Oh, sleep. Our relationship has always been so close. I was a great sleeper as a baby(I'm told), regularly slept 12 hours at night during high school, learned how to take naps at college, and routinely enjoyed being awake for no more than 14 hours a day. Until...Leo.
Most babies are TERRRRIBLE sleepers. This means sometimes they:
1. Wake up several times a night (or don't sleep at all?!?)
2. Fall asleep at random times during the day when you don't expect it.
3. Can't put themselves to sleep.
4. Can't/won't nap.
This is largely because they don't really know how to sleep and they spend the first 3 or so years (I'm told) learning how to catch some z's. The real problem here, of course, is that a parent's sleep is tied to their child's sleep. It's all rolled into one big 2 for 1 package.
Leo wasn't/isn't the worst sleeper and he was/is definitely not the best sleeper. He fell/falls somewhere in the middle. Like Nebraska. Or Olympia Snowe. Here's a bit of Leo's journey of learning how to sleep.
Phase 1: Our baby is the BEST sleeper in the world!!
In the very beginning(the first 24 hours), it seemed like Leo was THE BEST SLEEPER EVER. He would wake up, sort of attempt to eat, and then fall back asleep. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Obviously, we had won the baby lottery,he was going to sleep 12 hours every night from 7 to 7, and nap at all the right times(we were also assuming he would magically start nursing better). WRONG. Newborn babies are super tired and want to sleep all the time for the first couple of days. This was the case for Leo. We knew this because...
Phase 3: Our baby ONLY sleeps on an incline!!
It should be said that Leo was a total swaddle and pacifier addict from the beginning. It's controversial to some, but as soon as we started to pacify Leo while he was sleeping, life got a lot better for us. We though we were doing pretty well only having three sleep crutches(swaddle, paci, white noise). Of course, anytime the swaddle loosened or he lost the pacifier, he would wake up. But, you know, it was okay. Workable. Then, for no apparent reason,around when he was 3 weeks old, Leo started to refuse to sleep while lying flat on his back. At first, this meant that he slept on my chest which was obviously unsafe and not really a tenable situation. Soon, after doing a LOT of Googling, we decided to try an inclined sleeping surface. We didn't have a swing at that point, but we did have THE CHAIR.
So, the chair became where Leo slept (we put it in the pack n play). LIFESAVER. It was weird, but it worked for us and the kid (this is the unofficial slogan of successful parenting). Soon, however, I realized that I wasn't sleeping great with Leo in the room so we decided that we wanted to move him into his own room. We knew that we couldn't leave him in the chair in his own room so we bought...THE SWING.
The swing is a slightly more conventional sleeping area and it swung back and forth which was super soothing for Leo. Our pediatrician warned us a lot about the dangers of letting him get to used to the swing, but it was working at the time and that was really all that mattered. For naps and nighttime, Leo was a swinger. Since we had a baby that was sleeping pretty well at this point (while inclined and moving), we decided to introduce...
Phase 4: Our baby has a bedtime routine!
Leo's bedtime routine was pretty straightforward: bath, bottle, books, singing, a little vodka on the gums(just kidding!) and bed. And then rock. And rock. And keeping rocking for up to an hour waiting for Leo to fall asleep. This was pretty much the situation for months 2 and 3. We started moving him from the swing to the crib at about this time, and we elevated the crib mattress by placing blankets under one end. I was VERY NERVOUS about moving him to the crib, but after about a slow month of transition, he was in the crib and sleeping reasonably well. Score! Until...
Phase 5: Our baby cried it out!
About 4 months, the rocking to sleep stopped working and Leo started waking up every 45 minutes. 4 month sleep regression. Woot. It was the worst. He wasn't happy and we weren't happy. NOTHING was working. So, we decided to give CIO a try. For those of you who haven't raised a child recently, there is a lot of argument around the issue of Cry It Out (CIO). Essentially, you put your baby in their crib, say good night, and then leave them alone for increasing increments of time(1 min, 5 min, 10 min, etc) until they fall asleep. It's called Cry it Out because...well...the babies aren't exactly happy with this. For us, no other solution was working and we felt that Leo would be happier if he was able to put himself to sleep. It did wind up working. We would let him fuss for 20 minutes at a time, but we would go in after 20 minutes, soothe and put the pacifier back in. I was very distraught and Leo wasn't happy for about a week of bedtimes. But then, magic! He totally started falling asleep on his own with no crying. Added and unanticipated bonus: he started sleeping through the night! Everything was...
