Sleep Habits.....(Long Post..might want to skip this one if you don't have kids!)

I decided I would write this because we have so many people ask us how in the world at 4-5 months did our child start sleeping 12 hours a night?

Before we had Hudson we had read On Becoming Baby Wise as suggest by some friends. We decided we would try it, so for the first month and a half or so we implemented the Baby Wise technique. He did OK with this, I think it was more difficult for us than any thing else to remember the schedule. The book says to follow the cycle of "Feed, Wake, Sleep"....then repeat "Feed, Wake, Sleep." The book keeps you on a pretty tight every 3 hour schedule and suggests that after each feeding you have some awake or play time, then put the baby to sleep. They suggest that if you have a feeding...followed immediately by sleep, the baby will become dependent on the feeding to go to sleep.

Anyhow....while still trying our best to follow this routine, I came across another book at Barnes and Noble called Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. I read a little bit of it in the book store and was really intrigued by it so I bought it and started reading it. I immediately fell in love with this book, and felt that this "Method" was so much more for us than Baby Wise. The author of this book Marc Weissbluth, M.D., is a pediatrician and also founded the Sleep Disorders Center at Chicago's children's Hospital ......I loved this book because he was able to explain more scientifically why babies cannot sleep for long periods of time, and explained that at about 6 weeks babies are able to sleep for longer durations....almost like clock work at 6 weeks Hudson started sleeping longer.

It also talks a lot about the timing of sleep, and how nap times develop as they get older, and there are times of day when naps are best because they are the most restorative. It also urges a consistent bedtime, and bedtime routine.....it also says which I totally agree with now, that feeding a baby right before they go to sleep WILL NOT cause dependency on the feeding to sleep.....We switched to this book, and saw immediate changes.

This book also explains how infants become tired and are ready for a nap within 1-2 hours of being awake...I thought this sounded crazy at first...but it told you to start studying your child and to look for cues of sleepiness....when I really started paying attention to it...Hudson was tired again after 1.5 hours of being awake! So after waking up in the morning, he would go back down for a nap about 1.5 hours after being awake...then he would be awake for awhile, and go back down for another nap...and that was our routine for the day.....still is. Except now he usually goes 2 hours before he needs a nap. He usually has 3 naps a day and goes to bed a 7 pm and sleeps till 7 or 8 am. The best part is, I realized when I got him down to a nap the moment I noticed he was getting tired, he hardly cried at all......there were times when I did let him cry for a bit before he fell asleep, but they were never that long.

A lot of people we have talked with also seem amazed that we put him down to bed and for naps wide awake, and he falls asleep on his own. We don't have to rock him for hours or keep going in the room to soothe him...well that is all thanks to the book....he goes down happy, and wakes up cooing in his crib in the morning...all bright eyed and bushy tailed!

I could go on forever about the methods in this book, but just read it for yourselves, it has TONS of information and helps for any sleep issues you might be having. A great read for a mother who is having sleep problems with their kids.....the book actually follows all the way to teenage years for kids, and how important sleep is through our whole life.

People sometimes think I am a crazy lady because I am so adamant about his sleep routine, but if that is what I have to do to have a happy, content child, and well rested family....then I am more than happy to be considered a sleep Nazi!

It really made our lives and his better. If he misses his naps or goes to bed late he is totally grumpy, but if he is kept on his schedule he is the most laid back, non fussy baby you have ever met. I think sometimes he almost enjoys going to bed when he is tired! We put him down at 7 pm and have the rest of the night to ourselves, and don't hear a peep from him till the next morning....SO NICE!