Bedtime has been interesting in our household to say the least. 10 months ago what I thought bedtime would look like for Violet is not at all what it is, I can laugh at myself for my naïveté.
From the time she was itty bitty Miss Violet has been battling reflux. We tried everything, switched formulas, had her propped up to sleep but not until she was two months old when the doctor put her on Zantac could she actually sleep...still propped up of course. Before the Zantac she ended up sleeping on our chests most of the time....like so.
Do you know where this is leading? We co-slept for the first five months of Violet's life, I never ever in a million years thought I would co-sleep. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against co-sleeping but thought it wouldn't work for us. Well it worked. Too well. It got so that Violet would only sleep with us, on us or within eyesight. Then it became that I was the only one who could get her to sleep. I would have to lay her across my chest, put a receiving blanket over her head and sing her a song to the tune of The Enchanted Tiki Room from Disney World with my words and her nickname. No, I will not sing it for you.
So when she was five months old we did the cry it out in her pack n' play in our room and about a week later she was in her own room in her own crib. It hasn't been sunshine and rainbows since then. We have had setbacks with teething and sometimes sweet snuggles win out.
Right now her routine is as follows, she goes to bed between 8 and 9pm most nights, she usually wakes up between 5 and 6am and Marc gives her a bottle. Sometimes I can hear her up for awhile talking and babbling to herself and then she usually falls back asleep until 8 and 9am. We try to give her a bottle before bed and read a story to her, sometimes she is not at all interested in a bottle. She has a nightlight, a few light up toys in her crib that she loves, we wind up her music and blow her three kisses from the doorway. It is working...for now. I recognize it may change and some nights are better than others.
I have learned that I have to be flexible and try different things if something is not working.
I hope you will join us over at Mommy Blog Hoppers for the Mommy Cubed link up on the 14th and link up your bedtime routines/philosophies/rituals.
This is so encouraging to me. I am currently in the middle of trying to get my little (5 mo)to sleep in her crib at night. Good to know it is possible.
ReplyDeleteI used controlled crying and feeding routines which worked great for me, but every baby is different and no. 1 is a huge learning curve. End of story you need to sleep so do whatever works and you're comfortable with. Xxoo
ReplyDeleteI was so lucky with Reagan ... I mean really lucky. She slept through the night at six weeks old and I really didn't have problems with her sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI would rock her asleep before I put her in her crib and she loved the swaddle! She liked to be all snuggled up until she was about seven months or so.
xoxo
Lanaya
www.raising-reagan.com
Wow, Leslie, you are tough. I was so pathetic and weak in the bedtime routine with all my girls they slept with us forever. Well, Tiara is 14 and still sleeps with me, of course she has seizures at night so I have to wake up and turn her on her side but she could probably sleep in the twin bed that resides in our room along with the Cal King, but no. I am too weak. My poor, 6 foot 2 inch hubby sleeps in the twin bed. Haha....
ReplyDeletesounds pretty bad! I will have to write a post for the link up. I also didn't think I would co-sleep but I did, but not for as long as you did! glad you've got her in her crib now.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know that I'm not alone with the whole co-sleeping thing. Although we still do it {more now than we even did a few months ago}. Sofia has been a little better at not waking up so often during the night, but she is in our bed most of the night and she doesn't have a set bedtime. You're definitely tougher in getting into a schedule than we were/are. But that's changing...wish us luck lol. And I'm excited for you that at least Violet sleeps through the night!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this. My first had colic and remember how for the first few weeks of her life I would have given anything for sleep. She was just miserable all night long and just like you sleep became a necessity and she sleep on me many nights just so I could catch a few zzz's. Never quite thought this would be the case, but it was. She is now 3 1/2 years old and the best sleeper and can tell you from my experience it does get better. I swear it does, but I still am not he best of all sleepers and will admit that even though she is, I still wake a few times a night now.
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