Phase 6: Our baby is AMAZING at sleep again!
Over the summer, from 4 - 7 months, Leo was sleeping 11 hours and taking 3 steady naps a day. He was all like, "What up? I am the King of the Sleep." And we were all like,"Awesome." He didn't even have a problem learning to sleep without the swaddle! But then...
Phase 6: Our baby wasn't born with all his teeth in some sort of evolutionary failure and now they are coommmmmiiinggggg!
Leo's night sleep has become pretty regular. However, Leo began teething about 3 months ago. This means that every time he has a new tooth coming in, he spends a couple of nights getting up during the night and being generally miserable. We are bowing to the gods of baby Advil and Natural Orajel and we feel very lucky that (SO FAR) both of these things are doing the trick.
However, we recently went on an overnight to a lake house and left the baby Advil at home. This led to 2 super fun hours from 11pm to 1am with a miserable baby before we realized that we did in fact bring the Orajel. That didn't cut it though, so we took him out of his Pack 'n Play, and brought him to the mattress that we were sleeping on which was about 4 inches off the floor. This is called co-sleeping and is the crux of attachment parenting. At some point he rolled off of the mattress, onto the floor, and didn't even wake up. I woke up to a baby sleeping several feet away on the rug. Co-sleeping Rule #1: Don't let your baby roll off the mattress. FAIL. We've also become acquainted with...
Phase 6b: Our baby is now known as Leo "I nap when I want" Beaton!
According to Leo's teachers at daycare, he sleeps great for all of his scheduled naps, totaling 3 hours of naps a day. I call Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Leo's naps at home on the weekend usually add up to 1 - 1.5 hours with a morning nap around 9, a second nap around 1:30, and no nap in the late afternoon. This is generally not a "problem" per se, but parents need their weekend time too, amiright? Apparently, when you birth a child, you pretty much throw in the towel on "Me Time".
Leo has had quite the sleep journey so far and we have so much to look forward to: more sleep regressions, weaning off the pacifier, more teeth, moving to a toddler bed, the list goes on and on! We've definitely learned to go with the flow to a certain extent, although I still get very anxious when he wakes up at a time when I think he should be sleeping or when it takes him a harder time to fall asleep. It's all part of the package, I guess. We feel really lucky that he is, overall, an okay sleeper and that we haven't had to actually vodka up his gums. Too much.
Note: If you're looking for more on baby sleep, here the best website in the world.
http://www.troublesometots.com/
 |
| ALERT. AN ARM HAS ESCAPED THE SWADDLE. ALERT. |
1. Wake up several times a night (or don't sleep at all?!?)
2. Fall asleep at random times during the day when you don't expect it.
3. Can't put themselves to sleep.
4. Can't/won't nap.
This is largely because they don't really know how to sleep and they spend the first 3 or so years (I'm told) learning how to catch some z's. The real problem here, of course, is that a parent's sleep is tied to their child's sleep. It's all rolled into one big 2 for 1 package.
 |
| Leo: ZZZZZZ Me: Developing a bladder infection(dontwakethebaby!!!!!). |
Leo wasn't/isn't the worst sleeper and he was/is definitely not the best sleeper. He fell/falls somewhere in the middle. Like Nebraska. Or Olympia Snowe. Here's a bit of Leo's journey of learning how to sleep.
Phase 1: Our baby is the BEST sleeper in the world!!
 |
| Snuggles McGee. |
Phase 2: Our baby is the WORST sleeper in the world!!
