Friday, May 13, 2011

Sleeping through the night - part 2

Well, we've had four nights of intense sleep training (officially known as project "sleep through the night").  We started out just trying to space out Levi's feeds by 1 additional hour each night.  So I would put him to bed at 8pm and the first night I didn't feed him until 11 (which was a stretch for him, resulting in SCREAMS from 10-11).  I fed him no more than every three hours that night.  The next night I wouldn't feed him until midnight...again, screams for an hour.  No feeds for four hours went alright.  The next night was 1am and it went a little better, but he was still crying for about an hour before that first night-time feed.  This just didn't seem to be working well.  For one, Levi was still up multiple times in the night and it wasn't really spacing out his subsequent wake-ups.  Also, it was still being enforced that if Levi cried long enough, he would still be fed at night.  So there was a slight change in plans for last night.  Last night I fed Levi at 8 (ideally this would be the last feed of the night), I fed him again at 11 - when we got home from being out for the evening - and then I crawled into bed and didn't get out until morning.  I noticed Levi wake up and cry a few times during the night but in the end he made it until 9am before he ate again!  And there was no screaming like there had been in the first three nights.  I am cautiously hopeful that we are making some progress toward being a family who sleeps through the night.  It will still take some adjusting on my part *ahem* if you know what I mean...but being able to sleep at least 8 blissful hours in a row will make this all so worth it!

4 comments:

Chantelle - ThousandSquareFeet said...

Now that you know he CAN do it, there is all the more motivation for you! And a full nights sleep? Doesn't it suddenly feel like you can do anything :) I remember that feeling! What a grand feeling. Totally motivating to keep this sleeping-through-the-night thing going!

Kelsie-Lynn said...

Sounds like you did the right thing! I am always so hesitant to comment on sleep issue because I truly believe each child is different. For Alexis I often did a dream feed where I fed her right before I went to bed at whatever time that happened to be and then not again till morning. It worked pretty good till teething started and then it was a whole different ball game!! The twins started sleeping through the night this week but they are cluster feeding like maniacs in the evening. Litterally eating every hour till about 10 pm and then sleeping till about 6 am so its okay but the cluster feeding is exhausting! Anyways I have no magic solution just wanted to say I think you're doing a good job. And remember God made you Levi's mom and He'll give you the wisdom you need to make the best decisions for both of you! Just ask Him!
Looking forward to seeing all 3 of you on Tuesday.

Sabrina said...

Yahoo for uninterrupted sleep! And a big yesss to Kelsie-Lynn's comment - every baby is so different. Sounds like you've found what works for Levi. Fantastic! Enjoy sleeping...and adjusting to not needing to night feed :)

Trev and Rebekah said...

Glad it sounds like things are getting better.