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Poor Quinn. He just doesn't know how to behave when he's tired/hasn't had enough sleep.
For most of his life he's been put to bed before it's too late, given the chance to nap when he's needed it. I've avoided sports, camps, classes, etc - if it interfered with a good bedtime and/or naptim for him. So really, the only chances he's ever had to get tired were while we are on vacation.
Then comes this summer. We've been much more flexible with the sleeping thing. Going to bed late seems to have become the norm and not the exception.
This would be fine - if he'd sleep in. Or if he'd fall asleep during "rest time".
Instead I find him in his room at 5:45 reading by the light of his window and trying to fool me into thinking he's sleeping until 6:30, like I asked of him. Or reading during a much needed naptime (like when he was up 'til midnight and up at 6am).
I know a lot of parents have this problem in reverse - their kids will stay up later reading with a flashlight under the covers. At night is the only time he'll fall asleep easily. But then when he wakes up to use the bathroom in the early morning - he refuses to let himself fall back asleep!
So it should come as no surprise to me that he's been tired, crabby, cranky, whatever. I'm tired of using that excuse for him - but that's what it is. The kid is not getting enough sleep. I'd hate to go back to our school-year bedtime for the summer - there's so much fun to be had after dinner. Of course, I'm also hating his new disposition.
If only he'd sleep in. Tonight I'm taking all the books out of his room.
I'm such a mean mom.
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2011
Friday, April 18, 2008
Trying to fall asleep haiku
I should be sleeping
Counting syllables instead
one, two, three, four, five
This one seems to work
Hopefully I can sleep now
Goodnight everyone!
For more Haiku Fun
Visit Jennifer right here
Have a good weekend!
Counting syllables instead
one, two, three, four, five
This one seems to work
Hopefully I can sleep now
Goodnight everyone!
For more Haiku Fun
Visit Jennifer right here
Have a good weekend!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Rooms by the Hour
A few weekends ago Mike and I went out by ourselves (we left in the afternoon) and had big plans of shopping (for the playsystem), and going out to eat. We got in the car and really wished we could find a hotel that rents by the hour. So We Could Sleep. Oh - a nap would have been so nice.
Friday I had a doctors appointment so took a half day off of work. I got in the car and had about an hour to kill before my appointment and really wished I could find a hotel that charged by the hour. So. I. Could. Sleep. (going home wasn't an option, the babysitter (Grandma!) was here, it was close to naptime, and me coming home would have really messed that whole process up) So...I went to a bookstore and read this.
Friday I had a doctors appointment so took a half day off of work. I got in the car and had about an hour to kill before my appointment and really wished I could find a hotel that charged by the hour. So. I. Could. Sleep. (going home wasn't an option, the babysitter (Grandma!) was here, it was close to naptime, and me coming home would have really messed that whole process up) So...I went to a bookstore and read this.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Monsters
Sometimes after I feed Liam early in the morning he decides to not go right to sleep and cries for awhile. This morning was one of those times. During his crying Quinn woke up, of course, to go potty and we had the following conversation:
Q - Liam wants to wake up.
M - I know, but it's too early, so he needs to go back to sleep.
Q - Maybe there's monsters in his room.
M - There's no monsters in our house.
Q - Maybe someone made some noise.
M - Maybe.
Q - Liam woke me up.
M - Yeah. I'm sorry. He'll stop crying soon.
Q - Are the monsters in my room?
M - No. There are no monsters in our house. You are going to be nice and safe and comfy.
Q - Safe and comfy? Okay.
Lately Quinn's been have a little trouble falling asleep. He talks of monsters and tells me not to make noise after I tuck him in. He's okay if I tell him what I'm going to be doing. (Usually dishes, so I'll say, "But I have to do the dishes before I go to bed, so you'll probably hear the water running.") The other night I had to cut up veggies to bring to work. After about 10 minutes of chopping I heard Quinn crying hystrically in his room. Different type of noise he wasn't used to - I had to go and explain it to him. Then he was okay and eventually went to sleep. I'm thinking this phase is normal and I know he could be way worse about it and insist on sleeping with us. It's just the midnight trips to the bathroom and the early morning trips to the bathroom usually involve a conversation about monsters, noise, or whatever he was dreaming about. Once he told me to make his bed stop going up and down - that one freaked me out just a little. The other night I had to "take all the bees out" of his room for him. Poor guy.
