I think it’s been about four years since I’ve had a good night sleep. Four years since I was able to close my eyes and drift off for longer than 4 1/2 hours of unconscious bliss. Ever since I learned I was expecting my first son and discovered the joys of pregnancy include all day sickness that extends into your sleeping hours, I haven’t had a single, solitary uninterrupted night.
The result? Tired, cranky, dark-under-eye-circled woman who dizzily floats through her days. And this is one of the culprits:
My second son turned one and still wouldn’t sleep through the night, and I was ridiculously jealous of my husband and other parents who, unlike me, always looked well-rested, never disheveled. I remembered hearing about two gals who specialized in helping put babies and toddlers to sleep, no matter what the challenges (and getting those kids to stay asleep through the night) and decided to google them and see if I could schedule a home visit. I was desperate.
I couldn’t find them. Instead, I found another baby sleep help site that offered a free ebook with five tips to get you started getting your baby to sleep (and then you can consult with them for more help if you need to, and receive a more in depth analysis and advice to help you finally get some rest).
Well, I just read part of the ebook, tried out a couple suggestions, and that was that. Problem solved.
Could it really have been so easy? The idea of it makes me kind of sick…all those wasted nights of sleep!
In a nutshell, the advice was to not reduce your babies naps thinking this will make them more tired at night (it does the opposite) and do not keep your baby up thinking it will make him sleep later in the morning (it only causes the baby to be agitated and sleep more poorly during the night- he will still wake up at the same time every morning). It said my son needs at least 10-12 hours of sleep a night (really?? neither of my sons ever slept that much!) and they can nap during the day too, it won’t take away their need to sleep well at night.
So my mom was wrong. And everyone else who told me to keep him up and cut his day naps. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Thanks guys.
The first night I put him to sleep at the time I wanted him to go to sleep (the time he usually takes his last nap)- 7 pm. In the past when he woke up, I’d usually keep him up and try to tire him out for his night sleep (at 11 pm- argh! pulling my hair out- talk about a nightmare!), but since he’s supposed to sleep at least ten hours, I decided instead to focus on keeping him asleep. So I nursed him and put him back in his crib. And it worked. He slept until 6 am.
The next night I did the same thing. I put him to sleep at 7 pm. He woke up at 11 pm with hiccoughs and I couldn’t get him back to sleep while they racked his body, but not too long after he was back asleep for the night. And since, it’s been pretty much the same uneventful routine.
So the solution that worked for me? Apparently, making sure my child gets all his naps during the day, and putting him to sleep earlier than I normally would have, and just making sure when he wakes up that it’s to a dark room with a comfortable temperature so he can fall back asleep, or I can have an easier time getting him back to sleep myself.
Having trouble getting your baby to sleep? Try the baby sleep site‘s free ebook or some of the baby sleeping tips here and let me know if it works. I’ve had three nights of good sleep already and wish I had found them sooner!
The only time I get a good night’s sleep is when my kids to to their grandparents for the night. I got lucky with my daughters and they slept through the night. My son on the other hand has never slept through the night.
It’s so true. It seems like limiting their naps would keep them up at night but instead it just makes them overtired. I’m glad this worked for you.
oh gosh. I really feel for you. I couldn’t imagine.
SERIOUSLY????
It’s *that* easy????
I have yet to have a child consistently sleep through the night. My 18 month old goes down easy enough but then wakes 4-5 times a night. I am ALWAYS exhausted.
I think I’ll try putting him down an hour early and see if that helps at all.
One thing I’m not looking forward to with baby #3 are the sleepless nights. I’m glad your baby is finally sleeping through the night.
I need to pass this onto my sister. Her little one does not sleep through the night.
I’m so glad you found something that worked!!
I remember reading a ton of tips to get my son to sleep through the night it wasn’t until he stopped napping where he finally started to do so.
We use healthy sleep habits happy child which always advocated more sleep times at earlier times.
I’m sure you’re kicking yourself about how easy that was, but the important thing is that sleep reigns supreme for all of you now!
