It's been just about 10 months. 10 months since I slept for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time, and this is no joke. I was fully prepared for whatever was in store before my son was born. Yes, it had been a while since I had a baby, but I knew those first few weeks, and even months would be full of sleep deprivation. Those last few weeks of pregnancy were like a sleep honeymoon for me and my little Reggie. We slept, and slept, and slept. Completely and totally uninterrupted, except for the frequent pee breaks. People asked me if I was ready to have "That Baby" and I just smiled and said...I'm taking advantage of the sleep and rest while I can.
Then our little man was born in the mid-morning hours. He snoozed the day away. He was like grandpa after a turkey dinner. Then around midnight, the need to nurse and be soothed began. He was such a good little latcher, that I named him "Hannibal Latcher." He tried to latch onto anything and anyone that came within an inch of his face. He had no preference. He stayed latched, and didn't appreciate not being latched. So, I ignored the lactation nurse's advice and slipped him a pacifier. He latched onto it. Thank God.
Weeks went by, I dutifully responded to his every little whimper, fuss, and wail. In the back of my mind, I knew that soon I would have to teach him to self soothe. Then months went by. I put it off with my daughter until she was 10 months old, and it wasn't so bad. Reggie was such a great little nurser, and slept just fine nestled next to me at night. So, I put it off. We had good nights, we had okay nights, but most of them were seriously lacking in needed sleep.
Long story short, I gave up. We lived in a small apartment, noise was an issue with close neighbors. I put a mattress on the floor next to the crib, and I became a co-sleeping mama. I swore up and down that I would never do this, but I did it. At first, it worked okay. I slept okay. He would wake up every couple hours, nurse, go back to sleep. Repeat. All night.
I wanted it to work so badly. However, a good night's sleep never happened. For either of us. Not only was I not sleeping hardly at all, but I had a very fussy child on my hands, all day and all night. The older he got, the worse it became. This cartoon picture doesn't even begin to describe...
So, I threw in the towel. I decided to teach Reggie how to self soothe at 9 months.
We are still not quite all the way there, but I can say this. My baby, the one that would wake at the drop of a pin, and the one that wouldn't sleep for more than 2 hours at a time, tops. Well, he's been sleeping through the night. 12 to 13 hours. It has not been easy, but the full nights of sleep have been the most rewarding thing to both he and I. I don't care about the neighbors anymore, yes - the woman upstairs did pound on her floor and yell something at me the other night. However, the crying is temporary. She can put in ear plugs. I don't care anymore.
If there's one thing I've learned as a mama, all babies and families are different, what works for one, won't always work for another. Every situation is different. Sometimes I enjoyed my co-sleeping, and bonding with my baby, and I secretly wish it hadn't impeded on his sleeping so badly. It just wasn't right for him. He was not able to establish a good sleeping rhythm, and it was wreaking havoc on his overall mood, and mine. I wish he could have just stayed nestled to me, sleeping peacefully, but it was time to move forward, and so we did.
This is the face of a very stubborn baby, who is about to be sleep trained.
And this is the reason why I am even able to be on the computer and blogging right now. Normally at this time, I would be trying to soothe a very fussy baby to sleep.
Much better. ;-)
