The Official DEC. 08 SLEEP THREAD! - Page 2

[em123]

After I posted in this thread I got to thinking that my LO was waking a lot...which is silly I know. So I read this article about how babies sleep how you expect them to. I know, stupid, but I was like OK, baby, sleep 6 hours, you can do it, in my head of course. So lo and behold it worked! Amazing, great, he slept 8-2, then 3 to 7:30. Rock on. But notice, I'm up for an hour getting him back to sleep...

Well....I did it again for two more nights in a row (all this mental work is hard, lol) and he slept 6 hours both nights but then he was waking up and was ready to start the day at 2 AM! This is not good for my sanity.

So the next night I thought: wake up at 11 baby! Come on! AND HE DID! (And no, I did not think this while banging pots together or anything like that). So anyway, he woke at 11, ate on just 1 side for 8 minutes, slept until 2, nursed the other side for 13 minutes, and went instantly back asleep until 6:30. I'm a much happier mommy getting up twice for around 10 minutes then getting up once for an hour or more.

IN CONCLUSION: don't mess with what works for your baby just because other people's babies are sleeping through the night. Also, don't doubt the power of suggestion

[rebecca03]

LOL em! I'm going to try that, so maybe DD can go to bed at a normal hour! She fell asleep at 3am this morning I feel awful that her sleeping hours are all out of whack.

[ChesapeakeBorn]

Originally Posted by em123

After I posted in this thread I got to thinking that my LO was waking a lot...which is silly I know. So I read this article about how babies sleep how you expect them to. I know, stupid, but I was like OK, baby, sleep 6 hours, you can do it, in my head of course. So lo and behold it worked! Amazing, great, he slept 8-2, then 3 to 7:30. Rock on. But notice, I'm up for an hour getting him back to sleep...

Well....I did it again for two more nights in a row (all this mental work is hard, lol) and he slept 6 hours both nights but then he was waking up and was ready to start the day at 2 AM! This is not good for my sanity.

So the next night I thought: wake up at 11 baby! Come on! AND HE DID! (And no, I did not think this while banging pots together or anything like that). So anyway, he woke at 11, ate on just 1 side for 8 minutes, slept until 2, nursed the other side for 13 minutes, and went instantly back asleep until 6:30. I'm a much happier mommy getting up twice for around 10 minutes then getting up once for an hour or more.

IN CONCLUSION: don't mess with what works for your baby just because other people's babies are sleeping through the night. Also, don't doubt the power of suggestion

I totally remember this happening with my daughter! If I happened to think about her waking up, she'd wake up! I really think that babies and mamas are connected like that. Ever read Mutant Message Down Under? Aborigines are in tune with their ability to communicate telepathically. I think we must all be born with it, but in our modern society it doesn't manifest itself often... except when it comes to mamas and their sleeping babies, lol.

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On another note, does any one else's babe cycle through a few days of sleeping well followed by a few days of sleeping poorly then back to sleeping well again etc etc etc? DS obviously has the ability to sleep through the night (w/ 1 waking). Makes me really think that, at least in our case, these less than ideal sleeping patterns are natural.

[LeaAline]

This thread is just what I have been looking for and I'm glad to see some familiar mama's here from our DDC. I'm so exhausted with DS's frequent wakings and so torn about what to do about it (or not). Maybe I just need some otha motha's to chat with!

1. When is your baby's birthday? 12/07/08
2. When is your baby's bedtime? When is she/he up for the morning? Bedtime 7:30 (start at 7) Wake time: 6-7 am
3. How does your baby fall asleep at bedtime? Middle of the night? Bedtime routine: Bath or wash-up, Nurse, Read 2 books, lights out, quiet play on bed with occasional drive-by nursing until 7:30, put him in crib, usually asleep by 7:35 after talking to himself for a while.
During the night, nursing is what works, I'd like for someone else (dh, grandma) to be able to comfort him back to sleep, but without nursing he won't go back to sleep. With nursing he doesn't even open his eyes, just cries and stands up in his crib until I pick him up then nurses 8-10 minutes and I can usually put him back in his crib. However, if I'm exhausted (as I usually am after working 6a-6:30p) sometimes we fall asleep nursing and he sleeps with me until I wake up and think, "Huh, I wonder how he got here." then I can sometimes put him back in his crib, other times he wakes up, nurses again, and then I can put him back. Other times, he insists on sleeping with me and that's fine too.

4. How many times does your LO wake at night? Well, this is the thing... from2-4 months, he slept through the night (so wonderful!), now he wakes at 10, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

5. How many naps does your baby take and when are they? Usually takes 2 unless our plans for the day interfere (like we're out and about etc.) 11 ish and 3 ish. Total of about 3 hours give or take.

6. Does your LO have a sleep aid, like a lovey or a pacifier? Takes a paci when settling, but spits it out when he falls asleep. Has lots of blankets, musical toys, stuffed animals to love, but none that he particularly attaches himself to. I've tried, but he doesn't seem to care, he likes his mama.

7. Where does baby sleep? Mostly his crib, sometimes my bed, (I'd say 50:50)sleeps well in the carseat when we're out and about.

8. Have you done any "sleep training" with your baby? (e.g. Ferber Method, No Cry Sleep Solution, etc.) I've read through about 10 books on the topic, tried some suggestions from NCSS.

[ChesapeakeBorn]

Thought I'd dig this thread up and see how everyone is doing. We have hit a MAJOR sleep regression.

Yes, he has hit some major developmental milestones recently, with more right around the corner, and maybe his molars are starting to work their way in, but I would like to find a way to work through this.

