Henry is not thrilled about this.
Now that the little dude is three months old, it's time to nip some bad sleep habits in the bud before they get any worse. Henry has become accustomed to napping in his carseat or the stroller, which was fine when he was a newborn, but we really need to get him used to a somewhat routine nap schedule in his crib. He also relies on being rocked back and forth in the stroller to fall asleep, and needs to learn to fall asleep without that. From birth until just a couple weeks ago, Henry had been sleeping well at night and waking for one to two feedings. But lately, he has started waking more frequently and doesn't go back to sleep easily unless I nurse him. BUT- he isn't hungry. He's just relying on nursing to fall back asleep, and as soon as he latches on he falls asleep again. On top of that, he's still sleeping in the swing at night and like for naps, he really has to get used to the crib. Before long he won't even fit in the swing to sleep!
This morning I put Henry in the pack n play, awake but sleepy and calm. He did fall asleep on his own and slept for 1 1/2 hours! That's the longest I've ever gotten him to sleep on a flat surface. It wasn't long enough because he was still tired and needed another nap after only an hour. But, a start. For his second nap, he only lasted 30 minutes.
We have to start doing something different at night, but I'm not completely comfortable going all-out with Ferber yet. Then again, I may never feel comfortable so should probably just do it. We did Ferber with Celia and it worked wonders, very quickly. Out of all the sleep "specialists" out there, Ferber is the one I really trust because he's actually a doctor specializing in children's sleep at Boston Children's Hospital. He isn't just some guy with no credentials and an opinion on how babies should sleep. Anyway, he does say that by 3-4 months babies should only be waking once, if at all, for night time feedings. I don't think Henry needs to eat at night. I think he's just relying on nursing to fall back asleep, and that's unnecessary and exhausting for both of us. I'm just dreading going through with the Ferber technique and doing it so young, because I really hate hearing him cry. Every morning I wake up exhausted and determined to start sleep training that night. And as every night grows nearer, I lose my nerve. I know it's what's best for both Henry and me. It's just hard to commit. I'm also worried that if he cries very much it will keep Celia awake. I'm rambling.
Time for a trip to the Panera drive through for a fancy coffee drink. Mommy needs some extra caffeine after being up every two hours the last few nights...
You have a Panera drive through...dangerous! That sweet (sad) face on Henry is just too cute. I'm glad things are starting to work so far, I know that sleep training can be a challenge. Here's to longer naps :)
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, what a cutie! Q is here and asked who the baby was. "Oh. Hend-wee? Who is Hend-wee? He's not a little boy, he's just a baby!" ;) I didn't do sleep training with Sprig until laaate because I was so afraid she would wake up Q. I think in the long run it would have been better to have him get used to a crying baby THEN as opposed to later. If she wakes up at 5:30 a.m. carrying on, you bet he's up too. So, I kind of regret not just doing it when they were both younger. I think he would've probably learned to sleep through her crying early on.
ReplyDeleteThe sleep thing is hard, isn't it? Henry sounds just like Elijah did with his sleeping habits. My mom has daycare kids who are 1 1/2 and their moms STILL want/let them sleep in a swing. REALLY? They need to stretch!!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I was just in your shoes... has it really been 5 months since Nolan was a 3 month old?!? Wow
ReplyDeleteSleep training/nap training is essential and YOU CAN DO IT! Just remember one thing: getting Henry to fall asleep on his own and stay asleep BEFORE he learns to sit up, pull up, crawl will make the sleep disturances during all that minimal. Don't wait too long or it could take months to get through all the developmental changes ontop of sleep training. :) GOOD LUCK!!!
Awww poor Henry! I remember those days! :)
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