- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
October 2012 Moms
LorMor
member
Pep talk please
LorMor
member
I am feeling conflicted about where we are with T's sleeping. She tricked us by STTN from a VERY early age, until about 8 months. Since then, she's been all over the place. Sometimes sleeps through, other times wakes up for a feed and goes back to sleep easily, other times wakes up and settles easily without a feed, and other times goes mad. We've never done any form of sleep training. We always rock/feed her to sleep, at night and for naps. (I don't feed her to sleep for naps, only night.)
On one hand, I feel like we're doing just fine - she sleeps in her own bed, she's a happy and healthy little girl.
On the other hand, I feel like we've fucked up by not teaching her to go to sleep on her own, and at a year I shouldn't be feeding her at night.
On another hand, she is such an easy baby, EXCEPT for sleeping - even when we rock her, she sometimes fights like mad - especially when she was smaller. Naps were always a battle, and she's always nursed to sleep at night.
On another hand, I feel it will all work out in the end.
I have more hands than is natural, and she is just waking up from her nap and practising all her sounds - it's very cute to listen to.
So my question is, do we carry on as we are, and she'll figure it out when she's ready, or are we supposed to be more strict about sleep training in some form?
On one hand, I feel like we're doing just fine - she sleeps in her own bed, she's a happy and healthy little girl.
On the other hand, I feel like we've fucked up by not teaching her to go to sleep on her own, and at a year I shouldn't be feeding her at night.
On another hand, she is such an easy baby, EXCEPT for sleeping - even when we rock her, she sometimes fights like mad - especially when she was smaller. Naps were always a battle, and she's always nursed to sleep at night.
On another hand, I feel it will all work out in the end.
I have more hands than is natural, and she is just waking up from her nap and practising all her sounds - it's very cute to listen to.
So my question is, do we carry on as we are, and she'll figure it out when she's ready, or are we supposed to be more strict about sleep training in some form?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pep talk please
Im in a similar place and I mainly go with the flow as long as I can until I start to feel sleep deprived and then I start being more strict. Long ago I nixed nighttime nursing unless absolutely nothing else works to calm her down. I nixed it by nursing shorter and shorter amounts of time each time she work up, and then picking her up but not nursing, and then not picking her up at all. We also do let her cry for a few minutes before I go in and try to calm her. I usually start with very little intervention, like a paci replacement and a quick back rub, and then I leave and let her do whatever she does for a few moments. If she's still a wreck, I go back in and step it up to more intervention, leave, and wait again etc. DH thinks I should just let her cry after initially checking on her, but I cant do it. Im probably making it worse, but emotionally, this works for me!
DD2 is a great napper and goes to sleep on her own easily but whether she will sleep through the night is hit or miss. (She probably sleeps through the night 1-2 times a week.) Like you, some nights when she wakes up a quick paci replacement and back rub are enough and other times nursing, teething tablets, rocking, 3 paci replacements, 2 rounds of songs etc STILL result in ear piercing screams. But also like you, she is so easy and happy and content with everything but night time sleep, that I just accept that as my "cross to bear" with her. Her sister was so hard in every way EXCEPT night time sleep, so her night time sleep issues seem like nothing to me by comparison!
Do what works best for your family! It'll all work out.