Establishing a Sleep Schedule

The thing that keeps slipping my mind is that Ben's sleep behaviors continue to evolve, just like the rest of him. And while establishing a schedule and being consistent is really important, there should be flexibility based too.

For example, I've been putting him to bed between 8-9pm the last couple weeks with great success. Prior to that he had been going down much later, after his 11pm feeding. He took to it immediately. He is a good night sleeper, God Bless. He doesn't fuss, just lays down and falls asleep. The last few days he has been fussing earlier and showing signs of sleepiness but I've resisted sending him to bed earlier. Not really sure why, perhaps to protect the schedule.

Last night though he just conked out at 8pm, I tried to keep him up to no avail. I was tired too so I just gave in. And what happened? He slept his longest stretch yet - till 3am. And then after his morning feeding, slept another 2 hours.

All the books say it, but it is so counterintuitive - sleep begets more sleep. I'm trying really hard to establish consistent daytime napping and I'm hoping with a few tweaks to our night time routine, this too will slip into a nice routine. He is down in the cave now, squeaking but attempting a nap.

Sweet dreams...

Life As We Used to Know It?

I mentioned that we've started putting Ben down a little earlier in the evening.

Ultimately I'm paving the way for an established schedule before I go back to work - so he goes down at the same time every night and wakes with me in the morning. The added benefit to the earlier bedtime is that it opens the door to reclaiming a little bit of life as we once knew it.

The weather this weekend was gorgeous and we hosted our first BBQ. As many of you know, we live for the summer - with countless nights on the back deck, drinking wine, listening to music, cooking out and hanging with friends. We never tire of it. On Saturday, I prepared dinner early and when everyone arrived they hung out with the little guy while I wrapped things up. I fed him and put him to sleep.

When I came downstairs, it was like stepping into our old life - friends, food and fun (even a play date for Stella). It felt so good to reclaim a little bit of that freedom. Knowing Ben was upstairs, safe with us, and at the same time being able to enjoy a night 'out.'

Or maybe it is just the joy of what is to come - more nights outside, planting the garden, playing in the yard, napping in the hammock. Is there anything better than summer?

Maybe summer with Ben :)

OMG - HE IS STILL SLEEPING!

(Yes, I've been down to check that he is still breathing - twice; and I'm glued to the video monitor as if it is a major motion picture)

We've logged a two hour nap. I pray this works again.

Glorious.

Do all babies nap?

I am wondering if all babies nap, because mine doesn't seem to. Everything I've read indicates babies should be sleeping an average of 16-22 hours a day. The sleeping helps them with all that they need right now: sleep begets more sleep; it helps with cognitive development; it stimulates them to be more alert when they are awake; it curbs fussiness; overall pretty important part of their little lives.

Yet, if we don't take a long drive or go for a walk in the sling (both lull him to sleep), Ben will go the entire day without one. Of course I'm happy to do both of these to get him a nap, but long term we need some additional solutions. I literally did the math and he is probably sleeping a total of 9 hours a day, way to little right?

And naturally I think he seems overtired as a result. Try as I might though, I can't get him to nap. I read Babywise yesterday (seriously read the whole book while holding Ben in the other arm walking around the house, and feeding him). The theory here is feed/wake/sleep and they advocate a little "crying it out."

This is in direct conflict with everything else I've read to date (crying it out), but I'm giving it a whirl b/c others have recommended it and its something new.

We tried our first session yesterday, boy its brutal. It is heartbreaking listening to them cry. And it didn't work. In fact it lead to a whole night of fussy/hysterical behavior from 4-10pm. They say babies are typically pretty fussy at the end of the day so I'm calling it a wash and starting fresh today.

We failed our first nap attempt and made it to the second feeding before attempting again. He is currently downstairs in his crib (the only sleep zone he hasn't outright rejected yet), and while not crying I can't tell if he is sleeping. The monitor is set up so I can see him moving but can't see his eyes. I'll go peek when I'm done writing this.

While I started this quest for naps solely with his well being in mind, I've since thought of several selfish benefits to getting us on a schedule. If I could get him to go down for naps on a somewhat consistent basis, I could plan my day, walk the dog, go for a run, do things around the house (with both hands).

And I'm guessing it we could get the little guy some sleep, it might help reduce some of his fussiness throughout the rest of the day. Good news is he has been super sweet the last few days (I swear he hugs back when I hold him now), so I'm back in the right frame of mind to deal with a few failures along the way.

Naps and latching (more on this later) are my big goals this week.

For my veteran mom readers, I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts you may have. We have a doctor's appointment next Monday and of course I'll ask there too if I make it that long without calling.

Photos to come later today of Big Ben - today is his one month birthday (he no longer fits into his newborn onsies!).