That plan sounds so good - what could possibly go wrong? jks If only babies didn't have a mind of their own
Just wanted to say good luck and give you some encouragement. I especially like the music idea. We have been playing the same tune at bedtime for DD since she was born and it is only played when it's sleep time - I reckon it has been a huge help in getting her to self settle in her cot
Good luck! It sounds like you have thought things through really well and made a great plan! I really hope it works for you.
I would do the same kind of thing for Kyson if I was able to. Unfortunately in our house there is too much unpredictability to have a set routine. In the afternoon/evening I have to pickup up the two DSS's from school, organise them doing their homework and then organise dinner for them (which would be faster if both the boys would eat the same dinner, but we tend to have to make something different for the 9yo who refuses to eat a lot of things grrrr). In order to get that done Kyson's routine often goes out the window. I try to put him down for a nap around 4.30-5pm to get dinner done, but if he's unsettled, keeps waking, or refuses to sleep, then I don't have the time to persist with getting him to sleep. Tonight I resorted to making dinner with my cheeky little monkey wide awake in the hug-a-bub!
I'm really looking forward to hearing your results, because if things go really well then I might have to work out a way to do something here as well. I really should try to add a bit more of a night time routine for Kyson. The main thing I do at the moment is playing him two songs that I always played while he was in my belly...
I'm a big fan of using words as sleep cues too (you can use them anywhere, don't have to remember to take them and they're cheap!). I used "sleepy time" too and still use it now that DD is 2. I also made it into a bit of a song. It goes like this:
Babies need a sleepy time, oh yes they do. Repeat x 3.
Mummies need a sleepy time. Daddies need a sleepy time.
Babies need a sleepy time, oh yes they do.
Used to sing that about 20 times. And funnily enough I've just started singing it again. Except now that DD is older she interrupts me and SHE tells me who needs a sleepy time such as Pooh, Roo, dolly, teddy, sissy etc. etc.
Also a big fan of a fluffy blankies. DD still has hers and she visibly relaxes when her head hits her fluffy blanky.
And don't worry if it takes longer to go from rocking to no rocking. I reckon it took a few months for us. But the rocking got shorter and I was more confident that it was actually going to work so it was less stressful.
DD got the hang of it in four days. Those four days were really tough. But it's really worth perservering. I do think the key is to rock them until they're sleepy and calm but not fully asleep and let them tip themselves over the edge.
I definitely think day naps are very important. As soon as we got Imogen into a bit of a day sleep routine (and it is similar to your outline - 9am for one hour, 11am for one hour and 2pm for two hours), she has been sleeping from 8pm to 8am with one wake up at around 5am. I am thinking of trying to push her bedtime earlier for the same reasons you have expressed (mainly, she is awake for such a long stretch in the evening although she usually has a catnap somewhere in the middle for 30-45mins) but a bit scared to mess with things when they are working...
We also stopped co-sleeping which actually helped although I was a bit sad to let it go. I found I was too quick to try and soothe her when she was in our bed and more easily disturbing my sleep. I actually sat up and watched her sleep in her cot for a while, she would slightly wake, move around a bit and then settle back to sleep again. It took a few minutes and I was sitting there on the edge of my seat wanting to pick her up... it was hard to let her try and settle herself but I feel so reassured now, knowing that she can do it. She doesn't self settle during the day, I feed till sleepy, rock till asleep and then put her down. Maybe one day I'll tackle that but for now, I'm just happy that she sleeps and enjoying the cuddles while she is too young to push me away
Really keen to see how things turn out for you so keep us updated xo
Thanks everyone! Well, night one started off badly but turned out to actually be the best night we've had in a while.
So, I rocked her to sleep the first time. She wakes up as soon as we put her down unless we hold her for like over 1/2 hr first!! So we're starting with rocking her until she's asleep but not in a deep sleep where she'd usually wake up if we put her down (instead of rocking til sleepy, we'll get there). Anyway, so she woke up on my first attempt to put her down. DH then did the next few times coz my arms were killing already (hence why we have to fix this now!). Then we were fed up, she kept crying as soon as she realised we were trying to put her down. We had a moment of 'this is just stupid' 'it's not working' 'this stupid plan is never going to work' 'wtf are we going to do' LOL. We put her down for about 2 mins and she screamed but we needed to breathe and regroup, LOL. Then I cried bc she was crying and I thought things were never going to get better. Night one, lol, we're tough aren't we?
So then we started again. DH rocked her and then she went down first try. Possibly wore herself out with the crying and staying up so late. It was 9.30 by the time she went down. She slept until 12 in her cot (longest she's slept in there for the last week). Then had a feed in bed and we fell asleep and woke up at 3am (longest sleep she's had in about a month!). Then I fed her again in bed and she fell asleep. She was unwrapped so we knew if we tried to move her she'd wake up. She was really restless so we thought she was going to wake up soon. We thought we should try put her in her cot but decided we would do it when she woke up (which we thought would be very soon) but she slept until 5.30am (her normal wake up time).
So, we did the rocking plan thing for the first sleep but ended up cosleeping for the rest of the night. But it was the best night we've had in ages. Lately she has not been falling straight back to sleep after a feed and has also been staying up between 1am and 3am!! Last night was much more like she used to be, just waking for feeds then sleeping soundly. I'm ok with waking for feeds as long as I don't have to be up for hrs trying to get her back to sleep.
So...we shall see what tonight holds, hope she doesn't crack us again, pmsl.
just wanted to wish you good luck and say its great you have such a well thought out plan! I think it helps
Sending good sleep vibes into your household!
like Krystie - I need routine myself but with mr Z #3 - all his sleep times co-incided with school drop offs and pick ups has been really hard!.
good luck - consistency and therefore predictability really is the key.
My baby consistently wakes at 3am laughing and cooing and I consistently cant stand being kept awake (even though happily) for any longer than 15 mins and feed him - but he consistently goes back to sleep so I am ok with that
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If only babies didn't have a mind of their own
has been really hard!.
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