6 hours!!!

Last night Will went to bed at 6:30pm without his normal bedtime routine
- he had skipped a nap and was very tired. He fell asleep being cuddled
by dad with the dummy, and I was sent out to buy take away for dinner.

I got home to see Will asleep on his playmat, and I thought, ok, we're
going to have a hard night tonight - his routine out of whack and all.

Nope.

He woke at 8:30, so I fed him and put him in the cot... he woke at
10:30, so I went to bed, fed him in bed and we went to sleep.

Then I needed to go to the loo - looked at the clock and it was after
3:30am!!!! Will was asleep still - but on his tummy. He *never* sleeps
on his tummy. He always puts his head right over to the side, and
sometimes tries to snuggle in to me (whether I'm there or not) by
rolling onto his side. I debated about whether to roll him back and
decided not to - I wanted to see how long he'd sleep!

He woke at 4:30 and fed straight back to sleep, then woke properly at 6:30.

So, really, he was pretty much asleep for 12 hours with a few breaks,
and the longest stretch was 6 hours! Previously we were lucky to get a
3 hour stretch from him.

So, was it the tummy sleeping that did it? Is it just because? Was it
a once off? We'll see

I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC. I'm not ready for
that. It's starting to work, this Co-sleeping. With him rolling so
much though, I have him in the cot until I come to bed, and in the cot
or on his playmat for naps.

Will update later!

Jo (mum to Will, 6 months old on Sunday)

"Jo" wrote in message
...
Last night Will went to bed at 6:30pm without his normal bedtime routine
- he had skipped a nap and was very tired. He fell asleep being cuddled
by dad with the dummy, and I was sent out to buy take away for dinner.

I got home to see Will asleep on his playmat, and I thought, ok, we're
going to have a hard night tonight - his routine out of whack and all.

Nope.

He woke at 8:30, so I fed him and put him in the cot... he woke at
10:30, so I went to bed, fed him in bed and we went to sleep.

Then I needed to go to the loo - looked at the clock and it was after
3:30am!!!! Will was asleep still - but on his tummy. He *never* sleeps
on his tummy. He always puts his head right over to the side, and
sometimes tries to snuggle in to me (whether I'm there or not) by
rolling onto his side. I debated about whether to roll him back and
decided not to - I wanted to see how long he'd sleep!

He woke at 4:30 and fed straight back to sleep, then woke properly at
6:30.

So, really, he was pretty much asleep for 12 hours with a few breaks,
and the longest stretch was 6 hours! Previously we were lucky to get a
3 hour stretch from him.

So, was it the tummy sleeping that did it? Is it just because? Was it
a once off? We'll see

I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC. I'm not ready for
that. It's starting to work, this Co-sleeping. With him rolling so
much though, I have him in the cot until I come to bed, and in the cot
or on his playmat for naps.

Will update later!

Jo (mum to Will, 6 months old on Sunday)

Well done.
Jo - H has slept on his tummy ever since he was able to roll over. I know
its not SIDS friendly, but it really been the only way he'd sleep well for
any period of time.
I used to try to roll him onto his side, but short of holding him that way,
he'd always roll straight back onto his tummy.
See what the health nurse says but if he's strong enough and rolling himself
over easily, I wouldn't be particularly worried.... especially as he seems
comfortable sleeping like that.
Amanda

Jo wrote:

I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC. I'm not ready for
that. It's starting to work, this Co-sleeping. With him rolling so
much though, I have him in the cot until I come to bed, and in the
cot or on his playmat for naps.

She can say whatever she likes, you don't have to pay attention to her. If
co-sleeping is starting to work for you, stick with it. You may never need
to CIO.

If you find something is working for you, the fact that someone else doesn't
like it has nothing to with you. If you find that something is not a problem
for you, the fact that someone else has a problem with it is nothing to with
you. Don't let other people's problems become yours! YoungBloke needed
nursing or cuddling to sleep, and woke two or three times a night, till he
was about 21 months old. The nursing/cuddling to sleep is a problem for some
people but it gave us time with him so it wasn't a problem for us.
Similarly, getting up two or three times in the night wasn't too much of a
problem for me although I know it is for many people. So we didn't address
these behaviours until they /did/ become issues for us. Have confidence in
yourself and people eventually stop trying to make their problems yours.

that sounds really good, not just the 6 hrs, but the whole session of just
needing feeding in the "sleep" part of the day.

Ada freaked me out yesterday by going 13hrs between feed, boy was I engorged

Anne

Linz wrote:
Jo wrote:


I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC. I'm not ready for
that. It's starting to work, this Co-sleeping. With him rolling so
much though, I have him in the cot until I come to bed, and in the
cot or on his playmat for naps.


She can say whatever she likes, you don't have to pay attention to her. If
co-sleeping is starting to work for you, stick with it. You may never need
to CIO.

