Wednesday, February 11, 2009

How Many Sleepless Nights Will There Be???

When I took Hudson to the doctor on Monday, Dr. Hubbard asked how Hudson was sleeping at night. I said, "He's not, he's up every 3 hours to eat." So the doctor advised me that it was time to teach Hudson to self-soothe, and to let him cry it out to learn to sleep through the night. Last night was our first attempt at this endeavor, and he cried for probably 5 or 6 hours. I am asking for any advice on how to get through period. Do I give him his binky when it falls out? Do I stand there and touch him until he falls back to sleep? Keep in mind Hudson's crib is in our room.

5 comments:

Lori said...

I think you are doing so good...It is so hard to let him cry..I used to do what ever it took with the exception of climbing in the crib and sleeping with them, and we all know that isn't possible :)
I think he will soon be able to sleep through the night, he isn't going to starve for sure though:)
You are a good mommy!!
Love You!!

Janice Twitchell said...

Do you have any extra rooms in the house he could start sleeping in? If you do, I would say move him to his own room, he knows you're right there and it's frustrating him that he knows that and you're not responding. If he knows that you're not there, he will learn to self soothe better. Cambri was in the same room as us until she was 6 months because we lived in Monty and Rita's basement. She also had the same problem with waking up and feeding like 8 times a night! My pediatrician Dr. Dowse said she had "calorie cravings" at night, which just meant it was her way of getting back to sleep. He suggested putting a sippy cup of just water in the crib with her and eventually she learned to look for that in her crib, take a quick drink and then fall back to sleep by herself. The only problem was though that as she got older she ended up drinking like 3 sippy cups a night. I got sick of it and started taking it down to one a night and eventually now she has no water and can fall back to sleep by herself. You could try it if you want. It worked well for me. I got my sleep back! :o) You'll figure out what is best for Hudson and for you. You're doing great and it's all a big learning process. Just remember that if you don't fix it now, this will continue on past the toddler years. Self soothing is extremely important. So to put it bluntly, losing sleep now to help him learn that, is better because he'll have a good habit. Instead of still getting up with him when he's 3 to get him back to sleep, when you have another kid making you lose sleep as well. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
p.s.I will be to the game on Friday. Not today.

Wayne & Amy MacIntosh said...

I get up with them. I figure one day they will be to old and I will miss them so any cuddle time I can get I do it. I can't do the cry thing. I think they cry because they need something. When they are ready they sleep through the night. I know people disagree but it works for me.

lauren said...

no advice here still trying to figure it out cause madison is the same way!!! although she wakes up at 2:30 and 6:30 to feed. we do a "dreamfeed" @ 10:00 while she is sleeping to hold her over. try that

Braden and Jodee said...

Oh, in the same room is hard. They can hear and smell you, and want you even more. All of my friends that have babies in their same room have had the same problem, and there kids still woke up until they put them in another room. I had one friend even sleep on a blow up mattress in their living room for a few weeks, and the first night her baby slept through the night fine. Didn't even have to cry. So my recommendation is if at all possible, sleep in separate rooms. I think it's easier on both of you.