The first week of little Jack's life he slept in our bedroom in a bassinet on my side of the bed. This worked really well because I could easily get to him when he started fussing in the middle of the night or when he needed to breastfeed. Week Two rolled around and my mom came to spend the night and help me since Pat went back to work. She urged me to start to establish a bedtime routine and to get him to sleep in his own bed. The first night this went great. I nursed him before bed with just a nightlight on and then as he began to get sleepy I placed him in the bed. I slept more soundly because I wasn't waking up worried everytime he made a peep (although I had a video monitor right next to my bed) and he didn't wake up as often (probably because mommy wasn't messing with him every time he made a squeak). Last night he woke up every hour fussing for a lost binky or a wet diaper or due to feeding time. Today, I was exhausted. So, tonight I continued with the plan and tried to get him to bed around the same time. He screamed and cried for 15 minutes and each moment was painful for me. I am constantly fighting with myself about what to do. Do I go get him out of bed? He is so young. Too young to cry it out? Am I ruining his sense of trust by letting him cry for a few minutes? Should I just put him back in my room and try again in a few weeks? How young is too young to establish routines? The list of questions goes on and on. It makes my stomach hurt debating what the "right" thing to do is for our family.
The end result is that he is wide awake at 12:21a.m. and sitting in his bounce seat while Pat lays next to him. So much for a routine.
Its good you're trying to get him into a routine! Lilla is still in our room, happily, we planned on keeping her in there for the 1st 3 months! I don't believe in Cry It Out but even if I did 1st month is way too young :( but you're still the parent and that is totally your decision. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah. I agree. Crying it out is torture-for him and me. I put him back in our room last night and he slept... Like a baby.
ReplyDeletei believe in cry it out- but def. not that young.
ReplyDeletethey say the first 6 weeks you should listento your babies needs.. so after that you can start a schedule :)
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Go with your intuition and do what feels right for you and the baby - sounds corny but it's true! If it breaks your heart to let him cry - don't do it! After all, it's natural for him to want to be close to you, he's so young. We co-sleep because that feels right for us - and it helps avoid sleep deprivation because I'm only ever awake for 10 minutes when bub wants a feed and don't even have to get out of bed! Good luck and trust yourself :)
ReplyDeleteListen to yourself. People are ALWAYS going to tell you what you are doing is wrong...Sorry but it's true. Someone will yell at you for letting your baby cry it out. Others will yell at you for going in to check on him. I eliminated anonymous blog comments because so many people were leaving me negative comments telling me that I was a bad mother. We put Dom in his bed from day one and that's what's worked best for us. But to me there is nothing wrong with co-sleeping if that's what you want to do. Just do what works best for you, Pat and Jack and take everyone else's advice with a grain of salt. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats again. I'm so happy you got the birth you "wanted". :)