If you find something is working for you, the fact that someone else doesn't
like it has nothing to with you. If you find that something is not a problem
for you, the fact that someone else has a problem with it is nothing to with
you. Don't let other people's problems become yours! YoungBloke needed
nursing or cuddling to sleep, and woke two or three times a night, till he
was about 21 months old. The nursing/cuddling to sleep is a problem for some
people but it gave us time with him so it wasn't a problem for us.
Similarly, getting up two or three times in the night wasn't too much of a
problem for me although I know it is for many people. So we didn't address
these behaviours until they /did/ become issues for us. Have confidence in
yourself and people eventually stop trying to make their problems yours.



I wish I had read this just after I got back from the CHN this
morning... Somehow she convinced me that if I don't CC him he will
learn to throw tantrums to get his way when he's 2, and 'imagine what
he'll be like when he gets to school!"

I ended up trying to make him sleep without the dummy, and without the
breast - CC basically, but cold turkey like she said I should. I lasted
20 minutes, broke down, and comforted my sobbing boy with my breast like
he needed. He was asleep within a minute. Poor thing I'm not doing
that again. I felt so guilty afterwards, and he was a bit more clingy
when he woke up, too... only 20 min later.

We're going with my instincts now, and that is to give comfort when he
needs it. He'll learn to get to sleep himself eventually. Meanwhile,
I'm here to help.

Thanks for the reply

Jo

Anne Rogers wrote:
that sounds really good, not just the 6 hrs, but the whole session of just
needing feeding in the "sleep" part of the day.

Ada freaked me out yesterday by going 13hrs between feed, boy was I engorged

Anne



Yup, he wasn't up for an hour over night like he had been doing. It
was a good night, I think. I hope I didn't ruin my chances for tonight
after our disaster attempt at CC this morning!

13 hours?? How old is Ada now? At 6 months, the longest Will has ever
gone was 8 hours - once.

Jo

"Jo" wrote in message
...
Last night Will went to bed at 6:30pm without his normal bedtime routine -
he had skipped a nap and was very tired. He fell asleep being cuddled by
dad with the dummy, and I was sent out to buy take away for dinner.

I got home to see Will asleep on his playmat, and I thought, ok, we're
going to have a hard night tonight - his routine out of whack and all.

Nope.

He woke at 8:30, so I fed him and put him in the cot... he woke at 10:30,
so I went to bed, fed him in bed and we went to sleep.

Then I needed to go to the loo - looked at the clock and it was after
3:30am!!!! Will was asleep still - but on his tummy. He *never* sleeps
on his tummy. He always puts his head right over to the side, and
sometimes tries to snuggle in to me (whether I'm there or not) by rolling
onto his side. I debated about whether to roll him back and decided not
to - I wanted to see how long he'd sleep!

He woke at 4:30 and fed straight back to sleep, then woke properly at
6:30.

So, really, he was pretty much asleep for 12 hours with a few breaks, and
the longest stretch was 6 hours! Previously we were lucky to get a 3 hour
stretch from him.

So, was it the tummy sleeping that did it? Is it just because? Was it a
once off? We'll see

I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC. I'm not ready for that.
It's starting to work, this Co-sleeping. With him rolling so much though,
I have him in the cot until I come to bed, and in the cot or on his
playmat for naps.

Will update later!

Jo (mum to Will, 6 months old on Sunday)

Congrats! I think it's likely at least partially the tummy-sleeping thing
that helps lengthen the sleeps - ds kept starling himself awake on his back
up through several months old (can't remember how old at this point), and
always slept better on his belly - we would let him nap on his belly on a
blanket on the floor, and he would sleep for 3 or more hours, when he would
wake after 45 min on his back. He still likes to sleep on his belly, and
he's 3yo now. DD on the other hand, prefers being flat on her back, not
being held, and with her arms straight over her head! We have never tried
having her sleep on her belly, bc she's so happy on her back. I guess
they're just like adults in that way - they prefer different ways of
sleeping. (Personally, I have always been a side sleeper . . . ) :-)

"Jo" wrote in message
I have my child health nurse visit this morning - have to leave now,
actually. I'm a bit nervous as to what she'll say re his sleeping. I'm
hoping she doesn't advise me to CIO, or do CC.

What is CC?
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Jo wrote:
Linz wrote:

If you find something is working for you, the fact that someone else
doesn't like it has nothing to with you. If you find that something
is not a problem for you, the fact that someone else has a problem
with it is nothing to with you. Don't let other people's problems
become yours! YoungBloke needed nursing or cuddling to sleep, and
woke two or three times a night, till he was about 21 months old.
The nursing/cuddling to sleep is a problem for some people but it
gave us time with him so it wasn't a problem for us. Similarly,
getting up two or three times in the night wasn't too much of a
problem for me although I know it is for many people. So we didn't
address these behaviours until they /did/ become issues for us. Have
confidence in yourself and people eventually stop trying to make
their problems yours.

