The "S" word. (Written August 2006)
So today I decided to make peace with myself and my daughter on the whole SLEEP issue. You know what it is like when you worry and think about an issue and then all of a sudden you realize, it isn't that bad. And then I have to say it again....HEY I HAVE IT PRETTY GOOD. In caps. Like LOUD. Just to make sure I heard myself. Otherwise, I would find myself in the "wallowing in self-pity aisle" with a bunch of other new moms. Not to say that I don't enjoy a little self-pity every now and then.
Anyways, back to the sleep issue. Sometimes, you have to tell yourself about how great things are going, how well things really are, just so you can by-pass that self-pity thing for a while. At least until your husband gets home.
But before I say how good I have it, let me also mention that I (and every new parent out there) hates the question "So is your baby sleeping through the night?". No she/he is NOT. So don't ask us. Either you are stupid or mean or don't have kids. So don't ask that question. I am going to write a whole post on stupid questions.
I have learned from my own mother that parents love to brag about their kids. So here I go...
First, my daughter has pretty much been taking very regular naps since about 5 weeks old. That means 3 naps a day. There are a few days here and there where she was on a nap strike, but now she takes 3 naps. Usually they are a minimum of 45 minutes long and sometimes as long as 2.5 hours. That is pretty great. I followed the Dr. Weissbluth philosophy that an infant really can not tolerate being up for more than 2 hours at a time. So she gets up, plays, eats etc. and about 1.5 hours later she is back in bed. This works for us. I don't think all of his advice is great, but that one piece of advice has made sense for us since day 1.
Second, she goes to sleep without much fuss every night. Hubby and/or I bathe her, feed her and/or read to her and put her in her crib, awake, with her soother. I didn't realize how many people either have to rock/nurse/drive/swing/stroller/walk/etc their baby around for an hour EVERY DAY to get them to sleep. We are so lucky that she is happy to just fall asleep.
Third, she pretty much is in bed for 11-12 hours per night. i.e. we put her down between 7 and 8 and she stays in bed until 630-730. She has done that for a while now.
Fourth, she has been consistently sleeping a minimum of 5 hours * almost every night since she was 4 or 5 weeks old.
Fifth. I really didn't find the waking up stuff all that hard at the beginning...and then I started having trouble falling back to sleep each time. But really, it wasn't as bad as it seemed it was for everyone else around me.
Sixth. I am glad that my husband can sleep cause he has to work in the morning. And why should he get up? Just to watch me stick my boob in her face and then crawl back into bed? 3am is not the time for family bonding.
Finally, when she does get up in the night. And she almost always gets up twice, sometimes three times, and rarely four times, she doesn't cry or fuss. She just eats and goes right back to sleep.
So I am counting my blessings. And all the things that are really good about this sleeping stuff.
*"They" say that sleeping through the night is 5 hours. So there.
So today I decided to make peace with myself and my daughter on the whole SLEEP issue. You know what it is like when you worry and think about an issue and then all of a sudden you realize, it isn't that bad. And then I have to say it again....HEY I HAVE IT PRETTY GOOD. In caps. Like LOUD. Just to make sure I heard myself. Otherwise, I would find myself in the "wallowing in self-pity aisle" with a bunch of other new moms. Not to say that I don't enjoy a little self-pity every now and then.
Anyways, back to the sleep issue. Sometimes, you have to tell yourself about how great things are going, how well things really are, just so you can by-pass that self-pity thing for a while. At least until your husband gets home.
But before I say how good I have it, let me also mention that I (and every new parent out there) hates the question "So is your baby sleeping through the night?". No she/he is NOT. So don't ask us. Either you are stupid or mean or don't have kids. So don't ask that question. I am going to write a whole post on stupid questions.
I have learned from my own mother that parents love to brag about their kids. So here I go...
First, my daughter has pretty much been taking very regular naps since about 5 weeks old. That means 3 naps a day. There are a few days here and there where she was on a nap strike, but now she takes 3 naps. Usually they are a minimum of 45 minutes long and sometimes as long as 2.5 hours. That is pretty great. I followed the Dr. Weissbluth philosophy that an infant really can not tolerate being up for more than 2 hours at a time. So she gets up, plays, eats etc. and about 1.5 hours later she is back in bed. This works for us. I don't think all of his advice is great, but that one piece of advice has made sense for us since day 1.
Second, she goes to sleep without much fuss every night. Hubby and/or I bathe her, feed her and/or read to her and put her in her crib, awake, with her soother. I didn't realize how many people either have to rock/nurse/drive/swing/stroller/walk/etc their baby around for an hour EVERY DAY to get them to sleep. We are so lucky that she is happy to just fall asleep.
Third, she pretty much is in bed for 11-12 hours per night. i.e. we put her down between 7 and 8 and she stays in bed until 630-730. She has done that for a while now.
Fourth, she has been consistently sleeping a minimum of 5 hours * almost every night since she was 4 or 5 weeks old.
Fifth. I really didn't find the waking up stuff all that hard at the beginning...and then I started having trouble falling back to sleep each time. But really, it wasn't as bad as it seemed it was for everyone else around me.
Sixth. I am glad that my husband can sleep cause he has to work in the morning. And why should he get up? Just to watch me stick my boob in her face and then crawl back into bed? 3am is not the time for family bonding.
Finally, when she does get up in the night. And she almost always gets up twice, sometimes three times, and rarely four times, she doesn't cry or fuss. She just eats and goes right back to sleep.
So I am counting my blessings. And all the things that are really good about this sleeping stuff.
*"They" say that sleeping through the night is 5 hours. So there.
posted by Jennifer Hamilton @ 11:20 AM
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