Maybe I should start telling him that Maggie will chase away the monsters, bees, and whatever else it is. But that might not be too comforting considering this is the norm for Maggie...
Friday, December 28, 2007
5am Haiku
Liam calls for me
It's hard to get out of bed
It's just way too cold
5am feeding
His warm body in my arms
I truly love this
5am feeding
Just me and my sweet baby
The house is quiet
5am feeding
I sleep with him in my arms
Everything seems right
It's hard to get out of bed
It's just way too cold
5am feeding
His warm body in my arms
I truly love this
5am feeding
Just me and my sweet baby
The house is quiet
5am feeding
I sleep with him in my arms
Everything seems right
Saturday, December 15, 2007
My Babies, They Sleep
I write this now at 6:15am. Liam just nursed for a bit and drifted back off to sleep. He'll probably sleep until 8am, when I'll wake him for the day. Quinn woke up earlier to use the toilet and then went back to bed. He'll probably sleep until 7am when his music comes on. Liam went to bed last night around 7pm and Quinn 7:30. It wasn't always like this. After many many weeks of Liam not sleeping through the night, Quinn getting out of bed over and over again at night, Quinn waking up too early in the morning to pee, and Mike and I close to losing all sanity we took charge of the situation.
We started with Quinn. A set of rules are taped on his door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quinn's Naptime Rules
1. Quinn will go potty.
2. Mommy, or Daddy, or Grandma Edie will tuck Quinn in.
3. Quinn will stay in bed and go to sleep.
If Quinn stays in bed and goes to sleep he gets a sticker and a popcycle.
If Quinn gets out of bed No sticker and No popcycle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quinn's Bedtime Rules
1. Quinn will go potty.
2. Mommy or Daddy will tuck Quinn in.
3. Quinn will stay in bed and go to sleep until morning.
If Quinn stays in bed and goes to sleep he gets a sticker to add to his square.
If Quinn gets out of bed No sticker and No orange juice.
4. Quinn can go potty 1 time in the early morning.
5. Quinn will get back in bed and go to sleep.
6. Quinn will wait by himself for his music to come on.
If Quinn waits by himself for his music he gets another sticker to add to his square.
~~~~~~~~~~~
He reads these himself before naptime and bedtime. And they are wonderful. In the morning all I have to say is, "the rules say Quinn will get back in bed" and he does. There are times when he doesn't follow the rules, but then he doesn't get the reward. He has a large square made up of mini-squares that he tries to fill up with stickers. Each time he fills a square he gets a Special! Surprise! Sometimes it's a trip to Dunkin Donuts, sometimes it's a new book, or Potato Head parts...
Since we've started these rules bedtime and naptime has become much easier and less stressful for both us and Quinn.
And then we worked on Liam. Oh, my little Liam. Even though we "sleep trained" Quinn using the methods suggested by Dr. Weissbluth I didn't enjoy the process with Quinn so I did some more reading while pregnant to try to avoid that situation. If you've never read Weissbluth's book I do recommend reading it - he does a great job of explaining how much babies need to sleep and how often they should be sleeping. Unfortunately, he also makes it seem as thought it's Your Fault if your baby cannot fall alseep by himself. What I took away from that book is that we held Quinn too much while he was sleeping and never gave him the chance to fall asleep on his own when he was a newborn. So, when he turned 4 months old he refused to be put down and would wake up from a nice deep sleep and scream. Which resulted in us holding him and walking with him some more. It made sense that it was our fault - we always held him, our first born. To prevent that with Liam I read The No Cry Sleep Solution. If you've ever let your baby cry themselves to sleep and want to feel oh so guilty about it I highly recommend this book. The author seems to be on a high horse and really lays it on thick with how horrible it is to let your baby cry. Nice. But, I was looking for suggestions that didn't require letting this new baby cry so I read on. Her and Weissbluth agreed on many aspects of baby sleep - the importance and the frequency. Also, she suggested (like Weisbluth) that you put your baby down when he's drowsy but awake and allow him to fall asleep on his own. And so once little Liam was born I tried that. Many times. As often as I could. And he didn't go for it at all. He required to be completely asleep before being put down and my instincts told me to just hold him. So I did. As he got older I would try other methods from the No Cry book - and they didn't seem to work so I went back to just holding him or nursing him to sleep. And then 5 months came along and he still wasn't sleeping for more than 4 hours at night and I knew we had to do something. I was losing it, barely able to hold it together. So we "sleep trained" Liam. It was even harder with Liam for a number of reasons - I've read more of the opposite view, Liam's probably my last baby, he had so many issues his first two months, and well, he has a very strong personality which means it took a few more nights. Even now, over a month later, he still wakes up once in awhile in the middle of the night and will cry for 5 minutes or so. I really didn't want to have to let him cry it out - but I didn't seem to have a choice. After months of close to no sleep the option of going in and comforting without feeding just wouldn't work for us. Maybe it works for those super-moms who seem to be able to handle everything, but not for us. And so now my baby sleeps. 6:30 until at least 5am and then some more 'til 8am. And I live with the guilt of spending a total of 10 nights listening to one or another of my babies cry.
