well, we are at yet another night with our little sam. he is doing so well and we are getting him there. it has been only 3 nights since we began this process and read below the email strand quoted from sara about sam’s progress and my response:
“Just to keep you posted! Last night Sam fell asleep cried for a few minutes and fell asleep at 8:20pm KINDA OF LATE! my fault….and then woke up at 1:40am and he nursed right back to bed drowsy took him a few minutes and fell asleep and then woke up at 5:40am nursed and fell asleep at boob and slept till 8:30am.
Then he napped from 11-1 it was in the car so he fell asleep while driving and then he napped from 3-4 and he fell asleep at boob. He just went to bed at 7:15pm and he cried a bit but fell asleep after 4 min.
So we are getting there!!! So should I still feed at nights???
Thanks again, Sara”
My Reply:
“hi sara,
i’m thrilled for you! isn’t it awesome when they actually sleep?!!
you are right, the 8:20 bedtime is too late. i would definitely try to get him down a bit earlier each night and then start waking him earlier. by waking at 8:30 am he is napping too late for the AM nap and consequently too late for PM nap. realistically, you want him to wake around 7am and nap around 9ish and then nap again around 12:30/1ish that way he wakes around 3 latest and will be ready for bed closer to 6-7pm. for now just try to get him down earlier each night and wake him in the AM. after a few days his body clock will slowly adjust.
as for night feedings. i believe he doesn’t need to eat in the night. most pediatricians say after 6 months there is no need for night feedings and i often feel they can stop them earlier than this. that being said, i would start to wean those. when he wakes in the night, do you give him the boob out of habit or do you feel as though he truly eats? or is it more a soothing mechanism to get back to sleep?
if you feel he is ready to stop the night feeds here is what i would do. i would have your husband go in to soothe him as if he smells you he will want the boob. have him soothe him, in his room. no need to change diaper or anything. just keep lights off, don’t speak to him, go in rock, sway, or whatever you do to calm him. once he is calm and drowsy, lay him down awake and walk out. he most likely will start to cry, but the fact that he stopped crying with your husband you can be sure he wasn’t hungry, but rather just looking for company! let him cry and don’t go back in. i know this can be hard but the crying will get less each night and they learn fast! each time he wakes in the night repeat this method with your husband going in and soon the feeds will disappear! keep in mind you can set the timer for a method similar to nap training and go back in to soothe. it just takes longer to train this way, but can be done.
keep in mind, if he is only fussing when he wakes don’t rush in. wait until he is really crying before you send him in. you never know, he may just get himself back to sleep!
you are definitely getting there! full night sleeps are in your near future, guaranteed!!!
keep me posted!!
tia
as you can see from the previous email thread, it doesn’t take long for sleep to become a reality! i will keep you updated on sam and his sleep!