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Going to sleep early alone OR sleeing through the night

548 views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  CalBearMama 
#1 ·
We have noticed a pattern with DS that I haven't read about anywhere else and am wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experience.

DS is almost 5 months old and has slept with us since week 1. Usually he sleeps for 3-4 hour stretches, with the occasional 5 or 6 hour sttn (although I think he's done that 3 times total).

Anyway, he has also been letting us know he is ready for sleep earlier in the night--around 7:15-7:30 so we've been starting the bedtime routine around 7 and by 8 he is usually sound asleep in our bed. Between 8 and 10 he will stir and cry out maybe twice--I go to him immediately and nurse him back down. We go to bed around 10 (sometimes I will get in bed and read at 9--just lying next to him) and then he moves and roots around every 1-2 hours wanting to nurse for the rest of the night.

Now if we don't do the going to sleep in our bed before us thing, and instead I nurse him down and just hold him from 8-10 (while watching tv usually), then he will generally sleep for much longer stretches at night.

I'm assuming this must have something to do with how he wakes up during that first "brief awakening" after he goes to bed. Maybe it sets a precident for the rest of the night?

So right now it looks like I am having to choose between more solid sleep hours OR having a couple of hours in the evening to get things done, hang with DH, etc. I guess I'm ok with that, but I'm wondering if anyone else had this experience and if so, what did you do? When did you get to a point where you could put your lo to bed ahead of you and still get some solid sleep??
 
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#2 ·
Is he actually nursing more before bed if he stays up with you instead of going down alone - because that could be why he is he STTN (as he has a much more full tummy) rather than grazing all night.
I think - do what works for you (maybe a bit of both - pick and choose your nights? hehe) - but I also would just advice that you encourage night time feeding if/ever he has a nursing strike as that (co sleeping and breastfeeding through the night) will save your nursing relationship. (not many people know about nursing strikes - but this is MDC! hehe - so thats the only reason I mention that! hehe)
 
#3 ·
DD did this until she was 10 months or so. I just went with the flow and encouraged her cluster nurse while I sat on the couch with DH, watched TV, surfed the web, etc. If I waited until she was done cluster feeding around 10:30, then I could count on a good 5 straight hours of sleep.

This too is a short phase. Enjoy it while you can.
 
#4 ·
No I think he nurses about the same whether he falls asleep in bed or in my arms. And actually he may nurse less when he falls asleep with me as he just nurses when he goes down initially and then again when we get into bed. If I put him in the bed without me he wakes and wants to nurse again at least once, sometimes twice and then again when I get in bed. It really seems like most of the night waking/nursings are more for comfort and to go back to sleep than for eating--although usually the feeding at around 3 am is longer and seems to sustain him for a longer period (2-3 hours instead of 1-2).
 
#6 ·
Maybe your baby is waking up for more connection and cuddling during the night if you put him down and leave him alone for a few hours versus getting that cuddling connection if you hold him for those few hours before bed?

I know a lot of times Sears reccommends lots of holding and cuddling in the day if your child is waking up a lot at night to comfort nurse. I have seen this myself since I started putting DD to bed by herself around 7. It seems like she wakes more often in the night for nursing and I think this could be the cause. I like having a few hours in the evening to chill out though so I don't mind waking up to nurse her a few times in the night (yet!) THis is just my own personal theory for my DD though, Im not sure if it applies to your DS or not.]

Eta: my dd is 3 mos old.
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by annemoonstar View Post
Thanks SeekingJoy. What happened when your dd was 10 mos old? Did she eventually start being ok with going to sleep ahead of you?
Lol. Kinda. Teething got really serious for her and her sleep became awful. Since, it has switched between great and terrible. I think she is the slowest teether ever. Each one takes weeks of swelling, bleeding and crankiness.
 
#8 ·
I find that when my baby (7 months) is more tired from a long day, he will sleep longer stretches and not awaken so easily during the night. So perhaps when you're holding the baby and watching TV from 8 to 10, he's not sleeping well (because of the lights, noise, etc.), and then when you go to bed he just conks out because he's more tired.

Personally, after having read "Sleepless in America," I am trying to make it a priority to act on my kids' sleep cues and get them into bed when they are tired, so they get enough sleep and don't get overtired. So I would vote for putting the baby to bed between 7 and 8. One other thing that may help your baby sleep for longer stretches is to try pottying him (EC). When I put my baby to sleep, he nurses so much that he generally wakes up about an hour later needing to pee. I potty him, nurse him again very briefly (he's not really hungry - just needs to get back to sleep), and then he generally sleeps a pretty long stretch after that (3-5 hours). I don't necessarily potty him at every waking the rest of the night (I like my nice warm bed too much), but if he starts waking repeatedly and I feel like I'm not getting any sleep anyway, I do get up and potty him, and again, he generally goes back to sleep for another long stretch.
 
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