When I was younger I had the wonderful talent of being able to fall asleep anywhere. One of the best places was on our boat under my mom's feet in Lake Powell. People would wonder how I could sleep while it was so bumpy. Like I said it was a gift. As I got older I realized how much I liked sleep. I would try to squeeze in a nap after school before I had to go to work. Needless to say I love to sleep. After marrying me poor Brad came to realize not only do I love to sleep but I am no fun to be around when I don't sleep (a lot of crying and being really emotional and so on).
Well one thing that comes with being a parent is a lack of sleep. I accepted that early on with Ryker. So when I finally felt he was ready to sleep through the night I geared myself up for a lot of sleepless nights, because everyone said it would be hard. So one night when he woke up I went to put his pacifier in and left, he continued to cry and so did I because I felt bad. Half an hour later he was asleep and has slept through the night since.
So for the past 6 months I have been looking forward to the day the twins slept through the night. Well it hasn't happened... Between the two of them we were getting up for feedings ever couple of hours. Remember how I said I am no fun to be around when I am tired. It was starting to wear on me. I decided time for some sleep training. I know how important a night routine is so we have been doing that since they were born. We got ready for bed I kissed them good night and so it began. Now they go to sleep just fine, it is the waking up in the middle of the night we have a hard time with. Later that night when Beckett woke up I went in and gave him his pacifier; he wanted nothing to do with it. Like an article I read said I went in every 15 minutes reassure him, give him his pacifier and leave the room. This lasted from 2:45 to 5:30. It was a really long night.
Well after that it helped I guess... Beckett would fall asleep if I gave him his pacifier however, I was now getting up every half hour to put in someone’s pacifier. Not so great. I don't think my body even remembers how to deep sleep. So I finally decided to go cold turkey, not even go in the room. Beckett got up at 1, I wanted so badly just to go in and give him his pacifier because I knew he would stop. But I stayed strong. Some of you may be judging me, and calling me a terrible mom but they need to learn to sleep and I need to sleep. I woke up every hour and he was still crying, sometimes harder than others, sometimes it was just a little whine. He did this until 5 and I felt horrible...
The next night they slept pretty good and I am hoping it keeps up. The point of this story is I love sleep and if anyone has some good tips I could use send them my way. I have read parts of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" I don't know how I feel about it. What works for you?
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You're not a bad mom! Sometimes when moms talk about sleep training, you get the feeling like they did it and it wasn't even hard. If it doesn't make you feel bad, that would make you a bad mom. As far as I know, cold turkey is really the only way. It doens't feel like it while you're doing it but it will be over soon.
ReplyDeleteI've read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child a few times and still reference it often. I totally advocate the "cold turkey" method. There comes a point when it's clear they aren't waking because they're hungry - they just want you to soothe them back to sleep. That's when you know they're ready to learn to go back to sleep by themselves. While it is a bit sad, it really is good for them and good for mom - because goodness knows we're much happier with continuous sleep.
ReplyDeleteA few things I've learned: Turn off any monitors that you have. Turn on all the bathroom fans and any other white noise you can in your own room to drown the crying out. Since you're not going to go in their room, you don't need to listen to them cry. :) Snuggle on them in the morning and praise them for the courage in learning to sleep on their own. :) You still love them!
Love you! I hope that it gets better. Like I told you, cold turkey was the only thing that worked for me. I second turning on fans and any kind of white noise you can. Go sleep in your storage room.:) It's on the other side of the house.;)Jk. You are a great mom and those kids will be awesome sleepers. You just do what you think is best for them.
ReplyDeleteOh man, this is the worst part! Some advice my sister gave me that worked well for Boston (high maintenance, mama's boy) is to take your shirt off that you've worn all day and lay it down flat in his crib before you lay him down. The baby wakes up, and can probably go without eating, but can't yet go without his mama, and it helped immediately- he would wake up, smell that shirt he was laying on and go back to sleep!!
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