1.18.2011

The Value of Sleep

Well, I have just a few moments so I wanted to say hi and tell you all that I am reading when I can, and trying to comment too, but that I really haven't had much to say on the old blog here.  My life is a series of putting kids to bed :)

Life has been a little nutty.  Charlie had stomach flu a bit ago and then a high fever this past weekend.  AJ decided not to eat for the sitter on Fri, very stressful!  Doc appt on Sat didn't provide much clarity, but we are all doing better so no complaints.

Sleep is coming easier these days for me, thankfully, though Charlie was also waking in the night when sick.  AJ actually goes to bed early for his age, about 8:00pm.  If he last ate at 7, he occasionally will eat at 9pm, but then he wakes either once around 4am or twice (usually 1am and 5am).  I can't complain about that.  Once, when he was sick, he went 9.5 hrs and I had to wake him!  But we have also gotten 8 and 8.5hrs several times, thankfully, and that is fine when he is well.  I don't normally wake a sleeping baby.

Day sleep is another story-and stressful.  I am having him sleep in his crib because Charlie loves swing/sling/carseat sleeping and did great and transitioned horribly when he had to start sleeping in his bed.  I am all about making the hard changes now when they are young.  So, as soon as he gets tired (usually only an hour or 1.5 hrs after he woke), he gets rocked and put to bed in his crib sleepy but not asleep.  Works great, usually takes only 2 minutes.  But...he sleeps only 35 minutes at a time, sometimes less.  He did put himself back to sleep some, but now, not so much.  I can get him back down with a pacifier or sometimes have to rerock and get another 35 out of him sometimes on a good day, but I feel like I put him to bed all day!  I tried to keep him up longer and consolidate the naps, but he is just too young.  He is tired when he is tired.  I think we are just in a transition and will be able to move to 4 naps or 3 soon-I hope.  He is only 9 weeks.  Today I pulled back from the craziness and was grateful for what I do have, an easy to put down child that sleeps great at night.  Otherwise I just feel like a failure putting him to bed over and over and questioning myself all day long and consulting every sleeping resource in between runs up the stairs! :)

Of course, Charlie decided to start messing with his nap during this time too.  He sleeps 7pm to 7am or 7:30am and then naps 12-2 or 12-3pm.  Last week twice he skipped his nap, but at least he just played in his room during that time (he entertains himself, his room is really bare).  Today I tried 12:30pm and he played for a half hour and went down.  He's been down over two hours now, so I don't know what is going on but today it worked. 

Can you tell I like consistency and am a creature of habit?  And I value my sleep and my kids getting enough sleep?!  Gotta run, little man is talking to me from his room.  Will try to post some pics soon.

9 comments:

Julie said...

Sounds like my life for the past 7 months. We used the "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" method of sleep training and put her down awake in her crib by 8 weeks and she has been a great night sleeper by 12 weeks. She has been sleeping 12 hours a night (with a few exceptions when she had a cold and when we were traveling) since she was 5 months old.
Now naps on the other hand are so inconsistant. We didn't start nap training until she was about 3 months because she slept so much in her swing and I needed those moments to recover. At 3 months we were following the method of 1-2 hour awake time and putting her in her crib awake with a paci. I would often have to go back in there after 30-45 minutes and give her back her paci, but she only fell back asleep may 10-20% of the time, so it was frusterating. Now she can put her paci back in her mouth so I leave her in there for an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon. She falls asleep right away and some days she sleep 30 minutes, most days 45 minutes and very rarely she will sleep the whole hour and a half. The problem is she is so tired all day when she takes short naps!! She earned a 6pm bedtime tonight (usually 6:45). She fell asleep right away!!

Awaiting a Child of God:) said...

happy to hear from you friend:) I'm anxious to see posts of pics:) Glad to hear you are sleeping well. Learn all these things so you can teach me when it's my turn!

Second Chances said...

