COLORADO SPRINGS — Because I like to run on fumes. It makes life more interesting. Just kidding.
We are in the midst of a four-month sleep regression. Hayes is in a growth spurt waking up a few times a night to eat and he has become pretty reliant on the pacifier.
Rhett is getting those final molars in. Our previously perfect sleeper is waking up, screeching for us like three times a night. This I know will be short-lived so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Mav has never been a sleeper. Ever. Now add in the sounds of his brothers waking him, plus his weekly night terrors and our house is just hoppin between midnight to 4 a.m.
- Side note: I think the night terrors are due to being overtired. Preschool and long summer days outside will do that to ya. Maverick refuses naps. Yes, we do quiet time. Aside from drugging my child, I have tried everything to get him to nap. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s not happening and there will be a witching hour (DM me for my address if you’d like to send a bottle of wine)
Ok back to the sleep training for the baby. Here’s our basic Bedtime Routine that seems to work well:
• Diaper change
• Pj’s
• Lights off
• Swaddle
• White noise
• Feed
• Mama leaves the room and he has no trouble putting himself to sleep
It’s the middle of the night that’s a problem, which is also on me. I know I could probably shoosh him back to sleep without a feed, but I’m a softy and feel like he’s a little too young for that right now.
I am one of those moms that will always keep my babies in my room until around 6 months. That’s what I feel safest doing. To each their own. In the meantime, we are beginning better sleep habits.
I started a more “all day” type of sleep training with Hayes this week. We are sticking to a specific wake and sleep time not just for morning and night anymore, but naps too.
I put him down drowsy but awake each time. Here’s what our schedule looks like.
We are making sure he gets good feeds during the day and enough stimulation in those wake periods.
I’m attempting to put him in his bed for all of the sleeping, despite it being much easier to set him in the swing with our busy life. Probably going to fail at this one a time or two. Who knows.
I’ll let you know how it works out, if at all, with two loud boys interrupting my attempts.
I will say the whole bedtime routine thing was never a magic pill for Mav, but Rhett definitely responded well to it. From my experience, you can stick to the same rigid schedule for every child and still have three different outcomes. There’s no right way.
So if this doesn’t work, oh well. The real sleep training starts in two months.
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