GUNNAR the SLEEP CHAMPION!!!
What a difference a day can make!
First of all, I have to thank Lisa M. for reminding me to stick to my rule (which I clearly forgot about for the last 2 weeks) which is don't "dream feed"! Or in other terms...don't get Gunnar up to feed if he isn't actually crying. I had forgotten that there is a difference between his cries and his squawks and squawks don't necessarily mean he's awake (in fact usually his eyes are usually closed). I had talked to my pediatrician about this at G's 2 month check up and she agreed, unless he's really crying...wait it out, he should put himself back to sleep.
When G squawks during naps, if you just leave him he'll do one of two things...1. eventually fall back asleep. Or 2. squawk so much that it fully wakes him up and eventually cries.
Now, to most humans the sound of a squawk and the sound a cry are very similar. But it takes a mommy to know the difference. The squawk is short, clipped sounds that very much sounds like a crying baby...but if you go in and look at G, his eyes are still closed. A cry is much easier to detect, why? Because it pulls at mommy's heart strings and you really just want to run in and take his pain away. Well that and the cries are longer and sustained which makes him more winded and forces him to take quick catch breaths. It is when I hear the CRY at night that I should feed him, according to my pediatrician. I'd been doing this the whole month of January...but somehow February and a blizzard came along and suddenly I forgot my rules and was responding to every sound G made.
So last night G went down, finally, at 8pm (after much protest). Just before I got into bed at 11pm (darn coupons had me up again!)...I heard G start to squawk. So I put on my mommy tough face, closed his door (so the cats wouldn't feel distressed enough to go in and possibly jump in the crib...they're very impassioned about G and crying and try to help at all costs) and I crawled into bed. I set a limit (30 minutes)...if he doesn't fall back asleep in 30 minutes or if the squawks turn into actual cries I will go in...otherwise I would wait it out. And that waiting paid off. The squawks stopped 20 minutes later and the next thing I knew, I woke up at 3:00am wondering why I hadn't heard a baby. I checked in on him and he was sound asleep! Yes! 7 hours straight so far! We're back on the sleeping through the night wagon!!! 30 minutes later the squawks began again...so I decided to wait it out...again. After 25 minutes the squawks died out...but after 10 minutes of silence G broke out the full out cry. So it was then, at 4am, that I did get him out of his crib for a feed. But I turned on his sleep sheep
and he fell right back asleep and went down until 7am when I had to get him up to take daddy to the train (but of course he fell back asleep in the car) and now he's still sleeping at 8:30am! I got a full 4 hours of non-interrupted
sleep and then 3 more hours after that...and I am feeling GREAT!!!! Way to go Baby G!!!
(Of course I did need to pump a little this morning...but no biggie!)
Let's just hope he can do it again tonight!!!
First of all, I have to thank Lisa M. for reminding me to stick to my rule (which I clearly forgot about for the last 2 weeks) which is don't "dream feed"! Or in other terms...don't get Gunnar up to feed if he isn't actually crying. I had forgotten that there is a difference between his cries and his squawks and squawks don't necessarily mean he's awake (in fact usually his eyes are usually closed). I had talked to my pediatrician about this at G's 2 month check up and she agreed, unless he's really crying...wait it out, he should put himself back to sleep.
When G squawks during naps, if you just leave him he'll do one of two things...1. eventually fall back asleep. Or 2. squawk so much that it fully wakes him up and eventually cries.
Now, to most humans the sound of a squawk and the sound a cry are very similar. But it takes a mommy to know the difference. The squawk is short, clipped sounds that very much sounds like a crying baby...but if you go in and look at G, his eyes are still closed. A cry is much easier to detect, why? Because it pulls at mommy's heart strings and you really just want to run in and take his pain away. Well that and the cries are longer and sustained which makes him more winded and forces him to take quick catch breaths. It is when I hear the CRY at night that I should feed him, according to my pediatrician. I'd been doing this the whole month of January...but somehow February and a blizzard came along and suddenly I forgot my rules and was responding to every sound G made.
So last night G went down, finally, at 8pm (after much protest). Just before I got into bed at 11pm (darn coupons had me up again!)...I heard G start to squawk. So I put on my mommy tough face, closed his door (so the cats wouldn't feel distressed enough to go in and possibly jump in the crib...they're very impassioned about G and crying and try to help at all costs) and I crawled into bed. I set a limit (30 minutes)...if he doesn't fall back asleep in 30 minutes or if the squawks turn into actual cries I will go in...otherwise I would wait it out. And that waiting paid off. The squawks stopped 20 minutes later and the next thing I knew, I woke up at 3:00am wondering why I hadn't heard a baby. I checked in on him and he was sound asleep! Yes! 7 hours straight so far! We're back on the sleeping through the night wagon!!! 30 minutes later the squawks began again...so I decided to wait it out...again. After 25 minutes the squawks died out...but after 10 minutes of silence G broke out the full out cry. So it was then, at 4am, that I did get him out of his crib for a feed. But I turned on his sleep sheep
and he fell right back asleep and went down until 7am when I had to get him up to take daddy to the train (but of course he fell back asleep in the car) and now he's still sleeping at 8:30am! I got a full 4 hours of non-interrupted sleep and then 3 more hours after that...and I am feeling GREAT!!!! Way to go Baby G!!!
(Of course I did need to pump a little this morning...but no biggie!)
Let's just hope he can do it again tonight!!!
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