As the mother of any 6 month old out there in the world we are figuring out the sleeping thing. I think we are getting close. As I mentioned earlier, my pediatrician said that if Gwen is waking in the night it's because of habit and not hunger. His suggestion to me was to let her cry it out and not go in there at all. Well... I wasn't satisfied with that and with all due respect he's not living in my house right now so... I've been researching what I feel is the best solution for Gwen. I've got the "No-cry sleep solution" book on the side table beside me and I've also been reading other things and looking online. What I've come to the conclusion of is that every mother must make decisions for her own baby based on her personality and desires and the child's personality. That's number uno reason I think it really helps to be mature when having a baby. I mean, this job is not for the selfish, ya know? (even though I am sometimes) I remember when I was struggling with breastfeeding in the hospital so much and in came a nurse that said "she is the most laid back baby I've ever seen in my life." If looks could have killed she probably wouldn't be around. I mean, who likes hearing something like that when it's not a viable solution to a problem? Anyway, off the subject... these are the things we are doing with little Gwen. (in case anyone is interested)
* I want Gwen to sleep in the crib. I'm not comfortable with her in the bed with me for several reasons.
* I have been watching her carefully and when she seems tired and rubs her eyes I bring her upstairs and lay her down in the crib awake for naps and for bedtime. I cover her, tell her I love her, and leave the room. Many evenings at around 8pm you can find Ben and I cowering outside of her room whispering to one another and waiting for the silence. She sometimes fusses a little, but usually not an all out war cry. She has gotten better about knowing that her crib is for sleeping.
* I didn't realize it before, but Gwen in technically "sleeping through the night" (longer than a 5 hr stretch) even though she wakes anywhere from 1 to 2 times a night. When she wakes I give her a minute to see if she will go back to sleep and if not I go to her and feed her. I figure she may need some comfort food or something. I'm ok with that as long as she goes back to sleep soon afterward. Sometimes she doesn't fall back asleep directly. I have been recently putting her back in her crib and letting her cry a bit and going back in to reassure her of my faithfulness to her. :)
* Gwen sleeps on her stomach. She always has really. I'm ok with that too. She also sleeps with a blanket on her legs. I'm ok with that too.
* Our nightly routine consists of feeding a solid food to her around dinner time and then she watches Ben play Wii fit or something and then we take her up and give her a warm bath and lotion her up. Then Ben reads several books to her and then she nurses. After she gets burped she gets put into the crib and Ben and I crouch outside her door and peek around the door frame at her. The other night Ben walks in because she is all quiet and he notices in the darkness that she has her eyes open. He bolts out of there like he's been burned by a hot poker! Ha!
* So, in conclusion... I think I'm ok for now. Even though she's waking in the night sometimes, it's not too bad and I think I'm giving her ample opportunity to decide to sleep on through if she wants. I think that time will eventually come.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I think you're doing fine too! My pediatrician told me that at 6 months, a breastfed baby might still be waking for hunger, but at 9 it's just a habit. When Caleb was still a baby, maybe around Annalise's age or a little bigger, I was still trying to get him to settle down on his own. We had this little game we played where Rob and I would stand by his crib and say, "It would be SOOOOOOO cute if you would lay down!" and he's lay down, so we'd both say, "That is SOOOOOOO cute!" and he'd lay there are grin really big.
BTW, that No Cry Sleep Solution book has super advice for starting off right with a newborn. I really credit it for helping me get Annalise off to a better start in that department than Caleb did.
Post a Comment