to sleep so sometimes she would go right back to sleep and be fine in her crib other times she would be in bed with me. She was sleeping through the night by seven months.
Brookland started falling to sleep in her crib at nine weeks. She’s would wake for a feeding and be right back to sleep in her crib. She never slept with me, she wasn’t a cuddly baby. She started sleeping through the night at eight months.
Gauge. Ah, Gauge, our third, and final, baby is the worst sleeper of the three. He has been from early on when he had day and night mixed up and then when he had reflex. I spent most nights up with him sleeping on my chest, and not much has changed in nine months. At five months he started sleeping through the night, it lasted for a couple weeks until he got a chest and ear infection. Then we went back to sleepless nights.
During vacation, he rarely slept. He started to settle back into our old pattern. I knew I had to try something else.
I borrow the book “The No-Cry Sleep Solution” from our local library.
A few things I picked up and tried the first night: attempt to get him to fall asleep in his room, I didn’t want him to fall into a deep sleep in my arms.
How did the first night go? Well…
Halfway into his bottle he fell asleep. To his room we went. The moment his bottom touched the mattress he woke up. I rocked him to sleep. And repeat three times. I gave him the rest of his bottle. And then repeat the sleep/awake pattern.
I sat on his floor with him in my lap and tried to remember what I had read about meditating a few years ago. He literary passed out cold with just two deep breathes from me. Then woke up as I tip toed out of his room. UGH!
Upstairs we went because my butt was sore from the hard floor. He fell back to sleep within minutes. He’s used to hearing the sound of the television playing when he goes to sleep.
Better luck tomorrow night.
How do your little ones sleep? Have you used this book/method?
Sometimes I swear it’s a boy thing. My son didn’t sleep the night until he was just a week shy of turning one (he just turned one Aug 4th). Although now I look back it doesn’t seem that long, but he really was an awful sleeper. We finally got him to fall asleep on his own around 5 months. I would have gladly nursed, rocked, whatever, but he wasn’t having it. Ultimately, I now know that sleep is constantly up and down with babies. I never assume I’ll get a good night sleep. I think my son was able to start sleeping through the night because he was ready and I stopped nursing him in the middle of the night. I offered him water instead (which he was not happy about). Good luck with getting some sleep! I hope you get some soon!
Glad you are getting some sleep. Maybe it is a boy thing! I see a lot of differences between him and the girls already and he’s only nine months. He fell asleep at a decent time last night and, at 6am, is still sleeping. WooHoo! I of course was awake super early, but feeling rested and ready for the day.
You’re doing awesome so glad he fell asleep as you rocked him. I remember sitting on the floor rocking my daughter until my legs cramped up. Motherhood is truly a real job. Thanks for linking up #rattleandroll
Motherhood definitely is a real job, the hardest of them all.:-)