Yay chase is sleeping through the night!
When chase was born I decided not to use babywise. I had used the method with Owen and had great results (sleeping through the night at 6-1/2 weeks.) But I hated the strictness of the schedule and all of the crying it took for him to learn how to go to sleep on his own. I thought that Chase would be happier if I held him more and got him to sleep before putting him down instead of letting him cry. I spent a ton of time rocking and holding him which was great other than he just became harder and harder to get to sleep and the time it took to get him down took longer and longer. And when I'd finaly get him down he'd only sleep 30-45 min on his naps, if that. He kind of started turning in to the baby that never sleeps!! I felt super tired all of the time. I had no real time with Owen and I was pretty frustrated with the whole thing. (this is already getting to be a long post)
Anyway about 3 weeks ago I started up some of the basic principles of babywise again.
-feeding regularly every 2-1/2 to 3 hours (obviously there is some flexibility there for growth spurts and what not)
-helping them get to sleep on their own
and napping inbetween each feeding.
-allowing them to cry after all their needs have been met (fed, diaper change, relief of burps, gas) and giving them the Chance to self sooth
And somehow last time I initiated babywise I had missed how many times they say BE FLEXIBLE. LISTEN TO YOUR BABY'S CRIES AND BE AWARE OF THEIR NEEDS. And they list several things to do to help your baby learn the skill of sleep rather than just letting them cry it out all of the time. Anyway I guess I had missed all of that last time.
Within the first couple of days Chase already seemed happier. He was more content when he was awake and easier to get to sleep when he needed some extra help. I felt a ton happier cause I finaly felt in control again, and Owen was less whiny cause I could give him the love and attention he was needing.
Some of the wonderful Benefits of using babywise for Chase has been
-1-1/2-2 hour naps inbetween each feeding time.
-Discovering his fist and thumb to sooth himself rather than just his pacifier or being held
-Rarely any gasiness or upset stomachs. His little system just got way more regular once he started sleeping better.
-More contentment durring the time he was awake. Now he is such a pleasure to hold and cuddle and rock! And the times I do rock him to sleep at church or on irregular days, he falls to sleep so quickly and peacefuly. I love it!
Anyway he is still asleep now and I feel like I'm about to burst cause it's going on 9 hours of straight sleep right now!!!!
5 comments:
sounds like your family is much happier with the much needed sleep.
I really like your post! Mostly because I totally agree with your philosophy. Babywise was a great resource for me and I think the part about being flexible and listening to your babies cries and being aware of their needs is the key! It's so hard to be sleep deprived and try to figure it all out. Sounds like you're doing great!
I totally agree with your post. I was a crazy woman with Savannah until I got her on a schedule and started letting her fall asleep on her own. I am hoping that with my new knowledge I will be a better mom this time around.
That's awesome Tirza. The most my baby has slept is 6 1/2 hrs at night. I haven't done anything different with her than I did with Massey..I seriously think that some kids need more help than others when it comes to sleeping. It took Massey 1 year to sleep through the night and it was awful. I'm really glad it's working for you. It's funny that you wrote about babywise because I just started reading babywise yesterday..I might start implementing some of its techniques.
Wahoo! Babywise is a love/hate thing. You kinda hate to do it, but you love that it works.
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