How insane it is. Micah was sleeping seven to eight hours consistently for a month, then I have the brilliant idea to try to move him to the crib. I. AM. EXHAUSTED. My husband doesn't think that he is bad, and I would have to agree with him, but it takes me a long time to get back to sleep once I have to go into his room to put the pacifier back in his mouth.
At this point, Micah goes to sleep at 7:30. I do a dream feed at 10:00. Then he wakes up on his own around 12:30-1 because he notices that his pacifier is not in his mouth. He cries, we respond immediately so that we can get some sleep. Then he is up again around 2, with the same issue. He goes right to sleep after the pacifier is back in, and he is up again at around 3-4 to eat. Then our day starts around 6:30-7.
This, of course, wasn't the case when he was right next to me in his co-sleeper bassinet. I only had to nurse him once, and although he probably woke up for me to put the pacifier in his mouth all I had to do was reach over.
I have created a little baby who is dependent on the pacifier.
Does this sound familiar?
He doesn't use it much during the day anymore, but it is the key to getting him to relax enough to sleep. Micah has always been a good little sucker. Hehe.
It sounds to me like we need to figure out how to break him of the pacifier, if we want to get better rest. With that said, it is recommended to have an infant sleep with a pacifier until they are nine months old, to help decrease the chance of SIDS.
Like I've said before, conflicting things, conflicting things!
What to do?
He is also starting to try to roll over from back to front. He does this while in his swaddle, so I have had to start trying to wean him from swaddling. It is a difficult thing. One that takes time and a lot of effort and patience.
Do you want to know another cycle that is happening? When he is awake in the crib, trying to go to sleep he decides to take the pacifier out of his mouth with his free hand. Then he will cry for us to put the pacifier back in his mouth! This is a vicious cycle because we are trying to wean him from the swaddle, but it is hard when he won't stop taking the pacifier out and crying because he has done so!
I don't think I should try and wean him from the pacifier and the swaddle simultaneously... I have a feeling we would go weeks with even less sleep! However, I just have to be consistent about leaving one arm out of his swaddle for naps. Then maybe he will get used to this, and then I can leave one arm out at night…then we can gradually move to two arms out.
Who would have thought there is so much to think about, worry about, and stress about, with a little tiny baby!?
My good friend, Ashley, said it took her A LOT of time and patience, but eventually her girls were swaddle-free!
I know it will take Micah quite some time, too!
Until next time...
OH my gosh…I am so exhausted after a week of trying to get Micah Avery to sleep soundly in his crib at night. I guess he always woke up a little at night because he wanted his pacifier, but it is a much different story when you have to get up and go to the other room and give it to him. It is not very fun having your sleep interrupted every hour for three hours straight in the middle of the night.
Oh, and I am also nursing him once during the night, which isn't bad, but it is another time I need to get up and go into his room. Some babies could go 12-13 hours without nursing, but not Micah. Micah can go eight, but not this week. This week he has decided to go from 5-7 hours. What did I expect? That he would transition well to his crib the first night? Maybe.
He is an easy baby, so I thought that this would be an easy thing to do.
On top of all the aforementioned, he cannot really soothe himself with his own fingers because he is swaddled. I feel like if he didn't have to still be swaddled, he may comfort himself by sucking on his fingers, but then he wouldn't sleep well at all without being swaddled. Has anyone had this problem?
Anyway, for about three weeks prior to him sleeping in the crib at night, I started putting him down in his crib for every nap. This has been working pretty well actually. Some days he needs me to help him fall asleep, while other days he falls asleep all on his own.
He is waking up more often in his crib. I have been trying to research why…is it because he is cold in that room? Teething? Do different noises wake him? Who knows.
Why can he sleep for about five hours straight, and then suddenly decide he needs his pacifier?
These are all things I try to ask myself. I will keep trying because I know it will be better for us all if he learns to sleep well in his room. I do miss having him right next to me at night though.
I decided to try and get him to sleep well in his crib before he hit the four month mark next week. I can't believe that the time has gone by so quickly.
Anyway, if you are crib training right now…or have just started putting your little one in the crib at night…DON'T GIVE UP! You aren't the only one who has a stubborn little cutie, and I feel for you. :)