We started with Quinn. A set of rules are taped on his door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quinn's Naptime Rules
1. Quinn will go potty.
2. Mommy, or Daddy, or Grandma Edie will tuck Quinn in.
3. Quinn will stay in bed and go to sleep.
If Quinn stays in bed and goes to sleep he gets a sticker and a popcycle.
If Quinn gets out of bed No sticker and No popcycle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quinn's Bedtime Rules
1. Quinn will go potty.
2. Mommy or Daddy will tuck Quinn in.
3. Quinn will stay in bed and go to sleep until morning.
If Quinn stays in bed and goes to sleep he gets a sticker to add to his square.
If Quinn gets out of bed No sticker and No orange juice.
4. Quinn can go potty 1 time in the early morning.
5. Quinn will get back in bed and go to sleep.
6. Quinn will wait by himself for his music to come on.
If Quinn waits by himself for his music he gets another sticker to add to his square.
~~~~~~~~~~~
He reads these himself before naptime and bedtime. And they are wonderful. In the morning all I have to say is, "the rules say Quinn will get back in bed" and he does. There are times when he doesn't follow the rules, but then he doesn't get the reward. He has a large square made up of mini-squares that he tries to fill up with stickers. Each time he fills a square he gets a Special! Surprise! Sometimes it's a trip to Dunkin Donuts, sometimes it's a new book, or Potato Head parts...
Since we've started these rules bedtime and naptime has become much easier and less stressful for both us and Quinn.
And then we worked on Liam. Oh, my little Liam. Even though we "sleep trained" Quinn using the methods suggested by Dr. Weissbluth I didn't enjoy the process with Quinn so I did some more reading while pregnant to try to avoid that situation. If you've never read Weissbluth's book I do recommend reading it - he does a great job of explaining how much babies need to sleep and how often they should be sleeping. Unfortunately, he also makes it seem as thought it's Your Fault if your baby cannot fall alseep by himself. What I took away from that book is that we held Quinn too much while he was sleeping and never gave him the chance to fall asleep on his own when he was a newborn. So, when he turned 4 months old he refused to be put down and would wake up from a nice deep sleep and scream. Which resulted in us holding him and walking with him some more. It made sense that it was our fault - we always held him, our first born. To prevent that with Liam I read The No Cry Sleep Solution. If you've ever let your baby cry themselves to sleep and want to feel oh so guilty about it I highly recommend this book. The author seems to be on a high horse and really lays it on thick with how horrible it is to let your baby cry. Nice. But, I was looking for suggestions that didn't require letting this new baby cry so I read on. Her and Weissbluth agreed on many aspects of baby sleep - the importance and the frequency. Also, she suggested (like Weisbluth) that you put your baby down when he's drowsy but awake and allow him to fall asleep on his own. And so once little Liam was born I tried that. Many times. As often as I could. And he didn't go for it at all. He required to be completely asleep before being put down and my instincts told me to just hold him. So I did. As he got older I would try other methods from the No Cry book - and they didn't seem to work so I went back to just holding him or nursing him to sleep. And then 5 months came along and he still wasn't sleeping for more than 4 hours at night and I knew we had to do something. I was losing it, barely able to hold it together. So we "sleep trained" Liam. It was even harder with Liam for a number of reasons - I've read more of the opposite view, Liam's probably my last baby, he had so many issues his first two months, and well, he has a very strong personality which means it took a few more nights. Even now, over a month later, he still wakes up once in awhile in the middle of the night and will cry for 5 minutes or so. I really didn't want to have to let him cry it out - but I didn't seem to have a choice. After months of close to no sleep the option of going in and comforting without feeding just wouldn't work for us. Maybe it works for those super-moms who seem to be able to handle everything, but not for us. And so now my baby sleeps. 6:30 until at least 5am and then some more 'til 8am. And I live with the guilt of spending a total of 10 nights listening to one or another of my babies cry.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Now What?
