When the trio came home in early November we followed their NICU routine and woke them every 3 hours to eat. Everyone ate at the same time and the entire feeding routine took less than 20 minutes. They immediately went back to sleep and within a week or two Andy and I no longer felt exhausted. By mid December we went from three night feeds (1am, 4am, 7am) to two night feeds (2:30-3:30 and 7-7:30) and by January we were sleeping through the night! It was a natural progression that we happily welcomed. Of course there were rough nights - usually ones that followed days where their routine was altered but for the most part everyone slept soundly.
All of a sudden, around 5 months, everything changed. It started with Lucas who woke around 3-4am but not to eat, to snuggle. It seemed easiest and natural to just let him get his snuggles in bed. The second he was in my arms he fell back to sleep and the night went on, silently. A few weeks later Mackenzie either realized Lucas was getting something she wasn't or decided that sleep was overrated. In the past few weeks she has consistently woken at 2:30-3am wide awake, ready to play. I tried limiting her naps throughout the day which of course caused lots of screaming and when it was time for bed she passed out the second the bottle touched her lips which led to starvation in the middle of the night - a vicious cycle. The midst of all of this is Owen who sleeps peacefully through everything! The last two nights have been especially challenging so I was excited to see an article posted on Facebook this morning about infant sleep patterns (see below). Whether this regression is "normal" or not I'm anxious to go back to SLEEPING! I will admit there are a few things we could do to make things less stressful -
*Take the Plunge and move to cribs - I am being really selfish with this transition. Having them sleep in our room is easier for us & I feel more comfortable having them close by.
*I am absolutely against "crying it out" but we could try the "no attention" method of night feeding where you keep the lights dim and don't make eye contact or cuddle.
*We could stop co-sleeping with Lucas. But in my heart I think he needs the closeness (and to be honest so do I).
Maybe this is just a stage, maybe it is their way of telling us they're ready for a new sleep routine, maybe it is ... anything is possible. Maybe tonight will be better! :)
*Article: Normal, Human Infant Sleep: Feeding Method & Development: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201302/normal-human-infant-sleep-feeding-method-and-development
Go with your instincts, mama! 5 months is a totally normal time for babies to wake up right eyed and bushy tailed in the middle of the night! It's when they start to get more active and practice skills that help them learn to crawl. Just keep it dark and quiet and soothing and eventually they will remember night is for sleeping and get back to a better routine.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience "sleep begets sleep- that is, setting the tone with good naps during the day helps them sleep better at night too. In general, withholding day time sleep is counter productive and yields a over tired or cranky baby. I can't link videos on my phone but I want to link to the YouTube portlandia episode "portlandia - books on parenting" google it- it's spot on. Pretty much everything I have learned about baby sleep or eating troubles so far is that "it's a phase and it will pass" so just trust your instincts and you'll get through it. There's no 1 fits all parenting solution/answer!