It used to be that he would need to nurse once or twice a night. I'd nurse him in the chair in his room and when he was finished, he would sleepily push away from me, I'd put him back in his crib, and he'd roll over and go right back to sleep. (He slept with us until about 6 months, but then DH's snoring and snooze-buttoning kept waking DS up.) Now, he panics when I lay him down in the crib, but nothing traumatic ever happened. If he is asleep, he wakes right up and screams. So strange. Sometimes rubbing his back will work, often not. This happens several times a night now and has been going on for 2 weeks. Has anyone else dealt with something similar at this stage? Did it pass? This phase is short in the grand scheme of things so I am cherishing every moment while he is still a baby (nearly toddler!), but it would be nice to figure out what is going on and how to help him through it.

[JessieBird]

1. When is your baby's birthday?
November 30 (hope this counts! my DD was in Dec and I was in a Dec DD club so I always forget that I actually have a November baby!)

2. When is your baby's bedtime? When is she/he up for the morning?
On average, DH passes out between 6 and 6:30 pm, sometimes earlier, occasionally he gets a second wind after bathtime and stays up full of beans till 7:30 or 8. Since he's always in a great mood when this happens we just let him stay up till he shows sleepy signs. He is up for the morning between 6:30 and 7:00 am.

3. How does your baby fall asleep at bedtime? Middle of the night?
For the last four months, he has nursed then I put him in a play pen in our room awake. He self-soothes to sleep quickly. Lately however, he has cried when I go to put him down so he has fallen asleep on my chest then I transfer him to the p'n'p. In the middle of the night, he falls asleep again easily right after nursing.

4. How many times does your LO wake at night?
We dream feed at 9 or 10 when I go to bed and bring him into bed with us. He then wakes to nurse at 2 and 4:30. Sometimes also 5:30.

5. How many naps does your baby take and when are they?
When he's at home, he naps from about 9-10:30 am and 1-2:30 pm, sometimes more sometimes less but always 2 naps. When he's at daycare, he gets just one nap 12:00- 2:00 or so.

6. Does your LO have a sleep aid, like a lovey or a pacifier?
Two pacifiers which he passes from hand to hand and sucks. It is more of a hand thing than a sucking thing if that makes sense. Something to focus on and a way to block out the rest of the world I think.

7. Where does baby sleep?
Naps and first part of the night are in a pack'n'play. Then he's in bed with DH and I. Now that he's getting older and can safely get off the bed by himself, I think the pack'n'play's days may be numbered.

8. Have you done any "sleep training" with your baby? (e.g. Ferber Method, No Cry Sleep Solution, etc.)
Nope. I tried to read the Baby Whisperer once and it made me so mad that I vowed never to pick up another sleep book. I did read The Happiest Baby on the Block when I was pregnant but found it pretty common sense and benign. I'd say that everything we do is based on instinct and trial and error. But we have a super easy sleeper so we've never felt desperate for help or training of any kind.

[MujerMamaMismo]

1. When is your baby's birthday?
December 21st

2. When is your baby's bedtime? When is she/he up for the morning?
Anytime between 7.30 and 9.30. He wakes up about 7.30 - sometimes a little later.

3. How does your baby fall asleep at bedtime? Middle of the night?Nursing. Only nursing.

4. How many times does your LO wake at night?
On a good night, it's 3 times. Most nights it's 7+.

5. How many naps does your baby take and when are they?
2, sometimes 3. Usually around 11 and 2. Occasionally he sneaks a 5 o'clocker in as well. He never naps for longer than an hour. Often it's half an hour.

6. Does your LO have a sleep aid, like a lovey or a pacifier?I wish! I've tried.

7. Where does baby sleep?
We've recently put him on a mattress next to our bed with the suspicion that it's the boob that wakes him up. His sleep is getting better, I think. He comes into our bed at about 6am. I often fall asleep on the mattress and wake up 2 hours later!

8. Have you done any "sleep training" with your baby? (e.g. Ferber Method, No Cry Sleep Solution, etc.)
No but if the sleeping hasn't improved significantly by March, then we may look at using Jay Gordon's method of (partial) night weaning.

How are the rest of you going? Can you believe our babies are turning 1??!!!

[Swandira]

How are the rest of you going? Can you believe our babies are turning 1??!!!

It's going alright, but Odin is sleeping even less reliably now. He's up several times a night to nurse. I'm not really fighting it, but not particularly excited about it either.

And, no, I can't believe he's 1 now! He's so freakin' cute, though. He's the least chatty baby I've had, so I feel like he's staying my baby for a little longer. It's a good thing, because he's the end of the line for us. I think my DH would be lobbying for more kids if we had family in town to help us out, but we don't and almost certainly aren't going to, so we're done. Hooray for not being pregnant anymore, ever!

So, for those of you who (like me) celebrate gift-giving holidays this time of year, what are your new toddlers getting this year? And what did you give them for their birthdays, if you do birthday presents?

For his birthday, we gave Odin some board books to replace several icky ones previously chewed up by the older kids and a set of those egg-shaped toddler markers for scribbling. For Xmas he's getting a Big O Ball (http://www.amazon.com/Rhino-Toys-106...0939203&sr=8-3) -- 'cause we call him "Big O" and he loves those balls -- and a copy of Hand Hand Fingers Thumb to replace one that got eaten by an older sibling. He'll also probably get a pair of Robeez Booties for toasty-toes purposes. I still don't have a plan for his stocking yet, though.

Nealy
mama to Thales, 12/02, Lydia, 2/06, and Odin, 12/08