Baby's Beauty Sleep Zzzzzzzz.... (UPDATED!! See below)

  This topic has come up a lot lately, and I have to say it is a topic that is on my mind daily: Baby sleep. We all know sleep is critical for baby's brain & body development. Not only the sleep they get at night, but daytime naps are very important as well. (especially if they don't get much at night) Experts also say that the type of sleeper your baby is as an infant will pretty much be the sleeper they will continue to be into their childhood. So how do we make sure we are setting them up for being that successful sleeper?

  Overall I have been incredibly lucky with Lana, She gets a good amount of sleep every day. I'm not sure if it's because that is just the baby she IS, or if I am doing something right. (I'd like think it's a bit of both). I've done a lot of research about baby sleep schedules and it makes sense for mom's to be concerned and want to educate themselves about it because their sleep habits basically now dictate our sleep habits! But as wonderful a sleeper that she is now, am I setting myself up for disaster later?? There are a few things I am not very strict about when it comes to her sleep and I do question some of my tactics...you be the judge.

  This is a summary of what I have experienced with Lana so far: As a newborn she slept in our room in a bassinet for the first 12 weeks. Those first 12 weeks she was waking every 3 to eat and at night the longest she slept was about 5-6 hours (and that was only a few nights here & there). When we moved her into her crib, the first night she slept 11 hours straight. The second night, 12 hours! WOW! Maybe we were keeping her up! Currently at 7 months old she sleeps a solid 10 hours straight consistently.

 This is the thing I struggle with, and I know other moms worry about it: nursing your baby to sleep. Since I am still breastfeeding Lana, it's hard to not think about the fact that every book I have read says NOT to continue to nurse them to sleep or they will be dependent on it. I think if you are careful, it can be done without making them too dependent.

 This is Lana's bedtime routine: 8:30pm every night we go to her nursery, maybe read a book, turn down the lights, I nurse her in the glider chair and after a full feeding, she starts to fall asleep. I place her in her crib which wakes her up a bit (which is what I want to do), I give her kisses and walk away immediately. She wiggles around in her crib a bit but within minutes she is asleep. Generally she will not wake up until 6:30-8:00am the next morning. The reason I say I want to wake her up a bit, is because I want her to be sleepy yet aware of the fact that she is in her crib by herself. If I put her in her crib at a dead sleep too often, she won't like waking up alone in her crib. This way she knows it's a place of sleep and comfort, not a punishment. The reason I say that I walk away immediately, is because I have found that if she gazes over at me in a sleepy daze, she will start crying. If I walk away she seems to have no problem putting herself to sleep. Whatever I can do to keep her in this bedtime routine is key! It seems like at 8:29pm she is rubbing her eyes as if she knows it's time for bed. If we go out somewhere where we are not going to be home by 8:30pm, I have noticed that she will fight falling asleep, but the second we get home and I go through the bedtime routine, she falls right into it, no matter what the time is. I try to avoid keeping her out late unless it is a special occasion. She prefers her routine for sure.

 There are some nights where she will wake up after a few hours (around 12am) crying and Chris & I usually wait about 5-10 minutes letting her cry, then if she is still crying or getting hysterical, I will go comfort her. I used to just nurse her back to sleep, but I know how bad that is, so I recently have been just walking around silently with her, comforting her with kisses and not really say anything to her so she will stay sleepy. It has surprisingly worked! In fact, I found that if I sit in the glider chair with her and cradle her, she thinks she is going to get fed, so I make sure to just walk around with her. After about 5-10 minutes when I can tell she is sleepy, I put her back in her crib, kiss her, and walk away. Seems to work.

 I know all babies are different, so I know some mothers do not have it as easy. I have found on those rare nights when Lana is being difficult, we have done a little bit of the "cry it out" method". I personally find it cruel if not done in moderation. We will let her cry at night no more than 10 minutes. If she is still crying, we will go up and comfort her. If she gets hysterical at any point, even if it's in the first 5 minutes, I will go to her. (sometimes it can be that she just has a gas bubble trapped because she will burps when I pick her up)

• Babies wake up frequently during the night and can sometimes be awake for up to an hour before falling back asleep on their own. But they will fall back asleep on their own if left alone. I've tested this with Lana many times.
• Some babies NEED to cry themselves to sleep a bit. It is part of the "winding down" process for some babies. Lana is one of those babies. And because I have learned that, I have come to EXPECT her fussing a bit before naptime and sometimes bedtime. I let her fuss and cry a bit when she's lying down. She eventually falls asleep. I also can tell her "tired" cry which sounds nothing like her cries of pain or frustration.
• Babies are creatures of habit, so if you want them to do something different, you have to make it part of the routine. Keep at it until it baby accepts it as the routine. Some babies take longer than others to adapt, but no baby is immune from routine.
• Keep your baby on the "Eat, Play, Sleep" routine. In that order during the day. (I will explain why this is WONDERFUL below) 
• It's important to not be super strict about your routine. Your baby (and you) need to learn how to roll with the punches. Those parents that don't leave their baby because they don't want to mess up his "schedule" are in big trouble when life throws them a crazy day. Baby won't know how to deal with it and can become very upset. It doesn't give you much room for having a life either! Not good for you, or the baby. You have to be flexible!