Isn’t that ridiculous?? He used to sleep at 11pm for the night, but often wake up at 4 or 6 am for an hour, and sometimes for good. It was HORRIBLE, and everyone said it was because he took too many day naps (two) and to cut them out or shorten them, but how do you keep a baby up who is tired? Now I put him to sleep at 7 or 8 pm, and even if he wakes up for a bit, he goes right back to sleep with a nursing and usually just sleeps solid the rest of the night. I had another 8 hours of sleep last night.
Glad you found out how to help him – and you! – sleep better. I hate interrupted sleep.
I am pregnant and not sleeping. I hope the baby sleeps through the night when she come out.
For the most part, I get plenty of sleep. I take spells where I stay up too late working, but that’s my fault. And my hubby, who suffers from insomnia is far more apt to wake me up through the night than my son has ever done. 🙂 Glad you’re starting to find a routine that is working. Here’s to many, many good night sleeps!
Luckily, both my kids slept really well as infants, toddlers and now as school-age children. I always put them to bed at 7pm in toddler days, and made sure they took their naps. I’m happy you found a solution that works!
I glad it worked for you finally! Mine did pretty good, but I never really sleep well, jyst trying to listen for something wrong.
Right around the time my daughter started sleeping through the night steadily… my dog decided she needs to start going wee in the wee hours of the morning. I can’t win…lol.
I still think our kids need to come with owner’s manuals 🙂
I was SO lucky – our daughter started sleeping through the night when she was 3 weeks old. I’m sleep dependent so I don’t know how I ever would have functioned if I would have had to get up every few hours for years.
Are you serious?? Oh my gosh, you really can’t win, I would be so annoyed, lol.
As a mother to TWO kids that don’t like sleeping, I see right through that handsome face! I know what he’s all about! I feel like I’ve tried everything as well…
Glad you found a solution. We used SleepEasy with both kids with good results.
I wish I would have had this info when my boys were younger. They never slept through the night until they turned two.
Wish I would have had this when mine were young. I was like you and went about 4.5 years of not sleeping through the night. My body got so used to it that I still don’t sleep soundly and my wake up time is usually 3-4 a.m. gah
I wish that I had more tips like this when my daughter was little. yay for sleeping through the night!
Who would have thought, that sounds too simple to work LOL. So glad that it did. My oldest son took FOREVER to sleep through the night.
my gosh he is precious – M lets me sleep since we co-sleep..
Thanks for the great info!
Yay for sleep. My first son, regardless of doing this and many other ideas still won’t sleep throught the night, but he usually goes back to sleep farly well… My other son, the baby, has been sleepping 8+ hous at night for 8 weeks now! I hope it stays that way
I don’t think any of my boys slept through the night before they were 1. I am always envious of those who say their children did it at only a few months old.
Oh I wish I had known. Blaze always slept 11 hours at night (after he didn’t eat at night) and had 3 1-2 hour naps a day. I would not deviate from that at all because it was heck to pay if I did. A lot of older people will tell you keeping them up or wearing them out will help but it doesn’t. I am so happy you got it to work for you though. It is so hard to be tired all the time!
My wife and I tried the above and the older wisdom as well, and neither technique worked. I’m beginning to think it has nothing to do with the technique, but the frame of mind of the parent. Children are highly sensitive to (and feed off of) our energy. My mom said she used the keep-me-awake-all-day method, and I slept through the night by five months old. She remembers distinctly. I’m also the baby of six, so by the time I came along, my mother was laid back enough to play it by ear. Maybe our children never sleep through the night because we’re so anxious for them to do so, and they throb with this nervous energy, as they are so in tune with our emotions, and vice versa. Just a theory. One thing I’ve learned with parenting, some things are just not etched in stone, but must be sought intuitively. Whether canceling day naps or putting babies to bed early, be okay with whatever option and so will your baby. Again, just a theory.
Hmm, this is very interesting and food for thought. I do feel anxious for him to sleep if I’m tired and have a big day the next day, and it certainly seems like these are the nights my baby has the hardest time falling asleep and staying asleep. Thanks for the insight!
A girlfriend of mine recommended the No Cry Sleep Solution to me when my daughter was 3 months old. She started taking naps consistently at that age and by 7 months was sleeping through the night in her own bed. My daughter must require a lot more sleep than other babies because she sleeps from 8p-8a and naps from 10:30-12 and 3:30-5. I wish I had known what you were going through – there are tips out there that can do wonders!