It's a Baby Sleep Miracle

So my son's sleeping habits have been like a crazy never ending roller coaster ride. Some days I wake up feeling refreshed and with a bright new outlook on life and then there are the other days where I wake up feeling like I didn't get an hour of sleep all night. It all started when he was about 4.5 months. Up until then he had been gradually sleeping longer and longer. But then it all went crazy.

My poor bum was hospitalized (that's another long story). That's when his sleeping habits went from good to downright horrible. While we were in the hospital I was completely understanding as to why he was having trouble sleeping. It was a scary time, there were strange people checking on him at all hours of the night, we were in a strange place and some nights he was unable to breastfeed which really upset both of us. We finally were able to come home and weeks passed and there was still no improvement.

Christmas Eve came and we went to bed early, knowing we were in for a long night. Christmas Day I woke up refreshed... What happened?... He slept 8 hours!!!! It was a Christmas miracle! Without a doubt the best Christmas present I received.

Since then his sleeping has been up and down. Sometimes I start thinking things are looking up and we are back into a great sleeping routine and it's all smooth sailing from here. Hahaha! How hopelessly naive I can be! Just when I start believing my optimistic hopes, my baby boy starts waking up every two hours again. When I think he's asleep and put him back in his crib he wakes back up crying the second his back touches his mattress. .:cry:. I could pull my hair out those nights. I now know why people use sleep deprivation as torture.

So the miracle tonight?.... I don't do much in the way of sleep training. I brush his teeth, go upstairs and try to nurse him to sleep. I use the word try because it usually takes two tries. The first time he refuses and decides its playtime upstairs. In order to obstain from the screaming that could follow from repetitively trying to nurse him or putting him in his crib, we go back downstairs. We play until I know he's absolutely tired and we try again.

I am getting the point I swear! So tonight we waited an half hour later for bedtime (it was too hot upstairs). Again he refused to nurse insisting on play time instead. I put him in his crib and let him "play". Well mid "playing" he would lay down for half a second like he was going to sleep. That gave me hope so I let him continue to monkey around in his crib and he did without fussing(he usually starts crying to get out). Well eventually the laying down got longer and longer until he laid his head down and FELL ASLEEP! No nursing, no rocking, nothing! He fell asleep in his crib on his own for the first time in his 10.5 months of life! A BABY MIRACLE! Oh how I love to celebrate the small victories! I hope this story gives all the desperate mothers with bags under their eyes hope for the future.

photo credit: Jug Jones via photopin cc