Both boys are still sleeping. It's been 90 minutes for Liam (a miracle) and an hour for Quinn (pretty normal). I've switched the laundry, cleaned the living room, sorted through some toys of Quinn's (good bye happy meal toys), and checked up in the blog world. I'd like to go lay down now for a short little nap myself, but I know, I know, one of them will wake up the minute I get comfy and cozy in my bed.
*********
Right as I clicked the laptop shut, Liam started cooing, let me know he was ready to get up. And as I was changing his diaper - Quinn came smiling into the room. That's okay, though. The boys had a quick snack (popcycle for Quinn - milk for Liam) and we headed out to "The Castle" - think Chuck E. Cheese's - just not as well known.
*********
Like the stars? I stole that idea from Jennifer. She uses them within one post when switching topics. I like it. I'll be using it to, unless of course, I receive a notification of copyright infringement.
**********
This morning we took the boys to Picture People to have Liam's 6 month pictures taken and a few of the two of them all dressed up for Christmas. I just got back from viewing the pictures and they turned out way better than I thought. Liam really still does not like new situations and was very stingy with his smiles. But, unlike his 3-month pictures, where he gave no good smiles and plenty of cries - this time he had a large variety of expressions - from a goofy tongue smile to a full out cry and every expression inbetween. I was able to pick a few good ones - and speaking of picking - little Liam had a little bugger that was so obvious in all the close ups - I paid an extra $5 to have them fix it up on the close up print, but now when I look at the other I swear I can see it, but Mike thinks I'm nuts.
************
When I blog at night I tend to ramble, so I think it's best if I just say Good Night to you all.
*********
Right as I clicked the laptop shut, Liam started cooing, let me know he was ready to get up. And as I was changing his diaper - Quinn came smiling into the room. That's okay, though. The boys had a quick snack (popcycle for Quinn - milk for Liam) and we headed out to "The Castle" - think Chuck E. Cheese's - just not as well known.
*********
Like the stars? I stole that idea from Jennifer. She uses them within one post when switching topics. I like it. I'll be using it to, unless of course, I receive a notification of copyright infringement.
**********
This morning we took the boys to Picture People to have Liam's 6 month pictures taken and a few of the two of them all dressed up for Christmas. I just got back from viewing the pictures and they turned out way better than I thought. Liam really still does not like new situations and was very stingy with his smiles. But, unlike his 3-month pictures, where he gave no good smiles and plenty of cries - this time he had a large variety of expressions - from a goofy tongue smile to a full out cry and every expression inbetween. I was able to pick a few good ones - and speaking of picking - little Liam had a little bugger that was so obvious in all the close ups - I paid an extra $5 to have them fix it up on the close up print, but now when I look at the other I swear I can see it, but Mike thinks I'm nuts.
************
When I blog at night I tend to ramble, so I think it's best if I just say Good Night to you all.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Still Waiting...
Though we did go to the dentist yesterday and he did great!
Will post pictures soon...
(Can you tell I'm getting tired of blogging for this NaBloPoMo??? That and These Boys are wearing me out - I think Liam's teething and choosing to handle the pain by Not Sleeping. As in, he slept for a total of 50 minutes All Day.)
Will post pictures soon...
(Can you tell I'm getting tired of blogging for this NaBloPoMo??? That and These Boys are wearing me out - I think Liam's teething and choosing to handle the pain by Not Sleeping. As in, he slept for a total of 50 minutes All Day.)
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Longest Trip to McDonalds
With Mike gone for the weekend and Liam needing a short nap around dinner time and I needing not to listen to him cry while I try to get him to sleep for the nap he fights the hardest a decision needed to be made. I did what any desparate mom would do. I packed up the boys in the car and drove to McDonalds. Of course, McDonalds is only five minutes from our house - not enough of a drive for Liam to catch a quick nap, so I drove south on the expressway for 20 minutes then north again, finally getting to the McDonalds 45 minutes later. Liam did sleep (thank God) and woke up as soon as I pulled in the driveway (of course). Quinn had some chicken nuggets and apples. All was good.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Dear Liam,
I feel that I have made many sacrifices for your well being. I have done so willingly and with much love for you, my Baby. However, I cannot continue to sacrifice my well being with such a lack of sleep. I do enjoy our middle of the night feedings – the ones that occur twice a night. The ones you fall quickly asleep afterwards and reward me with another four hours of sleep. I do not enjoy having to help you back to sleep after only two hours of sleep – all night long. This is not healthy for you, me, or your daddy. A lack of sleep does horrible things to people and causes them to say horrible things and act in horrible ways. It just doesn't work.
