Sleep

Here's the scoop on Calin's recent sleeping habits . . .

When he was a month old I read "On Becoming Baby Wise." It was a little too harsh for me, but I follow many of the basic principles. Since then Calin has been on the Eat, Wake, Sleep routine, and it's worked great. He would eat every 2 1/2 hours (now it's 3-3 1/2 hoping to stretch it to 4 very soon) at the same times every day, and I would wake him up at the same time each morning. He has always been great with naps. I put him down when he's sleepy, but still awake, and he goes to sleep.

Jordan and I had decided we were going to let him "cry it out" at night to break the middle of the night feeding. But we were going to start at 5 months. Obviously we started a month earlier than planned, and it actually worked great. One night after I put him down, I really felt impressed to start his sleep training. So we did. That night when he woke up crying, it was a low soft cry, and he was still asleep. It was totally different from his "I'm hungry" screaming cry. He went back to sleep within 20 min, but this went on every hour or two. Eventually it ended up taking close to 5 days before he slept through the night without waking up crying. I'm sure he still wakes up though cause we lay him one way in his crib, and in the morning he is either sideways, or has done a comple 180.

Last week he was waking up around 5am hungry. So I started him on cereal, and he's been doing much better!

Every night he wakes up crying almost exactly one hour after we put him down. This is the only time we pick him up (many times I think he just needs to burp), we usually pat his back for a couple minutes before he's back asleep till morning. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I think it's the strangest thing.

Also, he has been waking up from his naps after only 45 minutes. In the Babywise book, it says this is a common problem, but usually only lasts up to 2 weeks. Well, he's been doing it way longer! I still leave him in his crib for at least 30 minutes longer, but he only goes back to sleep 1/2 the time. Otherwise he just stays in there playing.

I do really like the book Babywise, and definitely recommend the Eat, Wake, Sleep pattern! I just can't handle letting my baby cry for the amount of time the book says it's ok to. But that's totally just me, and it works for others and their babies start sleeping through the night around 10 weeks.

Oh, but I still haven't adjusted to the whole 'sleep through the night thing' I still wake up every night around 3:30 or 4, and it takes me at least 15 minutes to go back to sleep. I'm hoping this ends soon!

( Nate - I posted this pic just for you. No Big Smile :D haha)