I've been pondering the next edition of my life's FAQs this one popped in my head. I know this subject will have no interest to many of you. But this question comes up frequently from all my pregger friends or new mommies:
"How did get both your kids to sleep through the night?"
(some of this advice was passed on from one of my friends - thank you Angie - so I feel the need to pay it forward and pass on to others who may be interested)
With Jordyn, I had absolutely no plan of attack for night sleeping since I was completely clueless. But about week 4 of sleep deprivation, I realized that I needed a strategy and QUICK! Because I was going back to work Week 6 and would die without some form of sleep. So I started to ask around and gather tips from my doctor and friends. The best tip I got was "schedule, schedule, schedule." I also felt a schedule was necessary for pumping at work and my mom who would be watching her.
Up to that point, I had been feeding on demand. My doctor suggested starting the schedule at Week 4 and he also said that babies are ready to start getting used to 12 hours of sleep by that time and to start giving Jordyn a 12 hour period in her crib. So I opted for a 3 hour feeding schedule that revolved from 7 - 7. She would eat at 7 pm and go straight into her crib after the feeding. Then I feed at 10 pm, 1 am, 4 am, and 7 am. This worked out perfect because after the 7 am feeding, I would go to work. Then she ate at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm again with my mom (and I pumped at those intervals).
The first night, I remember her crying in her crib from about 7:30-9:30 before the next feeding. The second night she only cried from 7:30-8:30, the third night she only cried about 30 minutes, and by the fourth night she went right to sleep after the 7 pm feeding. She usually never made it quite to the next feeding, so I would pacify her until it was time. She was pretty regular though with waking up every 3 hours. By month 2 (about 8 weeks) she had dropped the 4 am feeding, by month 3 she dropped the 1 am feeding, and by month 4 she dropped the last feeding at 10 pm. Towards the end of that 4th month we actually had to wake her up at 10 pm to feed but it was totally worth it for us to sleep from about 10:30 to 7 am.
With Hudson, we took a slightly different approach. Since he was a premie, we didn't start the schedule until about 7 weeks. But I followed the same pattern above on feeding times. I just decided not to wake him for the 10 pm feeding and let him sleep. He almost always skipped the 10 pm feeding from the first night and made it to the 1 am feeding and then ate again at 4 am and then at 7 am. So we had it a little easier right from the start. (Maybe because he was 7 weeks when we started the dedicated schedule??) Then he dropped the 1 am feeding by about the 9th week and then dropped the 4 am feeding at the 11th week! I was super thrilled!
For naps, I was also very structured. I was flexible the first 5 months, but once we started solids at the 5th month I started new routines. I spread the feedings out to every 4 hours but still from 7 - 7. They just now ate at 7 am, 11 am, 3 pm and 7 pm. The solid foods helped them go longer in between feedings and also allowed for more time to nap in between. So right now Hudson wakes at 7 am and eats, then naps from 9-11, gets up to eat again and then goes down from 1-3. He eats again at 3 and then stays awake until the 7 pm bedtime. If he sleeps longer than the 2 hour period, I just let him stay down. It usually isn't for much longer than 30 extra minutes so he doesn't get throw off of schedule.
So there it is...my magic sleeping formula! I know it won't work for everyone, but maybe it will at least give someone a starting point or new idea. I know that I rely heavily on friends who have already experienced things for advice and help, so if I can pass that information on then maybe it will help someone like it helped me.
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