Henri has NEVER been a good sleeper. From the time he was a newborn we have struggled to get him to fall asleep and stay asleep. Since his birth I have been averaging about 3 hours of consecutive sleep per night. Over Christmas break JP and I decided that it was time to do something drastic. My friend Jess, who also has a baby, recommended the book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. I was reluctant at first, but I thought "what could I lose?" So, the day after Christmas JP and I set out to Solve Henri's sleep problems. The program outlined in the book states that you need to create positive sleep associations with bedtime as well as provide your child with the opportunity to fall asleep on his/her own. This calls for a bit of crying it out for the first few nights. The book is quite lengthy, but the most important pages are 74-76. It is here that a schedule is outlined for the number of minutes you should let your child cry before going in to check on him. The first night was difficult. We put Henri down at about 7:30 and went to check on him after 3 mins, 5 mins, and then every 10 minutes until he fell asleep. Henri wailed for about 30 minutes and after whimpering for a full hour he fell asleep. The first night he went down at 7:30, fell asleep by 8:45 and then got up at 11:30 to eat. After he ate he went back to sleep relatively easily. Each night after the first has gotten better and better. It takes him less and less time to fall asleep and at night if he wakes we hear him stir for a bit and then he falls back to sleep on his own. He is sleeping better than he ever has!! Even during the day when I put him down for a nap he cries for a little bit and then falls right asleep. Last night was day 7 of the program and he slept from 7:30 - 2:25 got up and ate and then went right back to sleep until 6:30 am. Now I just have to work on eliminating his nighttime feeding. For the first time in 6 months I feel well rested :-) I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for all!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
It's a Christmas Miracle
Henri has NEVER been a good sleeper. From the time he was a newborn we have struggled to get him to fall asleep and stay asleep. Since his birth I have been averaging about 3 hours of consecutive sleep per night. Over Christmas break JP and I decided that it was time to do something drastic. My friend Jess, who also has a baby, recommended the book, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. I was reluctant at first, but I thought "what could I lose?" So, the day after Christmas JP and I set out to Solve Henri's sleep problems. The program outlined in the book states that you need to create positive sleep associations with bedtime as well as provide your child with the opportunity to fall asleep on his/her own. This calls for a bit of crying it out for the first few nights. The book is quite lengthy, but the most important pages are 74-76. It is here that a schedule is outlined for the number of minutes you should let your child cry before going in to check on him. The first night was difficult. We put Henri down at about 7:30 and went to check on him after 3 mins, 5 mins, and then every 10 minutes until he fell asleep. Henri wailed for about 30 minutes and after whimpering for a full hour he fell asleep. The first night he went down at 7:30, fell asleep by 8:45 and then got up at 11:30 to eat. After he ate he went back to sleep relatively easily. Each night after the first has gotten better and better. It takes him less and less time to fall asleep and at night if he wakes we hear him stir for a bit and then he falls back to sleep on his own. He is sleeping better than he ever has!! Even during the day when I put him down for a nap he cries for a little bit and then falls right asleep. Last night was day 7 of the program and he slept from 7:30 - 2:25 got up and ate and then went right back to sleep until 6:30 am. Now I just have to work on eliminating his nighttime feeding. For the first time in 6 months I feel well rested :-) I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for all!
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The blog looks great. You have a few things to teach me. I want to do the font thing!! SOOOO glad Henri's sleep issues are being handled. Although you have covered your sleep deprivation very well, I can only imagine what you'll be like well rested. Now we have to tackle the same issue. Ugh.
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