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Saturday, February 09, 2008

Do you hear what I hear

The great sleep experiment begins today.

In our efforts to be good parents, we have inadvertently created something of a monster when it comes to sleep. Jacob loves to sleep, just not alone. On our chests, in our arms, right next to us as we cradle and rock him, fine and dandy. Alone, in his bed? Not so much. Which results in very little sleep for us or for me, actually, and lots of crazy, middle of the night crying/praying jags on my part and much wakefulness on his part. And this is not good for anyone. So, on the advice of some friends of ours with three kids who sleep like clockwork, we are trying the "babywise" approach, which centers on a feed/wake/nap cycle happening every 2 1/2 to 3 hours for awhile until you cut out the middle of the night feedings, and the baby sleeps more or less through the night. The logic here is that babies need to be awake during and after feedings in order to be able to sleep more or less soundly, and they need a regular schedule to alert them to when it's time to sleep. And, most importantly, babies should not rely on "props" to get them to sleep, such as rocking or breast feeding or a swing or a drive since then you are locked into using said props all the time.

This system is supposed to be put into place as of week one, so we are behind the curve with our "old" four week old, but we are hoping his/our bad habits are not too entrenched to reform yet. We tried it today, and Jacob took two naps in his bed. Hurrah! Then I had to go get groceries, forgot my wallet, had to come back home and then start out again and then actually shop for the groceries, and all the while Jacob was asleep in his car seat. Great for me, bad for him and for the new cycle. So now, when he should be very tired after having eaten and had wake time, he is fussy and out of sorts and wants nothing to do with the bed. At present I have him in his swing to get him a little less fussy, and he has protested enough to give himself the hiccups (for a change)....

well, that worked not at all. He has stayed awake for the entire 2 1/2 hour shift and then breast fed a tiny bit just now and put himself asleep. So, I've put him in his bed but have no expectations that he will last long there since he is bound to be hungry for real amounts of food soon. So then we will start the cycle all over again and see if it works tonight.

oh, listen, there he is, making noises already. surprise, surprise....

3 comments:

Scott said...

i haven't read babywise, but it sounds like the book i swear by, at least the methods do. get them on a schedule, teach them how to put themselves to sleep (paci doens't count as a prop in my book) it sits on my night stand nxt to my boM and I think i love it almost as much. my babies are great sleepers and i think it jsut takes work in the begining, you have to teach them EVERYTHING including when they need to sleep/eat. but hang in there, he is really little and it still takes a while for them to learn. keep up all your great work! it is all worth it when they start to sleep longer and longer periods you start to feel a little like a human again! and now, calvin will jsut say, mommy i need a nap and go put himself to bed!!!

Lilita said...

ohmigosh, the day Jacob says I want a nap is the stuff of fantasy! We'll see how this experiment works. He has been really resistant so far and reacted by eating more frequently and sleeping less...it appears I am raising a child as stubborn and contrary as I am!

Scott said...

when i was at your point with calvin I NEVER thougth it would happen either. you will get there! the beinging is hard!