The first 2-3 months, our biggest challenge was mastering the art of breastfeeding. I'm happy to say I think now we have that perfected, so on to the new project of sleep training!
Although Abigail has only slept through the night once, it hasn't been a huge issue for me. She usually only wakes up once or twice, and now eats so efficiently I'm back in bed within 20 minutes. However I was getting increasingly concerned about her daytime sleep. Her naps were very sporatic: 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there. These on and off cat naps were making it increasingly difficult for me to get anything done! I would try to put her in her crib for a nap so I could turn the monitor on and move about the house, but she would wake up after about 5 minutes. She would only sleep in her swing or in the car seat on errands. What's wrong with that you say? Again.. each nap was only 15-20 minutes! You try and clean the house, do laundry, take a shower/get dressed, make & eat lunch, make & eat dinner, take a nap, do work online, etc. in 15 minutes! Besides that, Abigail always looked so tired...
My WONDERFUL sister-in-law Brandy suggested a book called, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, which she used to get Ellery on a consistent sleep schedule. I ran out to Barnes & Nobles (2 locations to be exact) last Wednesday with high hopes of better sleep.
The book emphasizes the importance of continuous sleep. Brandy described it to me best in an email:
The first part of the book he talks about the importance of sleep. I totally agreed with him on this part. He argues that a lot of problems kids face are because they are overtired. As parents it is our job to help our kids develop good sleep habits. The rest of the book is divided into age groups. For each phase, he provides information on what the typical amount of sleep needed is, what times babies sleep (did you know the universal nap times for infants are 9am and 1pm?), and suggestions for how to get your baby on that schedule.
I started working on the 9:00 nap time first, and created a sleep log to chart when Abigail's sleepiest times were. I also created a routine that we use at nap times as well as bedtime to prepare Abigail for sleep. The routine looks something like this:
- Take a bath (some nights not every night)
- Lay under crib mobile
- Read Two stories:
Counting Kisses, and Goodnight Moon - Lullaby (my own rendition of Raffi's Goodnight Irene, insert the name Abigail)
- Turn womb sounds bear on
- Off to sleepy-town!
I am so excited that our morning schedule has been consistent over the past FOUR days! Every morning the following happens at the same times:
7:00 - Wake Up
7:30 - Feed
8:45/9:00 - Nap
10:15 - Wake Up
10:30 - Feed
Things tend to go a little less consistent after that, but it's a start! And that nice one hour nap in the morning gives me time to start the day myself - take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, play on computer. It's great!
I'll keep you posted on more sleep training successes and challenges. (I'm sure there are many more to come)
3 comments:
Congratulations! Routine, routine, routine! That's what worked for us. Our kids still sleep with their "rain" music on all night long. I hope you can start to enjoy some "me time" soon!
I really haven't helped you that much. You know what you are doing and have great instincts!
Don't forget sweetie...you need your sleep as well!
Love, Your Mommy! (tee hee..I will always "mother" you and there is nothin' you can do about it!)
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