Two nights ago, I once again slept downstairs because I was sick, remember Momma hot. So trying to avoid any additional germ exposure and hoping an additional night of sleep would help fight off this achy-ickiness I slept downstairs and Loving Husband was on Ace night time duty again. So Monday night we slept on our different levels of the house once again. LH and Ace on the top level and me on the bottom level - with two flights of stairs between us. Ace slept for 5.5 hours on the first stint, I'd say that we are close to developing a pattern with that sleep cycle! Then awoke and got a small bottled snack from dad and then went back to sleep. Then around 3:30am (an hour after his bottled snack) I heard crying, the door to the guest room was open so at first I was just assuming I was hearing him from his room... hmm no that was a lot louder.... like right outside my door! I got out of bed and there was my little man standing right near my door crying. He was lost! :( It was heartbreaking and adorable all at the same time. He had silently gotten out of bed and crawled down two flights of stairs to come find me and just couldn't quite make it. He had the two previous mornings come down to greet me with his father and so he knew in general where I was and I guess at 3:30am decided he wanted his momma. I brought him into bed and Loving Husband came down to check and see if he needed to take him back upstairs and I said no he clearly wanted his momma and that was fine. I nursed him to sleep and then Ace did something that he hasn't done in my recent (if ever) memory. He went to sleep and did not wake back up to nurse again until it was morning! He slept for 4.25 hours that stint! Woohoo!
Last night, feeling much better I went to sleep in our bed. A little nervous that when Ace awoke he'd take his jaunt downstairs again, but he did not. He slept for SIX HOURS!!! When he awoke Loving Husband went and got him and brought him to our bed. I nursed him for 10 minutes and then he rolled over and was snoring away. LH picked him up and toted him back to his bed, where he slept for another FIVE HOURS and awoke at 8! Do you know what this means?!
Ace awoke ONCE and
slept for ELEVEN HOURS!!!
Fantastic! Ecstatic! Elated! We couldn't be more thrilled. Honestly! I could deal with this sleep pattern indefinitely! Really! We are *hopeful* that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with sleep!
7 comments:
A "bottled snack?!?" How old is he again? I thought that only infants need nighttime snacks?!? And the reason he isn't sleeping is because he's almost 1 and 1/2 years old and he's STILL breastfeeding and not taught to self soothe. I think you're doing him a great injustice by keeping him at the infant stage despite his toddlerhood.
My son is 17 months, and yes I have made the informed choice to continue breastfeeding him, 2-3 times a day and in the middle of the night if he wakes. Occassionally in place of breastmilk he receives goat's milk in the bottle (the "bottled snack") The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.." The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend that babies be breastfed for at least two years.
While I appreciate your concern, I do not appreciate your hostility on my blog. These are my experiences shared with others - I am not preaching "my way is the right way" to parents everywhere. If berating others on their blogs is your modus operandi, please remove yourself from my blog. If you would like to further understand why I breastfeed in the middle of the night versus 'self-soothing' I would be happy to open a dialogue with you, simply email me at the address found on my profile.
I know the standards for breastfeeding... I nursed both kids to 14 months. All I'm saying is, if you're having sleep problems (and clearly you are), maybe it's time to wean off the snacks at midnight and teach him to self soothe a bit. Kids NEED their sleep. Both of my kids are wonderful sleepers, both are sleeping 10-12 hours a night, and they aren't much older than your son (one is 19 months). I know you practice attachment parenting, and I did as well, but at some point, it's time to let them grow up into toddlers. And I just think you're withholding that from him. But please, why don't you give us a post about self-soothing' . I'm dying to hear it.
Hey Anonymous - it's pretty chicken to spout your rhetoric without so much as a name. Each parent is different as is each child. While your children are successful sleepers (congratulations on that by the way) you may be in for challenges down the road in your parenting that Jo will not experience with her own son. Step off your box and check your prideful sarcasm at the blog door when you leave.
I wasn't aware we had an expert on board. Not to negate your personal study of the subject, I feel its worth pointing out that my youngest child was nursed the longest, slept in our bed until she was 19 months, had midnight snacks aplenty, and currently sleeps the best out of all 3 of my children (ages 2, 3, and 4). My 3 year old was taught to self-soothe very early and I still wake up to her climbing into my bed.
Truth is, every child is completely different. Unless you can point to a second-grade class and tell me which child was breastfed, bottle-fed, given midnight snacks, or left to self-soothe, than you should probably consider assuming most children will survive regardless of which route their parent chooses to take.
You have to trust that a loving parent, especially one with a law degree, will know how to research and do what she believes is best for her child. Unless your parenting is without sin, I'd suggest refraining from casting those stones.
Still learning,
jessie
You know, after reading the neswest post about how your son can count to twenty, recite the alphabet backwards, and fly to the moon, I think I will just delete your blog from my reading. I mean, c'mon... I notice you get very little feedback anymore and I can't help but wonder if you have ANY idea how incredibly annoying and "better than thou" you sound. Seriously, get off your high horse... there are millions of us wonderful morhters in the world... it's just none of us need to brag about it 24/7.
No need for a response. Don't waste your breath, I'm moving on to "real" blogs.
Anonymous,
I wasn't aware that there was a book on 'the perfect way to parent and produce a successful child more successful than any other'. Oh wait! There's not. But please, if your occupation is child development research, enlighten us further.
You don't need to agree with everyone's approach to parenting. Each parent and each child is vastly different. What works for some, doesn't work for others. But I know Jo in real life, and she's a smart, loving, educated woman with a very happy, active son. And you know, that's all that really matters. She's chosen her method that she feels is best and we should leave it at that.
Being that you're a mother, too, I don't think you'd appreciate it much if some random stranger came on YOUR blog and berated you for how you choose to parent. So don't do it to her.
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