To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

Fortunately JB's 8 month update did not jinx us, and we're now going on Week 3 of sleeping 10 - 11 hours a night.  Now that he's doing so well, I question why we didn't do anything about it before!

Yeah, why didn't we, Mama?

Oh, right, I remember - BECAUSE JB WAS HAVING NONE OF IT!  

Our 4 month appointment was the first time our doctor suggested we try some "sleep training" (aka "baby torture") to stop the middle-of-the-night feed.  She said that, medically speaking, he did not require a feeding and merely wanted a feeding.  That night, we laid in bed and listened to JB cry for hours (literally, from 3 - 5AM) until he finally went back to sleep.  We were prepared for two, maybe three nights of this, based on all the literature we read and advice we got.  One week later, he was still hollering every night around 3AM.  And that's when I said "the hell with it", and went back to feeding him.  I justified it with the following: he didn't do well with the bottle, so I figured he needed this other nursing session for the extra calories; all the lactivist websites I read seemed to support multiple night feeds until the kid was at least 5 years old (joking), so I didn't feel I was doing anything that crazy; it wasn't that difficult on me, as he would eat in 10 minutes and go right back to sleep until 7AM; and, lastly, I sort of liked it.  JB is not really a snuggler, but at 3AM he would gladly let me hold him and nuzzle him forever.  Maybe we both were not ready to give it up.

Fast forward to the 6 month appointment, and the doctor said it was surely no longer necessary (but it was up to me as his Mama to make that call).  I told James to brace for it, because we were sleep training again.  Then that little stinker slept through the night.  I thought, "Brilliant! He's trained himself!", until three nights later I heard the familiar cry at 3AM. This time we made it 45 minutes before James declared that he sounded "really, really hungry" and threatened to unthaw some milk and feed him himself.  Since the three of us were obviously not on the same page, I decided I'd keep up the night nursing for a few more months.  From that point on, JB would wake up about 50% of the time, and I would be snuggled up with him in the rocker within 3 minutes of him crying.

In May I had to travel a few times, and Homefries was content to let Daddy sleep while I was gone (no middle-of-the-night wake up calls).  While this warmed my heart, it also made me think that perhaps - just maybe - this little guy was manipulating his Mama into a midnight snack.

Guilty as Charged!

So after two weeks of work travel (and multiple Colleagues recommending that I "GET MORE SLEEP!") I decided we would sleep train again.

And, this time, we were ALL ready.  JB cried the first night (maybe 30 minutes), woke up whining a bit on nights two and three, and then has slept through the night ever since.  Woo-Hoo!

High-Five, Mama!

One more funny story, only somewhat related because it has to do with his crib:  JB loves to untie things, including the strings on his breathable bumpers.  I don't see any real risk or harm (they are short ribbons), but it did mean he could pull down the bumpers (which he took the opportunity to do whenever he could).

Proud to be a RASCAL

Finally I realized - duh - I could turn them around to put the bow on the outside.  This has worked, but frustrates the heck out of JB, who is still intent on getting to them.   :)  Sneaky Mama...

Hey, how am I supposed to get it now?