I wish I had read this just after I got back from the CHN this
morning... Somehow she convinced me that if I don't CC him he will
learn to throw tantrums to get his way when he's 2, and 'imagine what
he'll be like when he gets to school!"

I'm so sorry to read this. As I said, we nursed/cuddled to sleep and got up
during the night to YoungBloke for 21 months. I still get up during the
night to YB as often as he needs it, but his sleep pattern has changed so he
normally only wakes up once unless he's poorly. Funnily enough, the friends
who have been sleep-training in various ways since their toddlers were
babies, well, they're still sleep-training. We're not. We were incredibly
lucky. We snapped one evening when YB was 21 months and, at 8.30pm, still
trying to climb all over his dad. Dad came downstairs so he could cook
dinner and I went up and told YB to go to sleep. We did controlled crying
that night, and within half an hour he was fast asleep - the longest he
cried was 3 mins, and it wasn't hysteria, it was cross, tired crying. The
next night it took 10 mins and the longest he cried was 2 mins. The third
night he grumbled and fell asleep. Since then he nurses, he tells me "bed,
mummy" and climbs into bed. He talks to his teddies and falls asleep.

I ended up trying to make him sleep without the dummy, and without the
breast - CC basically, but cold turkey like she said I should. I
lasted 20 minutes, broke down, and comforted my sobbing boy with my
breast like he needed. He was asleep within a minute. Poor thing
I'm not doing that again. I felt so guilty afterwards, and he was a
bit more clingy when he woke up, too... only 20 min later.

Don't feel guilty. When the time is right, for both of you, you may find
that you want to give it a go and that it works. I tried CC maybe once a
month from YB being a year, but he didn't just cry, he got hysterical in
that first minute and frankly that was more of a problem than cuddling him
to sleep. Then that one evening he didn't get hysterical. If he had, I'd've
nursed him to sleep again.

We're going with my instincts now, and that is to give comfort when he
needs it. He'll learn to get to sleep himself eventually. Meanwhile,
I'm here to help.

You know, every word of that para is true. Your instincts are good. He has
learnt to trust you and right now what he needs and trusts you to give is
comfort. He'll learn to get to sleep without you, and it won't be that long
away in the grand scheme of things. YoungBloke is 25 months. I nursed him to
sleep for 21 months. In terms of an average lifespan, what's 21 months?

Hang in there and keep trusting your instincts. You know yourself and you
know your son, better than anyone else.

Jo wrote:

So, was it the tummy sleeping that did it? Is it just because? Was it
a once off? We'll see

My LLL leader told me that the reason they recommend "back to sleep" to
prevent SIDS is because it actually prevents babies from sleeping as
deeply as they would on their tummies. The idea is that if they're not
in deep sleep, they won't forget to breathe, I guess. So, yeah, it may
have been that he was sleeping more deeply because he was on his tummy.

I thought that once they were able to roll themselves over, it was ok
for them to sleep in any position they choose - the idea being that if
they get into a place where they can't breathe well (like face down in
the mattress) they can roll themselves back over to fix it. Although,
that would imply that the reason they recommend back to sleep for SIDS
is because the babies can get their little faces planted in the
mattress and therefore be unable to breathe... But maybe they
recommend "back to sleep" for more than one reason.

My LLL leader also told me that the reason they call it "crib death" is
because it happens more to babies who sleep in cribs - she said that
SIDS is virtually unheard of in babies who co-sleep. Suffocation
deaths from excess bedding have occurred in co-sleeping babies, but
that's different. I suppose if your baby were right beside you and he
stopped breathing, you'd notice and wake him up, even if you were
sleeping too. I've also read that babies who co-sleep regulate their
breathing and their heartrate to match their mothers' breathing and
heartrate, so maybe the proximity helps, too.

I don't know, there are a bunch of unknowns with SIDS. Even the
experts don't know. But if he's able to roll over on his own, there's
not much you can do to prevent him rolling over to his tummy, short of
sitting there all night and rolling him back over! My baby sleeps on
her side, also anti-SIDS recommendations, but I can't get her to stay
asleep on her back. She falls asleep nursing most of the time, and if
I try to roll her back over, she wakes up. So, I leave her be. She
hates "tummy time" anyway, and I'm sure she would scream bloody murder
if she found herself on her stomach, even if she were asleep! Also,
she can't roll forward because I'm there - and the fear about side
sleeping is that they'll roll themselves over in their sleep, so I
guess we're ok.

I think kidnapping and SIDS are my two greatest fears about motherhood.
I'm looking forward to her first birthday, when I can stop worrying
about one of them!!

Amy