Leo went through a super fun two or so weeks where he would only sleep for 30-45 minutes at a time before waking up and screaming. For the uninitiated, newborns should be sleeping for about 1.5 - 2 hours at a time. We soon realized that what was really going on was Leo wasn't getting enough to eat due to his poor latch while nursing. DUH. I get hungry when I haven't eaten for 23 minutes and that's when I've eaten a full meal. We should have realized that our baby was hungry when he wasn't latching well AND was fussy. However, it took some time and this in between period was pretty dreadful because it meant that I couldn't sleep for longer than however long Leo was. Eric would say, "Go take a nap." I would go lie down, and then 5 minutes later..."I think he's hungry again?!?" Soon we realized what the problem was and starting giving Leo bottles which solved the hunger problem. Then we moved on to...
 |
| You think I'm going to sleep!? You're hilarious. |
Phase 3: Our baby ONLY sleeps on an incline!!
It should be said that Leo was a total swaddle and pacifier addict from the beginning. It's controversial to some, but as soon as we started to pacify Leo while he was sleeping, life got a lot better for us. We though we were doing pretty well only having three sleep crutches(swaddle, paci, white noise). Of course, anytime the swaddle loosened or he lost the pacifier, he would wake up. But, you know, it was okay. Workable. Then, for no apparent reason,around when he was 3 weeks old, Leo started to refuse to sleep while lying flat on his back. At first, this meant that he slept on my chest which was obviously unsafe and not really a tenable situation. Soon, after doing a LOT of Googling, we decided to try an inclined sleeping surface. We didn't have a swing at that point, but we did have THE CHAIR.
 |
| It vibrates! |
Phase 4: Our baby has a bedtime routine!
 |
| Obviously, no bedtime routine is complete without a cat. |
Phase 5: Our baby cried it out!
 |
| Totally not brain damaged or feeling emotionally abandoned. |
About 4 months, the rocking to sleep stopped working and Leo started waking up every 45 minutes. 4 month sleep regression. Woot. It was the worst. He wasn't happy and we weren't happy. NOTHING was working. So, we decided to give CIO a try. For those of you who haven't raised a child recently, there is a lot of argument around the issue of Cry It Out (CIO). Essentially, you put your baby in their crib, say good night, and then leave them alone for increasing increments of time(1 min, 5 min, 10 min, etc) until they fall asleep. It's called Cry it Out because...well...the babies aren't exactly happy with this. For us, no other solution was working and we felt that Leo would be happier if he was able to put himself to sleep. It did wind up working. We would let him fuss for 20 minutes at a time, but we would go in after 20 minutes, soothe and put the pacifier back in. I was very distraught and Leo wasn't happy for about a week of bedtimes. But then, magic! He totally started falling asleep on his own with no crying. Added and unanticipated bonus: he started sleeping through the night! Everything was...
Phase 6: Our baby is AMAZING at sleep again!
 |
| SO happy with all this great sleep! |
Phase 6: Our baby wasn't born with all his teeth in some sort of evolutionary failure and now they are coommmmmiiinggggg!
 |
| Teeth: Great for eating paper, not so great for nighttime. |
However, we recently went on an overnight to a lake house and left the baby Advil at home. This led to 2 super fun hours from 11pm to 1am with a miserable baby before we realized that we did in fact bring the Orajel. That didn't cut it though, so we took him out of his Pack 'n Play, and brought him to the mattress that we were sleeping on which was about 4 inches off the floor. This is called co-sleeping and is the crux of attachment parenting. At some point he rolled off of the mattress, onto the floor, and didn't even wake up. I woke up to a baby sleeping several feet away on the rug. Co-sleeping Rule #1: Don't let your baby roll off the mattress. FAIL. We've also become acquainted with...
Phase 6b: Our baby is now known as Leo "I nap when I want" Beaton!
 |
| Too cool for naps. |
Leo has had quite the sleep journey so far and we have so much to look forward to: more sleep regressions, weaning off the pacifier, more teeth, moving to a toddler bed, the list goes on and on! We've definitely learned to go with the flow to a certain extent, although I still get very anxious when he wakes up at a time when I think he should be sleeping or when it takes him a harder time to fall asleep. It's all part of the package, I guess. We feel really lucky that he is, overall, an okay sleeper and that we haven't had to actually vodka up his gums. Too much.
Note: If you're looking for more on baby sleep, here the best website in the world.
http://www.troublesometots.com/
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