Anyway. I know I'm relatively new at this, but when it comes to babies' sleep at night, here goes:
We've sort of made our own mish-mash technique, using lots of different ideas. Basically, we just make sure to have a steady bedtime routine, making everything dark and night-timey, and we're shooting for a nap routine during the day. For the past week or so, even at the lake, he's gone to bed at 9:30, woken up at roughly 2 am, 5, and then 8 for the day. I'm so proud of him, especially since his cantankerous belly makes it really hard for an uninterrupted stretch of sleep to occur.
All that to say, my biggest piece of sleep advice would be to NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING. I got all frustrated, upset, and in a tizzy last night because he was NOT following his normal pattern. Instead, he was up every 15, 20, or 45 minutes, with gas attacks. I ended up "sleeping" on the guest bed in his room because it was so frequent. Around 3:00, I regrettably remember saying in a loud, stern voice, "NO. NO." I honestly don't know if I was telling James no (like he would obey and go to sleep... pshaw!), myself no (for being so impatient) or the gas no. After that embarrassing display, I took a deep breath and just decided to quit expecting him to go to sleep and embraced the fact that I would be up every 20 minutes for the rest of the night. The next time I laid down, I prayed, "God, please just give me enough rest to not be angry at him the next time he wakes up. You know how much I need." Sure enough, he was still up ever 20 minutes for the rest of the night, but I was a little more sane.
As an educator, I realize the importance of having high expectations for children. However, with my 2 month-old, the expectations are really more about MY reactions and behaviors. If I expect things that he can't deliver for whatever reason, I'll only be disappointed and yell stupid things in the middle of the night. This is where daily sufficient grace is employed. Lord, be gracious to me!
6 comments:
Ahh, Sara. You are so wise! You are learning(what I think is) the biggest lesson in parenting. They will always surprise us, and WE will always surprise us. Be prepared for anything! Learn to cope in any situation, be that through prayer or Red Bull. ;) You seem to be doing a wonderful job!
this is funny because I was up throughout the night last night doing pretty much the exact same thing. I just wanted to cry because I was SO exhausted and frustrated. Amelie has been doing better on the whole but then she'll spring a sleepless night on me out of the blue and I feel like I'm going to lose my mind!
I couldn't agree with you more. Nothing can cause a bad attitude more than wrong expectations...
I love your heart and honesty. That's what makes you a great mom!
Bree generally did pretty well with sleeping at night. She was three months old and already, pretty much sleeping through the night. However, after a couple of months straight of sleeping completely through the night, she went through this spell where she was waking every 2 hours. I remember getting so mad, because I knew that should could sleep all the way through the night & I didn't know why she all of the sudden decided she didn't want to anymore!
Even now, at almost 2 years old, she will go down peacefully for a nap some days & then some days she screams and pitches a fit. I don't understand it, but it has ceased to surprise me anymore.
Babies are great though & I find myself missing Bree every time I put her down to sleep. I can't wait until the next morning, to see her again :)
Sooo true...anytime Emmory gets off his schedule and does something out of the norm I act like it is the end of the world, it's ridiculous how much it affects me. My prayer is that whether I have a good day or not will not be determined by whether E has a good day or not, but that I will be grounded by the Truth
~Shawna
I LOVE this Sara. Great reminder to me. I was angry last night because she woke up at 1 and 4 and she had been sleeping longer stretches the few nights before that. I guess we just need to expect to be interrupted and then we won't be disappointed! Hope little James' belly gets feelin better.
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