In my last post, I mentioned a book I have been reading: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. In this book, he states that the majority of infant sleep problems are related to chronic fatigue, usually brought about by an inappropriate sleep schedule. In reading his book, I realized that many of the things he mention pertain to Sarah: Fighting sleep for hours at a time especially when exhausted, waking several times during the night, inconsistent nap schedule, requiring motion in order to fall asleep, etc. He offers some suggestions on how to remedy the situation, and we began making changes on Monday. Here is a run-down of our experience so far:
Monday morning: Awake at 7:15. (Goal: Between 6 and 7. So far, so good.)
First nap: 11:30 - 1:00. (Goal: 9:00. Not good at all.) This followed a long period of walking.
No attempt was made for a second nap since the first was so late.
To bed: 5:45. (Goal: Between 6 and 8.)
Middle of the night wakeups: 7:00, 9:00 (for 3 hours!!!!), 2:00, 5:30. Each wake-up required walking, bouncing, feeding, etc. to get her back to sleep. We were not happy.
Tuesday: Awake at 7:30. That's pretty consistent.
First nap: 10:30-11:15. That timing is a little better. However, Tim walked her for an hour before she fell asleep.
Second nap: Ha! She cried in her crib for an hour and never did fall asleep.
To bed: 6:15. That's right on target.
Middle of the night wakeups: 7:00, 9:30, 2:15, 5:30. Each wake-up required 10-20 minutes of sitting by her bed, rubbing her back. We can totally handle that!
Wednesday: Awake at 6:30. That's a little too early for our liking, but if it makes a happy baby we'll do it.
First nap: 9:20-10:05. Hey, that's right on target!
Second nap: 12:35-1:20. We just need to work on getting that one a little LONGER.
To bed: 5:45.
I am excited to see what tonight holds. Hopefully things just keep getting better and better! :)
1 comment:
Sounds like it's slowly getting better! Glad to hear...keep it up and keep us updated!
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