 I have adapted the Eat, Play, Sleep routine after reading a few books with this philosophy and I have to say it's just common sense. They wake up and eat. After they eat, you have some playtime and they naturally wear themselves out and get tired (so they fall asleep). They repeat this process all day long. But you have to give them some guidance. Lana is in such a great habit of this, but I make sure we do some sort of activity after I nurse her. She will play for a few hours, then she gets sleepy and I put down for a nap. The "Play" part can be any type of activity from toys, to reading books, to a bath, to going on a walk, etc. Mix it up! (Lana is a very short napper, but it doesn't worry me because she sleeps so much at night) The only change I make to this philosophy is at night. The time when she goes from play to sleep, I also add in the last feeding of the day. (even if it hasn't been too long since she last ate) She will still fill herself up and be good for the night. So far this has worked great for us. I have an idea of what to expect from her because she has become a bit predictable. It's so much easier to also plan my day and have a life! It's a loose routine that my husband or any sitter can replicate with her as well.

  A few issues that I run into is that putting her down for a nap can be a struggle about 50% of the time. I have to lay with her sometimes and I know that's not the best thing to do, but I am guilty as charged. This has nothing to do with her routine not working, it's just the kind of baby she is. She's 7 months old so the world is so exciting to her. She is so curious that is hard for her to want to miss out on something. When she was a newborn she would sleep anywhere and through anything. Now she is much more sensitive to sounds when she sleeps. So I have the best luck putting her down in a quiet room with not much going on. If she isn't distracted by sights or sounds, she gets bored and falls asleep pretty fast.

 I believe that the best thing a mom (or dad) can do is really get to know your baby and his/her personality. It will help you realize what your baby needs and works for him/her. In another book I read ("The Baby Whisperer"), the author discusses the 5 baby personality types and if you are honest with yourself about what type of baby you are dealing with, you can learn how to react and care for them in a healthy & productive way.She also mentions that people tend to treat babies without the respect they deserve. Babies are people too! Granted they can't talk, but they have feelings and deserve to be treated with respect just as every human does. The author discusses examples of how many people will do things like change a diaper, change their clothes, put them in a bath tub, put them in their crib without even asking or discussing with the baby what they are doing with them. The world is new to your baby so they don't understand why you are putting a diaper on or taking it off, or putting clothes on them, etc...They may not understand yet what you are saying to them, but it really does make a difference if you lovingly tell your baby what you are doing to them as you are doing it. "We are going to change your diaper, ok? This is so you can feel fresh & clean!" or "Let's take these jammies off so we can get dressed for the day, sound good?"

   I have really taken this to heart with Lana. I have had to train my husband to do the same thing. He used to just do things without talking to her and you could see the difference! She seemed more upset and would get fussy & confused. Now he has learned to communicate with her and she's so much happier! The added benefit is that the more you talk to your baby, the more it helps them learn about our language!

 Well, I'm not sure if all of this will help anyone out there, or if anyone has an opinion or tips that worked for them, but I'd love to hear it! Having the perfect kid that goes to sleep without a fuss every night is not realistic, there will always be struggles. Good nights & bad. As adults we are the same way. But I hope that at the very least, any parent will try to get to know their baby and make the effort to get them into a healthy sleep routine. Babies deserve their beauty sleep and so do WE! :)

Best of luck to all!


*******UPDATE********

Hello all!

 Well..within the last week or so in my writing this last blog, Lana has decided to turn our world upside down in her sleep habits. Let me just say, just when you think you know your baby- they like to change the game and confuse you even more! (HA!)

 So at just a week shy of 8 months old, Lana is now having some major difficulties sleeping through the night. Let me back up a bit.

 In the last few weeks Lana has been making some great strides with her new mobile skills. She has now mastered rolling from her back to her stomach quickly so that she can sit herself up. She has begun crawling backwards (which supposedly happens first for most babies before they crawl forward), and on top of that, she has already learned to pull herself to stand up and will hold onto things on her own to stand. She also is getting better at taking "walking steps" when she holds onto my hands. So, LOTS of new and exciting things she is experiencing. She would rather practice her new found skills over playing with toys....which makes me a bit nuts sometimes. She's all over the place!

 So as these things are happening, her sleep is getting really disrupted. (I'm pretty sure they are related) Almost every night she will wake up every few hours by rolling over on her stomach and start dragging herself all over her crib. She rolls back and forth, she will sit herself up, she will try to stand up in her crib, play with anything she can find (a pacifier, her baby monitor!, etc). Most of the time she will be half asleep when she does this. Once she rolls over on her belly, she will cry and wake herself up more. If I don't go in there to catch her while she is still really sleepy, she will become more awake and she has stayed up for up to 2 hours in her crib! (that was last night, people) When I go to her room and find her sitting up playing, she smiles and giggles and thinks it's playtime! How does she have this energy?? It's not even like she sleeps a lot during the day.

 My goal when Lana goes through some big change is to quickly figure out how to fix or adjust the problem. I try to figure her out and try a few different tactics. Most of the time I have been successful, but I'm a little stumped on this one... (ANY INPUT OR SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME!)

 What I have tried so far is: (sometimes all in the same night!)

• Letting her cry it out & roll around hoping she will get tired and fall back asleep on her own
• Walking around with her cuddled in my arms until she gets sleepy again
• Nursing her to get her sleepy again
• Keeping her in her crib and just putting my hand on her tummy to try to soothe her
• If it's early morning (5 am or later), we will bring her into our bed to sleep with us for a few more hours

All of these have helped get her BACK to sleep, but how do I prevent the constant wake-ups?? Maybe there is nothing I can do, maybe it will pass. But UGGH! The energy it zaps out of me (and sometimes Chris) My biggest concern is that she isn't getting enough sleep that she needs. If it's normal then I wouldn't be too concerned but I'd like to do my part in getting her back on track if it's a possibility.

 I guess all I can do is keep up what I am doing and hope for the best?? A tired new mommy's dream, I guess :)