Sleep like a Baby
People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. - Leo J. Burke
One of the most popular questions people ask me as a new mother is how Natalie is sleeping at night, or more so, how I am sleeping at night. I don't usually know how to respond to that. At four months she is still waking up three or four times a night, which has not changed since she was a newborn. I was hopeful at two or three months she would be sleeping through the night, or at least waking up less often, since this is common for a lot of babies at that age. I know that may have to do with the parenting method of letting them "cry it out" but I just can't do that. She isn't even really conscious when I feed her at night. She never cries, she just starts to grunt and move around a lot so I pop a bottle in her mouth and she settles down. I've tried giving her just a pacifier so I don't have to sit there for half an hour to an hour feeding her but that doesn't suffice for long. I have thought about just ignoring it and seeing if she calms down on her own but I worry that she will cry and then stay awake for hours if I do. This theory held somewhat true two nights ago while I was sleeping and Matt was in our living room hanging out. Around two o'clock Natalie woke up but I slept through it (this happens on rare occasions). Matt came up to check on her and gave her a bottle. She scarfed that down but did not go back to sleep for at least two hours.
It would be so nice if I got even five hours of uninterrupted sleep, but she really is worth it and in all honesty the lack of sleep has not had as much of an effect on me as I thought it would. I don't drag throughout the day or feel like I need a nap. I usually have a decent amount of energy and get by just fine.
I am curious when your baby started sleeping through the night and what your sleep schedule is like now? Is there anything special you did to get your baby to sleep at night?
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| Peaceful sweetie |
15 Thoughts :
That is so bizarre that you and I had very similar posts today. And I'm sorry that Natalie isn't sleeping well yet. But seriously, if she looks anywhere as cute as she does in that picture, it has to be totally worth the bags under the eyes.
Love the precious sleeping picture of her, soo sweet! Our daughter started to sleep through the night at 3.5ish months. We use a sleep sac, I swear by them, but know all babies are different, have you tried them? We also use a sound machine too. It is amazing how the newborn phase builds your tolerance on just how functionable you can be on no sleep.
I don't have children yet, but the photo of Natalie at the bottom of this post is so cute! :)
She is adorable! H slept through the night at 10 weeks. The Zane man slept through the night at 6 months. It will come! One day, you will wake up and that will be it:)
I'm sorry to say mine did not start sleeping through the night until 9 months and even then it was not on a regular basis. They are now 3 and 6 and we are still battling sleep issues, my 3yr old was up 4 times last night *sigh*. We did let our older son cry it out and it was tough but effective for about 3.5 years, now all the sudden he is having problems again but its a whole 'nother ball game now. Glad to hear you're not dragging during the day. Wish I had some better advise for you!
Oh my, that little picture is too cute! Matthew slept through the night about 3 months. We swaddled him when he slept and I think that helps him sleep well. Every baby is different. Now the last few nights, he's been getting up for a feeding and is refusing to go back to sleep! This momma is tired!!
I totally drove right past your work on Sunday! Hubs and I went to Old Town and we were sitting in traffic (normal). I glanced to my right and thought, "Ok, why does that salon sound familiar?"....and BAM! I got talked off the ledge by Hubs when I wanted to jump out and run in to see if you were there. Am I weird? ;)
Ellie started sleeping 6 hours stretches right around 4.5-5 months...so, maybe Natalie will get there soon!!! Ellie has always been a challenging sleeper though and when she got older and started waking up 3-4 times a night again, we resorted to the "cry it out" method...it was hard, but worth it...but again, we didn't do that until she was about 8-9 months old cause her sleeping went back to crappy around that age!
Good luck momma! I'll be thinking of you!
♥ Kyna
Aww all of your pictures are too adorable! Hmm no tips here but I hope for your sake that she starts to fall into a new routine so you can get some more sleep! I've hear of a book where you schedule your baby's naps every 3 hrs or something like that and that makes them sleep better through the night. Sorry I dont remember the name though!
I'm the same as Krista. Both of my children were 9 months or older when they began sleeping through the night and it didn't remain permanent. Teething, growth spurts, nightmares, becoming more mobile, that all effects their sleep. My son will be 3 on Friday and he wakes up almost every night for a drink. My daughter is 19 months old and sleeps through most nights. You'll get your 5 hour stretches soon. Hang in there :)
She looks so adorable sleeping. Adriana started sleeping through the night since she was about 2 months. She gets up once every night or so. Its rare. She's a very active baby & lately i been trying to get her to nap through the day because she'll get up at 8 & will not go back to sleep till later on in the day & since i have insomnia its hard for me to get sleep at nights sometimes even though my baby sleeps through the night. I figured since she's so active through the day that's why she sleeps peacefully through the night. Maybe you could try that with Natalie keep her busy through out the mornings and afternoon and if she does want nap time you can make nap time shorter that way when they're ready to go to bed they'll be really exhausted & will want to sleep through the night!
The day each of my babies turned 4 months I let them cry it out. It was so hard, I am so glad Glenn helped me stay strong because I wanted to cry myself. None of my kids did it on their own, I had to 'help' the process along.
I read the book 'Happy sleep habits, healthy child', I am not one who normally reads parenting or how to books but someone gave me this book and I agreed with everything in it. Basically it says that your baby needs to learn how to put themselves to sleep, it gives them confidence in themselves. It talks about how they actually want to sleep but if someone is going to feed them, they get in the habit of crying every night.
You may want to wait until you introduce solid foods to do this, make sure her belly is good and full.
I will tell you this. It saved my life. Once I was able to sleep well I could go all day with my kids and be happy instead of grumpy. All of my kids are great sleepers. They wake up happy and all throughout their childhood I was able to say "It's bedtime" and they knew it really was. Lots of parents have to go through a song and dance, but I was always able to put my babies down and they knew I wasn't coming back so they knew crying was pointless.
Also the book talks about sleep perpetuating sleep which I totally agree with. The more and better sleep they get the more they want to sleep.
Anyway that's my experience. That said you need to find what you're comfortable with and what works for your family. Good luck.
Hey! I just found your blog and I love it! Your little girl is so cute! My little guy is just 2 months old, but he's been sleeping through the night for a while now. What really helped me was this site! It's got some really good tips on forming good sleep habits! http://www.troublesometots.com/
Best of luck!
Aww so cute.
http://shana-style.blogspot.com
Aw that must be rough on you. Chloe's always been a good sleeper at night so I never had to worry about it much. I used to worry the same that Chloe would be up for hours if I didn't go to her the second she started making noises. But sometimes when I was really really tired, I didn't get up right away and she did go back to sleep. Now that she's in her own room, her noises over the baby monitor don't wake me as easily as when she was in my room, so I only wake up when she's clearly awake and hungry. You should give her a few minutes sometimes to see if she'll go back to sleep on her own.
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