Please take this into account tonight when you go to sleep.
With much love,
Your very tired mommy
I feel that I have made many sacrifices for your well being. I have done so willingly and with much love for you, my Baby. However, I cannot continue to sacrifice my well being with such a lack of sleep. I do enjoy our middle of the night feedings – the ones that occur twice a night. The ones you fall quickly asleep afterwards and reward me with another four hours of sleep. I do not enjoy having to help you back to sleep after only two hours of sleep – all night long. This is not healthy for you, me, or your daddy. A lack of sleep does horrible things to people and causes them to say horrible things and act in horrible ways. It just doesn't work.
Please take this into account tonight when you go to sleep.
With much love,
Your very tired mommy
Friday, September 14, 2007
Haiku
I've been thinking about this haiku for the last 60 minutes
(as I bounced, rocked, and swayed this little guy)...
Bounce bounce rock rock bounce
Why don't you just go to sleep?
Bounce bounce sway sway bounce
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
It's 2 am
It's 2am. I just got Liam to sleep after more than an hour. I'm wide awake, so I check my email. And the one new message?
From: Baby Center
Subject: Help your baby sleep through the night
From: Baby Center
Subject: Help your baby sleep through the night
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sleep Baby, Sleep
I'm feeling pretty good today. I got a shower in and a full night's sleep (almost). After waking up four times through the night two nights ago to feed Liam, Mike and I decided to try the bottle thing again - with Mike giving Liam the first feeding (usually around 10:30). Well, last night Liam waited until 1am for that first feeding and Mike still offered to do it. He took six ounces of Soy formula and slept until 6am! At which point I nursed him and layed him back down. At which point he seemed to spit up 6 ounces of formula, but it was a totally normal spit up and when I went in there at 7am he was smiling and soaked. Maybe six ounces was too much, but either way - I got to sleep and after a day like yesterday, where Liam did not sleep all day and cried for about 4 or 5 hours total I needed it.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
How Was Your Day
Here's my day (as of 3:15):
7am - spend close to an hour trying to get Liam to sleep
Liam sleeps for 30 minutes.
Liam is content for 45 minutes, if we're lucky.
Spend another hour trying to get him to sleep.
He sleeps for 30 minutes.
Content for 30 minutes.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Times four days.
And in between this Quinn was upset because he had to stop playing with his playdoh, he fell off the couch, took off all his clothes, and wanted lunch. Can you imagine? He wanted me to feed him!
So...how was your week?
7am - spend close to an hour trying to get Liam to sleep
Liam sleeps for 30 minutes.
Liam is content for 45 minutes, if we're lucky.
Spend another hour trying to get him to sleep.
He sleeps for 30 minutes.
Content for 30 minutes.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Times four days.
And in between this Quinn was upset because he had to stop playing with his playdoh, he fell off the couch, took off all his clothes, and wanted lunch. Can you imagine? He wanted me to feed him!
So...how was your week?
Monday, August 06, 2007
My Goal for This Week
We moved Liam into his crib yesterday. I wasn't quite ready for it, I liked being able to just sit up in bed and look at him sleeping, but he kept hitting the sides of the basinet with his arms.
Notice the lovie by his head - it's Quinn's old hippo and we're going with that. I've made a lovie basket, with the 5 hippos we have plus the other random lovies we've gotten as gifts. Quinn gets to pick from there (and has yet to pick his hippo) and we're using the hippos with Liam for now. I imagine when he gets older we'll let him pick as well. We'll probably have to take turns letting one pick first one night and the other the next night. Also notice the two things not recommended to prevent SIDS. The bumpers - we choose to use these because Quinn started getting his limbs caught in the railings around 3 months. And the blanket - it's so cold in our house and Liam doesn't yet pull them up by his head. The blanket we'll ditch around 3 months, when he's more active in his sleep.
So sometime last week I realized that the little guy was using me to nurse just to fall asleep. And I'd let it happen. It was a lot easier for me to just sit and calm him down with my boob then to walk around. Plus, I swear when I tried to calm him down without the boob he'd just go crazy and start trying to nurse through my clothes. It's like, here's your food, kid, but you can't have it. When Mike's home I can just hand the tired guy to Mike and he'd calm down immediately. I can only imagine it's because Mike doesn't smell like Liam's food source.
