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Sunday 20 October 2013

Sleepless vs Sleep-through nights

I read somewhere that a baby is classed as sleeping through the night if they sleep from 12-5am. Would sleeping from 9.30pm - 4.30am be classed as sleeping through?

A parent gets so used to surviving on little or no sleep that when your child sleeps through the night, however one may define it, that it is a shock to the system. I had grown used to having to get up once in the early hours to feed my son that on the first night where he slept right through until 6am felt unreal and something of a dream. The aching breasts and light penetrating the curtains were what gave it away. Now long sleeps at night are becoming more common which is nice, not sure how long it will last.

All the books and Internet sites tell you that you will get very little and often disjointed sleep resulting in sleep deprivation. What they don't tell you however is that on the first night where your baby sleeps through that you will panic when you wake, thinking that you had slept through your babies cries or even worse your baby is dead. Because I woke before my son on that first night I had feel multiple parts of his body to check that he was breathing and warm. After I got over the initial shock that my baby wasn't dead and was still asleep the guilty feeling that I had sleep through him crying overcame me. I worried like mad about that as I expressed a little to make my boobs more comfortable. All worries were dispelled when my son woke up shortly after and gave me a big smile indicating that I was worrying over nothing.

I am unsure yet whether my son being up often in the night to feed lots and/or being unsettled is better or worse than him sleeping through the night. I like my sleep but I also like to know that my son is happy and content and not being ignored in the middle of the night because I am fast asleep.

When did your child start "Sleeping through the night"? Was it gradual or sudden? 

Monday 7 October 2013

Incorrect parenting and insufficient supply.

Last week I had a visit from one of the ladies at Plunket. Let's just say when she left I was left questioning my skills as a parent yet again. Am I really doing it wrong?

I have been told and read right from the beginning that I should demand feed my son not schedule his feeds to the 2-3hr timings also recommended. So that is what I did, now that among other things is incorrect or so the lady implied. Apparently me feeding him on demand and letting him have longer sleeps during the day is not how it should be done. This is how is supposed to be done or so she said; let him be awake for an hour tops then put him down to sleep for 2-3hr.

Getting him to sleep after only an hour is proving to be quite difficult, but I can see how it could possibly help him sleep better and have been trying since her visit to make it work. I am able to do an hour and a half to two hours awake before he sleeps and always have. Today was the exception to this:

  •  8am Greeted with a big smile when he woke up
  • 11am sleep time.. no wait nap time.. laundry in and vacuuming completed
  • 12pm lunch time - with big smiles and some coos and goos
  • 3pm afternoon tea time - lots of snacking, smiling and staring at the world close by
  • 5pm early dinner and smiles
  • 5.30pm sleep time

But along with the feeding schedule I should also begin sleep training, the self soothe cry it out method. That I don't think I can do exactly. Hearing my baby crying is totally gut wrenching and something I like to avoid at all costs. She does have valid points in that I need to get my baby to go to sleep in his cot or alternative location himself and not at the breast like often happens. I like to feed my baby to sleep, it makes me feel good and also comforts my son.

Rather than let him cry himself to sleep with minimal comfort from me I am going with what I know and what I have done from the beginning... Nurse to sleep, or if I'm lucky to the point where he is almost going to drop off and will fall into true sleep when I put him in his cot (a totally rare occurrence).

To me sleep training and schedule feeds just aren't going to work for me and him, We are happy as we are thanks.

How do you do the feeding and sleep in your family? What works for your family? Post a comment below and don't forget to check out my Instagram, Youtube and Facebook.