Oh my gosh, it’s great to know my child is normal.
We had been having a tough time with little Preston with his sleeping since Day 1. I chalked it up to him growing and me not producing enough milk at first but when he was not getting any better, we decided we needed a new approach.
At 3 months old, still I thought he was growing and he’d get into, this thing we like to call, sleeping eventually.
Let me give you a little background…..his Dad was NOT a sleeper as a baby and I WAS! I slept through the night at 9 days old. Now, Chris on the other hand had to be walked and walked and walked some more as a baby.
When I was pregnant, I prayed to God that our child would get my sleeping gene. HA, I bet God laughed at me.
OK, so back to Preston’s sleeping. We were putting him to bed between 9-10pm every night because he just wouldn’t go down any sooner. I wanted him to go down earlier for my sake so I could get more sleep since I was waking up at 4:30am once I returned back to work.
I bought a book called Happy Sleep Habits Happy Child that was highly recommended by my cousin in NY. She (my cousin) is a huge advocate for CIO (cry-it-out) as she has done it with her 4 children including a set of twins.
I, on the other hand, was NOT and we tried everything….check and console, rock to sleep, put him down drowsy but awake, etc. Nothing worked and I mean nothing. I felt like I was just doomed and would never get any sleep ever again.
Well, my Mom comes into town (August 31st) and she sees that he’s not content for long periods of time, his attention span is short, he needs to be held almost constantly and she says “I think we should try this CIO thing” and I agree.
Since Chris was working (and has been working evenings since my return to work so we could avoid Daycare) I figured this was the perfect time to start. I would have support while letting my child just cry.
Well, to not make this post super long and somewhat off topic I will just give you a quick synopsis of how it’s been.
First night = crying for 1 hour and 55 minutes until finally asleep and 7.5 hours of sleep
2nd night = 25 minutes of crying until asleep and 8.5 hours of sleep
I felt like we were on the right path until naps were becoming a problem and he still wasn’t content for very long. Well, this path above, didn’t last long.
We’re still working on it and he is now on a schedule where he gets a bath at 6pm and is in his co-sleeper no later than 7 and he’s asleep by 7:30 at the latest. It’s great, I finally have time to myself at night to eat dinner or do the dishes.
He’s not sleeping through the night but only getting up once or twice to eat and then going back to sleep.
CIO DOES work and I can attest to that. I was a non-believer but I’ve had many Mom’s and even some Dad’s tell me it has worked on their children. It’s hard, I won’t deny that, but it helps them learn how to self soothe which is a life skill they need.
If anyone plans to do this, they have to commit to it and stick with it otherwise it causes confusion with your baby and you have let your child cry for no reason.
ANNNNNNNNNNYwho, let me get back to the original reason I was writing this post….4th month sleep regression.
Here is some explanation that made me realize what is going on with Preston is completely normal. YAY!
When a newborn falls asleep, he immediately goes into deep sleep. We all go in and out of light and deep sleep. As adults, we might change positions, look at the clock, or reposition our pillow. Up until now, you may have rocked your baby or simply given him a pacifier and he slept for hours without waking up. Well, at 3 or 4 months old, your baby is now sleeping more like an adult. Now when he falls asleep, instead of entering deep sleep, he enters lighter sleep, first. That’s why if you help him fall asleep, then put him down, he is likely to wake up because she isn’t in her deep sleep, yet.
This sounds all too familiar lately in our household.
You might have heard about the 4 month sleep regression and wonder if your baby will go back to sleeping well. Some parents will be one of the lucky few whose baby will go back to sleeping well in 2-4 weeks, however, not all of us will be that lucky. For example, I find that babies who need a pacifier to sleep where you are replacing it many times per night do not stop needing that pacifier to sleep. You might get lucky and not have to replace it 10 times (maybe “just” 3-4), but maybe not. It is usually better to solve the root of the problem than to hope you are one of the lucky ones. So, maybe wait a few weeks, but if things aren’t better, plan to make changes. I talk to parents of 8 month olds and even 20 months old who are still waiting for their “baby” to grow out of their sleep problems.
Oooooh, my most beautiful precious baby boy!
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