Well, after a night like last night, where Liam woke himself up every two hours and would only go back to sleep after 2 minutes of nursing I decided I cannot let him fall asleep at the boob anymore. Nor should I use it to calm him down when he's tired and not hungry. I was successful this morning, only to have him wake up 5 minutes later with a lot of poop - then we had to go through the whole thing again. I'm following the advice of both The No Cry Sleep Solution and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and putting him down drowsy and not asleep, but he needs to be calm and almost asleep, otherwise he just cries right away.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Big Boy
From his last night in his crib to his first night in his bed...
All in all...THAT was a smooth transition.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Sleep
So we've hit a new point with Quinn's sleeping. Trust me, if you don't have kids yet, you will someday keep track of when they sleep and for how long, especially if it involves waking up at 5:30-6:00am on the weekends. Anyway, for a few weeks he's been screwy. Waking up early (5:30ish), taking short naps, needing to go to bed earlier. Well, the past few days with me home from school I found something out. The little stinker wasn't sleeping at all when I layed him down for his nap. No, he'd just lay in there (or stand, I don't know) and sing, play, talk. Yesterday I overheard the following, "Santa Claus. Ears. Quinn's Ears. Quinn's nose. Quinn's toes. Santa. BaBa Edie. Baba George. Cookies. Quinn cook cookies." After about an hour, I went in there, changed a poopy diaper, and told him it was time to sleep. He then slept for almost2 hours! Wow! I haven't had a 2 hour break in my day in such a long time! So, we figured he's ready to stay up until 1 or so and then take a nap, instead of right after lunch. Trial Run One was today and he went right to sleep. And to add to that...with his new nap schedule, he can stay up later and then SLEEP later in the morning. Today I was blessed with a 7am wake-up time and a much more cheerful Quinn then when he wakes up at 5:30 (and I was a bit more cheerful as well).
Anyway, my friend sent me the following. It's the baby's point of view on sleep training. That was the hardest thing I've done yet, but oh so worth it. If you've sleep trained your child you will appreciate this.
Baby's point of view> > Sleep Training...> > OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for> almost 7 months. The first few months were great--> I cried, she picked me upand fed me,> anytime, day or night. Then something happened.> Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to> STTN (sleep thru the night).> At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only> getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's> pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.> > Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need> to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to> sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a> plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.> > It goes like this:> > Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed.> I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying.> Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.> > Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.> > Night 3--every hour.> > Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly> after about 3 nights.> Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the> change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours,> shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS> KEY!!> If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she> will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not> need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.> > If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can> stop crying for about 10 minutes,> just long enough for her to go back> to bed and start to fall asleep.> Then cry again. It WILL eventually> work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight,> so I know she can do it.> > Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to> decide to stick to it and just go for it.> BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any> reason I could come up with. My sleep sack tickled my foot. I> felt a wrinkle under> the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I> burped, and it tasted like pears.> I hadn't eaten pears since lunch,> what's up with that?> The cat said "meow". I should know. My> Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.> Once I cried just because I liked how it> sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the> other room. Too hot, too> cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!!> > It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am.> Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am.> You need to slowly shorten the> interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal> clocks.> > P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long> you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me.
Anyway, my friend sent me the following. It's the baby's point of view on sleep training. That was the hardest thing I've done yet, but oh so worth it. If you've sleep trained your child you will appreciate this.
Baby's point of view> > Sleep Training...> > OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for> almost 7 months. The first few months were great--> I cried, she picked me upand fed me,> anytime, day or night. Then something happened.> Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to> STTN (sleep thru the night).> At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only> getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's> pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months.> > Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need> to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to> sleep--they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a> plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.> > It goes like this:> > Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed.> I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying.> Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.> > Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.> > Night 3--every hour.> > Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly> after about 3 nights.> Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the> change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours,> shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS> KEY!!> If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she> will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not> need the sleep, she is just resisting the change.> > If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can> stop crying for about 10 minutes,> just long enough for her to go back> to bed and start to fall asleep.> Then cry again. It WILL eventually> work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight,> so I know she can do it.> > Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to> decide to stick to it and just go for it.> BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any> reason I could come up with. My sleep sack tickled my foot. I> felt a wrinkle under> the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I> burped, and it tasted like pears.> I hadn't eaten pears since lunch,> what's up with that?> The cat said "meow". I should know. My> Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.> Once I cried just because I liked how it> sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the> other room. Too hot, too> cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!!> > It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am.> Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am.> You need to slowly shorten the> interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal> clocks.> > P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long> you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Hippos
Quinn likes his hippos. He has the blanket-type one. He has three of them. I thought I was being smart in buying extras. Well all of the extras are now equally worn and he likes to shred the silky side and pull off bits of string. It's a little annoying and I wonder if they're safe anymore.
