My son is now ten months old and I still have not had a relaxing night of deep sleep since he was born!
Initially, I used to put him in his crib and he would fall asleep on his own. As he got older, I really started to enjoy the quality time we would spend together right before bedtime. Therefore, I willingly created the habit of personally putting him to sleep.
In the beginning, it was sweet. I would cuddle him and he would be asleep within twenty minutes. But lately, it is has been taking him up to 2 hours to fall asleep! Yes, two whole hours of me sitting by him until he finally sleeps. Throughout the night, he also wakes up a few times looking for his pacifier, another habit I willingly developed and am now regretting.
Ironically, on a good night, when my baby is deeply asleep without any interruptions, I still find myself walking to his room, making sure he is covered, and heading back to my bed in total exhaustion.
It seems to be a common habit of mamas to frequently wake up at night and make sure that their child is tucked in under the covers and is soundly asleep. I have heard many mamas complain about how much they miss a night of uninterrupted sleep. Not that their children wake them up, rather, that they cannot seem to break the habit of late night check ups!
It is funny to think that before I became a mama, I used to spend long hours at the office, stay up late to work on a presentation, and wake up extra early to prepare for an important meeting. Yet, I do not remember it being as tiring as my baby’s sleep routine.
Any mama’s with good advice on getting a better night’s sleep?
5 comments:
No good advice here but I can see my son heading down that path, he's 4.5 months and is starting to wake very frequently during the night and sometimes for a long stretch, one of the things I want to do is wean him off the pacifier, especially after reading that you regret getting your son used to it...looking for tips there as well :)
When my first child was nine months old I faced a similar situation; my child simply would not sleep unless I was there assisting in the process. I read a book that I personally would recommend to anyone in this situation called 'Healthy Sleeping Habits Happy Child' by Dr. March Weiussbluth. His method requires not taking your child out of the crib at night, even if they cry. It took a week, and it was a tough week, but it was happy sleeping ever after.
I should just add here that mothers have different styles of parenting. I know many mothers that rather than encourage their child to sleep alone took them into the family bed. That was not for me personally, as I found that also interrupted my precious sleep!
However, regardless the method you choose, after a few years the end result seems to be the same - children who sleep alone!
Dear Nadia,
Thanks for your comment! In regards to your baby, I strongly advise that you do something about his sleeping habits, if they are bothering you. From my experience, the older her gets and the more aware he becomes, the harder it will be to get him used to sleeping alone. You will start to feel guilty because you'll see that he really understands that you left the room. Trust me, it's not an easy feeling for a mama!
As for the pacifier, I have gotten conflicting advice, some say that before he is one year old, it will be too early to wean him as he still needs to self-soothe. Others say: the sooner the better. I guess it really depends on how much you are willing to bear with him.
Good luck :) and keep me posted on what you decide to do. Hopefully by then I will have a success story with my baby's sleep routine.
Hi Leena,
I actually heard about this book and will definitely get it now that you strongly recommend it.
Like you, I want my baby to be able to sleep alone "in his crib". I found that the more I am around him in his room, the more he wakes up to make sure I am still there!
I will be trying out the method you are referring to and will keep you posted.
Thanks for your comment and I hope you regularly visit my blog. It is nice to hear from other mamas.
Thank you, I will :) I think your situation might have something to do with the fact that he now has object permanence, he knows you are in the next room whereas he wouldn't have known before...I read that many babies can have relapses in their sleep habits at this point. I'm going to buy the baby whisperer by Tracy Hogg...it has been highly recommended to me
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