I remember liking that book "healthy sleep habits, happy baby" when Mikey was a baby. I may have to get that again! Thanks for the plug, Julie!

I know what you mean about playing bedtime all day. Usually I only try once and then give up and he goes in my moby for a nap. But he's getting much better at falling asleep on his own. But he just HAS to cry beforehand! I hate that. We're still in the 40-45 minute nap routine and waking up to eat, then not wanting to go back to sleep, so it's a challenge. I'm not as big on routine this time around as I was with Mikey, so every day is different!

Good luck! I hope you get more good sleep soon!!!

Thankful said...

As always, thanks for giving me a "sneak preview" of things to come. ;-)

Angela said...

Yay! Glad you are doing well, but I understand about needing your sleep time and how it's hard when the routine gets changed. DD was basically on the same sleep schedule as Charlie...bed at 7:30pm and woke at 7-7:30am, and took a 1.5-2hr nap at 1pm...until just recently. Now she has completely transitioned out of her nap and it was most hard on ME! ;) I just always felt entitled to that "down time" I guess, so it's been an adjustment! But I was lucky she napped like that for so long... she is 4.5yrs! I guess I was hoping it would last forever! LOL! :) Also, I'm really late in telling you this (I was hoping they would send me a card or something that I could send you) but I had a Christmas novena said in thanksgiving for AJ by the Companions of St. Anthony. It ran from Dec. 25th-Jan.2, and was like a late baby gift...the specific intentions were "in thanksgiving for the birth of AJ and that he would always remain close to the Lord". Sorry it's taken me so long to let you know!! :) Just so glad for your family that he is here, and so happy for your blog b/c it has really helped me over the last year!

WheelbarrowRider said...

Thank you all for your support, ideas, and comments. I really appreciate them. I have that book, Julie, and a host of others. I like the different perspectives and since my job is behavior, I have no trouble forming an opinion from those :) Angela, what a fabulous gift-thank you! Oh my goodness, I love you bloggers! For sleep I do still keep AJ on a positioner, despite the recall. He needs the angled one with reflux and if he slides out of it he slides all the way out and his face is never near the sides. Heck, he could face the side in it and still not touch any material. I talked to my doc about it and we think it is alright. Anyway, I think I was creating some of the long grunting problem by him sliding off and not replacing him quickly (he is getting a little more mobile, so it is on its way out). I am not ready to let go of it yet, so the plan is to turn him sideways so he is going shortways in the crib and putting in a padded bumper temporarily to pad his little head should it touch the top and to keep his feet (even swaddled) from going through the bars at the bottom. Then basically he can't slide out. I think this will cut the grunting/wiggling time way down. I am also focusing on holding upright longer after a feeding, unswaddling during a feeding to give time to stretch, and burping longer. I hope all of this will help. Time will tell....I am always focused on something to change, so I have to remember what all is still so good. Its the behaviorist in me. I am a researcher now and I don't have near as much one on one access to kiddos so this helps me put the skills to good use-haha!

WheelbarrowRider said...

Angela, I hope my Charlie keeps his until 4.5! Yesterday I tried 12:30pm and he played until 1 and slept almost three hours. He didn't have any trouble going to bed either. I may move his nap back like that permanently, we will see if this is just a short phase related to the bug he had...

Living for the Lord in 2011 said...

My dear, have you considered that the Lord may be leading you to "let go" just a bit? I am a mom of 6 and I got tired just reading this post!

I say this in all charity and love, they will only be so little for a short time....try to relax and enjoy the ride!

WheelbarrowRider said...

I hear what you are saying and I do appreciate it. I have to remind myself how far we are already with night sleep, really ahead of the game. What motivates me is when AJ is uncomfortable, getting to the bottom so he feels good. Then whatever he needs for sleep, he can get. If his schedule is different than my idea, as long as he is happy and well rested, that is okay. But my job is behavior, I find it interesting and can't always shut that part of my brain off that overanlyzes:) But it is important to not overstress and to step back and look at the big picture. Thank you!