So these hippos come with a no tears promise. If your noukie, as they are called, is lost or damaged you can order another one for two years past production date.
I orginally got these at BabyRUS, but they no longer carry it. Nobody carries them in the US. (At least as far as I know, maybe I should have checked with Leah.) Anyway, I just ordered him 4 more and they're being shipped from Brussels! Geez. And it's not as though I didn't try giving him a different lovey type of thing - he'd hold it, shake his head, and say, "no, Hippo." And then give me the rejected lovey.
If any of you are planning on sleep training your baby and using a lovey from the start buy at least 10! I thought 3 (actually, it was 4, but we lost one) would be enough, but they didn't last more than 2 years!
So these hippos come with a no tears promise. If your noukie, as they are called, is lost or damaged you can order another one for two years past production date.
I orginally got these at BabyRUS, but they no longer carry it. Nobody carries them in the US. (At least as far as I know, maybe I should have checked with Leah.) Anyway, I just ordered him 4 more and they're being shipped from Brussels! Geez. And it's not as though I didn't try giving him a different lovey type of thing - he'd hold it, shake his head, and say, "no, Hippo." And then give me the rejected lovey.
If any of you are planning on sleep training your baby and using a lovey from the start buy at least 10! I thought 3 (actually, it was 4, but we lost one) would be enough, but they didn't last more than 2 years!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Comment
I read this post on dooce today and I had to comment.
Here is what I said regarding this issue:
We also used the Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and like you I defend my son's crabbiness as NOT being because he's tired (unless for some reason, people are over and he really is tired/ready for bed). I LOVE this method. I HATED it when we were doing it, but I knew it would work. I tried some other techniques, but anytime I entered his room to "soothe" him his crying would get worse. It took us about 3 nights to get him to sleep from 7-7. (He was just over 4 months old.) Now he's 16 months and sleeps 7pm-6am and naps for almost 3 hours. I'd like to get him to sleep 'til 7am, but we've got to get out and get going in the morning. It's funny, because with the time change coming up I was reminded that we've been discussing when he sleeps/how he sleeps for a year now. (We recently went through a "re-train" with him waking up at 5am...but then thanks to you we put some tin foil on his window and that keeps him down until he hears Maggie, our dog, chomp down her food at 6am.) Some of my family (and some co-workers) think I'm crazy for having such a rigid schedule...but what they don't know is how much he loves it. At 6:30 every night he'll start to pick up his books/toys and walk to his room singing "pajama time" (usually without being told to get ready for bed). He can SENSE when it's time for bed and is HAPPY to get ready for the event. PLUS, I know exactly when to schedule pictures/doctors appointments because I know when his happy/awake times are.
Here is what I said regarding this issue:
We also used the Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child and like you I defend my son's crabbiness as NOT being because he's tired (unless for some reason, people are over and he really is tired/ready for bed). I LOVE this method. I HATED it when we were doing it, but I knew it would work. I tried some other techniques, but anytime I entered his room to "soothe" him his crying would get worse. It took us about 3 nights to get him to sleep from 7-7. (He was just over 4 months old.) Now he's 16 months and sleeps 7pm-6am and naps for almost 3 hours. I'd like to get him to sleep 'til 7am, but we've got to get out and get going in the morning. It's funny, because with the time change coming up I was reminded that we've been discussing when he sleeps/how he sleeps for a year now. (We recently went through a "re-train" with him waking up at 5am...but then thanks to you we put some tin foil on his window and that keeps him down until he hears Maggie, our dog, chomp down her food at 6am.) Some of my family (and some co-workers) think I'm crazy for having such a rigid schedule...but what they don't know is how much he loves it. At 6:30 every night he'll start to pick up his books/toys and walk to his room singing "pajama time" (usually without being told to get ready for bed). He can SENSE when it's time for bed and is HAPPY to get ready for the event. PLUS, I know exactly when to schedule pictures/doctors appointments because I know when his happy/awake times are.
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