I must direct your attention to our Friend's Blogroll. Read Alicia's post about her son Jack and his sleep habits, then come back here.
Her honesty inspires to me to share our dirty little secret.
Lincoln David Merrill is a lousy sleeper.
Carey mentioned the other day that he has only slept through the night twice since Christmas. All the way through the night, to us, means we fall asleep and aren't woken up until one of the kids stirs at a decent hour. Decent means 0630 or later, preferrably 7.
I'll admit that Lincoln's nocturnal habits aren't so bad for yours truly. With Carey still breast-feeding and staying at home, I generally just roll over and dream about happier things. When I'm feeling sympathetic, I sometimes change a diaper and then hand him off to her. She's become very adept and nursing him for no longer than 15 mins, then settling him back down. And before you all comment with advice, we know that eventually it probably comes down to ignoring his nighttime cries until he figures out that the milk truck isn't coming every time he opens his mouth. But that's hard with two kids. 10 minutes of Lincoln wailing wakes Greta up every time. And at 2 years, almost 10 months, she doesn't comfort as easily or quickly as her brother. She's more likely to wake right up and want to talk about why her cousin Max left his blue hat at our house this weekend. But to her credit, she's been sleeping like a champion ever since we decided we didn't particularly care if she slept on her bed or on the floor. She picks the one she prefers on any given night, and sleeps a sound 12 hours.
So there you have it. Lincoln's not perfect, despite photographic evidence to the contrary. We'd love to hear from readers (OK, relatives) who went through the same thing with their spawn. I mean, kids.
The real problem has been my inability to establish a true routine with Linc. I was incredibly disciplined with the 4 B's with Greta: bath/breast-bottle/books/bed. And it was lights out between 7-7:30, with her happily putting herself to sleep. But I have been unable to strictly adhere to that successful method now that I am trying to put an almost 3-year-old to bed as well. I can't seem to strike that balance and make Lincoln wait for Greta, and vice versa. They both need Mommy -- NOW!
ReplyDeleteThis post came at a good time. Tom and I were beginning to believe that we were the only ones with a kid not able to sleep through the night at 7 months. The screaming at bedtime is getting old, and without fail she needs to eat 15 minutes after I lay down to sleep, no matter what time it is. We have an inconsistent routine as well. We do diaper, jammies, breast, toothbrushing, book, bed. We've had to resort to the "let the kid yell" method to teach her how to fall asleep on her own. It's not working yet and it's been a couple of weeks. I'm at my wits end. At least now I know I'm not the only one having issues. =) Good luck guys!!
ReplyDeleteWe can sympathize as well! Lauren is not much of a napper. She takes "cat naps" a couple times a day, usually only 30 minutes to an hour (if we're lucky)! Doesn't leave much time for me to accomplish much during the day. She's been waking up about once a night. Like you, we get up in the hopes that she won't wake her sister. Luckily she is easily comforted and goes back to sleep quickly. However, both girls are up by 6:15 am at the latest. Lauren sometimes wakes at 5:30. Neither one sleeps a full 12 hours at night...couldn't tell you the last time they did. We've come to accept the fact that sleep is not in our vocabulary at the present time. I recall Ryan saying to me a year ago, "I haven't slept in 7 years." So true when you have children. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link love! And the Linc love!
ReplyDeleteSylvie rarely sleeps 7 or 8 hours.
ReplyDeleteUsually its between 10 and 12, straight.
I am going to hell.
Daneigh -- You know this, I'm sure, but we're all hoping that Syl's toddlerhood is a disaster. I don't wish her any phsyical harm, but I do wish you plenty of sleepless nights.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments. We had a little girl (you all know who she is) that did not sleep through the night until she was 4-1/2 YEARS old. I finally made a rule -- You are not allowed to come into our room unless you are bleeding or throwing up. Probably not what the experts would advise, but it finally worked for us. EVERYONE -- Good Luck!
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