I've started questioning my sleep technique with Nathan and after hearing about so many babies sleeping through the night, I am beginning to wonder if I need to impose some sort of sleep training.
In the past week, he's started establishing his own bedtime by completely melting down in the 7 o'clock hour and obviously needing to go to sleep. It's tough because it's still light out but the poor boy is so exhausted for whatever reason that we swaddle him up, say his prayers and put him down.
But also in the past week, he's started waking more throughout the night - around midnight, then 3 am, then 5-6 am. It's exhausting!
Half of me feels like I've been taking Nathan's cues and letting him feed on demand so if he needs to wake up throughout the night, I need to comply. Plus, I wonder if this new routine is just a growth spurt and will pass soon.
But the other half of me wonders if I am misreading the cues or if there is something I could be doing to help us both get more sleep at night. He eats every 2 1/2 -3 hours throughout the day, which also seems a bit frequent, so am I just encouraging that over night, too?
After reading Blue Eyed Bride's blog and hearing her rave reviews for Moms on Call, I ordered the book and am awaiting its arrival to see what the big deal is. Her younger son is only three days older than Nathan and is sleeping 12 hours a night, which is hard to believe for a mom currently getting a max of three consecutive hours of sleep each night (but more like 1-2 if I'm lucky)!
We'll see what I think once I actually read it. In the meantime, I am just waiting for the first cries of the night - Nathan went down at 7 after eating at 6 so it's only a matter of time that he needs to eat again!
UPDATE - It turns out he ended up sleeping for 8 hours that night, letting me sleep until 4 am! Go figure! It's definitely not consistent but I love when that happens!
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4 comments:
Good luck! But keep in mind, BF babies can't sleep as long as FF babies....thinking back to the days of our playgroup being newborns, I am pretty sure evey one of them (that was BF) still needed at least one night feeding until they were well established on solid foods, the FF babies slept all night though. It makes a big difference. Hope you can get some much needed rest soon!
I feel your pain! Lila had that same sleep schedule until I started letting her cry it out around 5 months. I only started that then because she was getting solid foods throughout the day and I knew that she was getting plenty of calories. However, I felt that when she wasn't getting solid foods, I needed to nurse her when she was hungry. You're doing a great job, hang in there, it will get better one day!!
Babywise saved our lives. The schedule they suggest works wonderfully. I feel your pain. I remember feeling like he was never going to sleep through the night! Good luck and would love to see you next time you are in town!
Hi! I am one of Kelly's friends and was just checking out your blog for the first time. Just thought I would share my experience with getting my LO to STTN. At 3 months I was exhausted and fed up so I started to cut how much I gave him at his feedings and tapered down every few nights. I believe at 3 months he was waking up once a night and I felt like he didn't need to be. He was breastfed but I pumped bottles to have at night. I felt like if he had the breast, he was just using it to pacify. At 4 months he started sleeping about 11 hours a night!! It worked great for us, but every baby is different. Also, I am not sure how you feel about giving a bottle...it was a lifesaver for me. Good luck!!
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