(more) Adventures in Sleep

I must admit that when I was pregnant with Little Lion my only two wishes were for a healthy baby and well an "easier, better sleeping" baby than Bebito was. Initially it seemed I got my wish on both counts but the easy/sleepy wore off after a week.

A few weeks back I had a family member say, "he isn't a very happy baby is he? What are you doing about that?" I must admit I thanked this person for assisting with laying the Mama Guilt on even more thickly.

There were days when he slept for 20 minutes or not at all and then woke 8 or 9 times a night. We went to sleep school but it only helped a little. I turned to various techniques and some days were fantastic but most were well, not! Bebito suffered from the lack of attention and I felt torn between them both. I accepted as best I could that Little Lion was a cat napper and got him up regardless of how long he'd slept. We were all grumpy for weeks! Life was a haze of baby grizzles, Bebito grumpiness and constant feeding. Something had to give, it just wasn't working for us.

I looked into the Gina Ford routine but struggled with the how of getting him to stick to a schedule or make him go to sleep! I looked again at my Elizabeth Pantley & Pinky McKay books & tried various things in there. I had a great book with Bebito but it's targeted at babies 6 months plus. Then a few good friends whose parenting I respect suggested I look at the Tizzie Hall, Save Our Sleep book. What she said made complete sense and I knew I would have to "train" LL to get to sleep by himself. I was at the end of my tether (said tether was reached far quicker than with Bebito!). I arranged for Bebito to go to Grandma's and started with the techniques last week. The change in my baby has been incredible! He is feeding properly, napping 3-4 hours a day and waking once a night at most. When he's awake he is giggly and smiling. Bebito and I get time together now

It is in no way easy to listen to your baby cry even a little and he did cry A LOT the first few days but I was resolved to give this a proper go and I liked the idea of staying with him for so long given his age.

I know some people are vehemently opposed to these techniques but we have almost come out the other side with a much happier family.

This morning for THE very first time LL was put down for his nap without a feed, cuddle or rocking and he didn't cry. He woke after 40 minutes, cried a little and went back to sleep. He woke after another hour and giggled away until I went to pick him up after a few minutes. Unprecedented!

I never would have been able to do this without the cheer leading from the gorgeous Amy who helped me focus on the big picture. She is an amazing, kind and giving friend and I can't thank her enough for holding my hand.

I'm well aware from sleep adventures with Bebito that illness, immunisations, teething, separation anxiety will upset this rhythm but I so hope we've turned a corner with this and that we have set some good foundations.

Onwards and upwards!