01 October 2011

Sleeping Through The Night AKA STTN

sleep through the night, babies sleeping, newborn STTTN, sleep book reviews
Sleep Through the Night? Why would I do that?

Sleep. It's what all the moms talk about from the moment you become pregnant. "Sleep while you can!" bitter moms will sneer in the sweetest of tones. Kinder ones lean in and advise you to nap with your baby. Conversation starters shift from "When are you due?" and "Do you know what you're having?" to "How old is your baby?" and "So, is he sleeping through the night yet?" I'm sure it evolves into something else soon - probably something about food, crawling, pulling up, etc, etc. I use all these conversation starters, too, except for sleep while you can. Instead I warn that those ladies were right - pregnancy sleep was a vacation compared to new-mommy sleep. But you'll catch up eventually. We're there. I haven't felt this rested in over a year.

We have been doing some revamping of our nightly routine this week. When things stop working you have to take a step back, observe yourself, gather the glitches up, and iron out a plan. This time around I have been referring to baby manuals (AKA books - library books!) and have been finding these two particularly helpful. You can probably guess from the images I used that they are both available at Amazon.com - or, your local library!
The Baby Sleep Book by Drs. Sears

The Baby Sleep Book is lovely. It's a fast, informative lesson in easing your baby into both night and naptime rituals. Within reading a few pages my nerves settled down and the overwhelming task of re-wiring my baby for sleep didn't seem so impossible. I didn't have to let him cry it out (CIO) which is the worst way to start a conversation with me. No, we will not be CIO. Please don't suggest that my little dude has to hyperventilate in order for anyone to get a good night's sleep. If that works for you, that works for you. Each family has its own unique style and dynamics. The four contributing Drs. Sears address CIO and give you suggestions on ways to gently nighttime parent your baby into a dream-filled bliss (heaving sobs not included).


Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, is a book that I hear mentioned on message boards frequently so I had to check it out (pun!) to see if it really was worth raving about. This is a much more detailed read than The Baby Sleep Book and I'm only in the 70-something page numbers. I'm certainly learning a lot of interesting details about sleep patterns in general (whether child or adult) and instead of just skimming it like I would, I have carefully read most sections. I understand myself a lot better - who, by the way, has been back on 'normal people hours' for several weeks now. I've kicked the night-worker schedule - huzzah!

I'll wrap this entry up now because shortly I'll begin my own bedtime ritual. Tomorrow we are going to the early service and I'm not sure what to wear. Tee's outfit has been laid out for hours and it's a particularly cute ensemble if I do say so myself! Stay tuned for our weekly family porch shots.

Update: Tristan didn't STTN for many months after writing this, though I still think these two books were the most helpful. It was very stressful! He was 20 months when he finally slept through the night.

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