Sleep

I hold sleep sacred!  I never realized how much I valued it until after Nathan was born.  Poor little guy spent 17 days in the NICU and was still very weak and little when he came home.  Since he was premature, he had sucking issues.  This made feeding exhausting.  He would literally eat for about 10 minutes and pass out from exhaustion.  I had to wear a nipple shield (this may be TMI), which meant that he got very little milk in the that 10 minutes.  Obviously, this wasn't enough to sustain a baby, so he would wake about 30 minutes later starving and we would do it all over again.  

Around 3 months, he was getting stronger and able to eat better and go for longer periods of time, but had taken a liking to sleeping with mommy.  We slept together for several months, until I got to the point where I realized he was waking up to hang out and not just to eat.  I purchased a book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and felt strongly that I needed to make a few changes.  So at 5 months, I feed little Nathan and put him to bed awake.  He cried off and on for 1 hour 45 minutes.  I was sure that I was killing him and that he would never trust me again. But I toughed it out.  I promptly responded when I knew he was hungry.  He ate well and went right back to sleep and didn't make a sound for 8 hours.  The next night was more of the same, a little less than an hour of crying.  The third night, only 20 minutes of crying and not a sound for 10 hours.  

Nathan has been, by far, the best sleeper I know since then.  He goes to sleep happily, never has nightmares, soothes himself back to sleep if he wakes, and plays happily in his bed until I get him out in the morning.  I'm a firm believer.

So I thought it would be easy for Zachary especially since he is such a peaceful little guy and has no trouble eating.  It was actually starting to seem like he wasn't going to need to cry it out because he was going to sleep easily.  However, over the last month a habit of frequent nighttime waking was presenting itself.   I was hesitant because he is so sweet.  However, after a weekend of extra special attention, it was apparent that I was going to have to give him the opportunity to self-sooth.  

Sunday night he cried for 50 minutes solid.  It was difficult to listen to, but I knew he was only mad because Mommy wasn't holding him.  Monday night was better, but he did wake and cry a few times in the night.  Last night, I put him to bed at 7:00 and held my breath.  He didn't make a sound until 6:45 this morning.  Eric and I were quite sure he was dead, so we snuck in his room to check on him.  Eric touched his head and Zachary popped up and smiled.  Then he laid his head back down and slept for another 30 minutes. He was extremely happy this morning and much less fussy (because he isn't tired). 

Learning to self-sooth is important.  If you don't believe me, ask anyone whose child doesn't sleep well.  For Nathan, self-soothing also translates to dealing better with bumps and bruises and other disappointment.  I do advise doing it earlier rather than later.  The longer you wait the harder it is.