For Sleep Deprived Moms

[akairo]

It was truly a light bulb moment for me last night.

My youngest, Stephen, will be 1 yr old on Friday. He has slept through the night 4 times in the last year. Ugh. I have finally had an epiphany and realized that this is a problem of my own creation. So, last night when he woke up at 2 am I held and rocked him for 2 minutes and put him back in his crib. He must of cried for 15 minutes, and then slept until 6 am. Thus proving to me that he isn't hungry at night, just lonely. (He is very attached to me.) I am now hoping that we can end the 2 am feedings and I can get some much needed sleep.

So do yourselves a favor and don't let the middle of the night feedings continue until you are about to drop dead. Per a pediatrician, it is easier to get them to sleep through the night before 6 mos than it is after. Boy, do I hope he is wrong!

Tamara

[beacooker]

I was just thinking about this the other day - whenever my son wakes up in the middle of the night (luckily, he only does it once a night, and not until 4-5am or so), I just assume that he woke up because he is hungry, and I go in and feed him. Although I'm not ready yet to test it and make him cry (he's only 3 months), I have been wondering if hunger is really the thing thats waking him up.

Maybe in another month or so, if he doesn't give up this middle of the night feeding, I'll let him cry it out.

Glad to hear that you'll be getting a full nights sleep from now on!

Oh, and I think its 'M'. That one was way too easy!

[SusanD]

Anne (or Anna...sorry, I get you & claire797 mixed up!), my dr. told me that until 6 months old, it is OK to continue feeding in the middle of the night b/c they still need it. Between 6-9 months is when you should work on getting them off it and by 9 months, they should go a full night without needing to be fed. Just thought I'd pass that along, hope it helps!

[valchemist]

My baby is only 5 weeks old now. I don't even want to think about the debate of letting them "cry it out" vs. going in to comfort and rock the baby. That is such a tough decision and there are so many conflicting opinons on it. Well, I won't need to think about that for a while now. Thanks for your thoughts on the topic, everyone.

[GayeC]

Originally posted by SusanD
Anne (or Anna...sorry, I get you & claire797 mixed up!), my dr. told me that until 6 months old, it is OK to continue feeding in the middle of the night b/c they still need it. Between 6-9 months is when you should work on getting them off it and by 9 months, they should go a full night without needing to be fed. Just thought I'd pass that along, hope it helps!

I definitely agree that 3 months is too young to stop feedings during the night (unless the baby just naturally sleeps through).

Gaye

[mb]

i didn't do cry-it-out until about 8 or 9 months. it worked like a charm - she sleeps 7pm to 7am every night now. mentally, i don't think I was ready for crying it out until then. but i think we're all happier now. i don't think i'd do things any differently either.
marisa :)

ps tamara - enjoy your restful nights! they're great, aren't they?!?!

[luv2run]

I'm one of those mothers who picked and chose which parts of the pediatricians advice I liked and used it. I never let my children cry it out. I guess I wanted them to know I was always there to fix what was wrong, even if it was loneliness.

We ended up letting our kids sleep with us (it worked out to be one at a time since they are three years apart). Basically, it let me breast feed on demand until weaning and sleep much better. Obviously, this brings up another whole debate and is only for those comfortable with this situation. The father must also be in favor.

When DD was three and DS was born, she easily made the transition to her own toddler bed and easily slept on her own. DS wanted to sleep in his "big-boy bed" at age 1 1/2 so we never had any problems getting them to sleep in their own beds.

I realize this is not for everyone but if you simply cannot bear you child crying it out and can't go another night without sleep, it's worth researching.

Debbie

[BlueMoose]

Debbie,
I'm so glad to read your post. I have chosen to do the same thing with my DS who is almost 18 mo. The few times I tried to let him cry it out he would cry until he threw up. It just felt awful and wrong to me.:( So he sleeps with us now and it feels right. I know a lot of people disagree with this. I'm glad to hear that you had no problems eventually getting your kids in their own beds. I'm hoping to try to make the transition with him by age 2, but we'll see. All I know is that this arrangement is what works for us and it feels like the right thing to do.:)

Chrisi

[SusanD]

Well, I think the answer is that there is no answer! There's no cookie cutter solution that works for every child, so you just have to do whatever feels right to you - whether it's letting baby cry it out, or having them sleep with you. I hate all those books that tell you you're going to ruin your child for life if you don't do it a certain way. When DD was 7 months old we made the decision to cut out the midnight feedings, and fortunately we only had to let her cry one night (I don't know if I could have taken more than that). Now if she wakes up, we know it's for a reason (i.e. teeth or not feeling well), and I can go in there and do whatever I need to to comfort her.

[akairo]

I have to agree with a little of everything. In my case he is my 3rd and by far the most spoiled!!! My oldest slept through the night at 3 weeks, my DD slept through at 3 months, but DS#2 he just likes to be next to me. It was like this from day 1. At the hospital he slept in my arms. I won't let go of him because the nurses would take him away and not bring him back.:mad: Once home he wouldn't sleep in a crib; too much room for him (he was a preemie), so I held him in my arms and we slept together.:) As he got bigger it became more difficult, but he still wouldn't sleep in a crib, or on his back. Not even for naps. He would, however, sleep in his car seat. When he was 3 mos he wouldn't even do that. Finally I tried putting him to sleep in his crib on his stomach. Now that, he would do. Eureka!!! But he has always been an "eat every 2 hrs" kind of a child; and I am a "takes an hour for me to get to sleep" kind of a person. Plus the schedules of the other two and DH make sleep tough. So I have spent the last year (at least) getting about 4 hrs of sleep a night.:(

So for me I have to let him cry it out. I don't let him cry too long because he can literally out-cry me. Last night I rocked him and put him back to bed the first time he woke up (12pm) the second time (3am) I put him in bed with me and fed him. We both fell asleeep and my DH put him to bed when he got home. He didn't eat much, but he was cold and wanted to warm up.

I really don't mind having him sleep with me, but DH is a heavy sleeper, so I can't do it when he is home at night.

Sometimes I think I need a bigger bed though. Occasionally we have all three in bed with us and I am relegated to a corner on the end of the bed:eek: I'll get over it. They are great kids and right now they want to be with us, so I had better enjoy it now.

Sorry this was a book.
Yes the answer is "M". I need to change my riddle.