Elliott is 8 months old. That is unbelievable to me. He continues to grow up fast. He's pulling up to standing and is getting steadier and steadier. He now knows how to bend his legs to get back down, which is a good thing for his noggin. He just started taking swimming lessons with Isla, which may be the sweetest thing I have ever seen (hopefully we'll get a video one day if Brandon is able to come see us). He's really enjoying playing with Isla these days too - they crawl all over each other, laugh and talk loudly, and share their toys. It is a nice break for their Mommies too.
The biggest news by far this month though is that since Elliott turned 8 months old, he has already slept through the night three times. This has never been a huge goal of mine, so I haven't been rushing to make it happen, but I must say it was a special little treat to wake up at 6:30 AM after a whole night of uninterrupted sleep (Brandon thought I was crazy when I told him I missed Elliott's sleepy breastfeeding in the middle of the night and was a little sad though). This milestone and the fact our nephew is due to be born in just a matter of weeks (so exciting!!!!!!!!!!) made me think back to the journey Elliott's sleep has already gone through...
0-1 Month: Elliott falls asleep being held in Mommy or Daddy's arms while they dance to Hank Mobley or Ella Jenkins. Elliott sleeps only while being held by Mommy/Daddy or eventually in a swing during the day, and Daddy holds Elliott on his chest in the glider or in the crook of his arm in bed during the night.
1-2 Months: Mommy/Daddy bounce and bounce and bounce on the big ball to get Elliott to sleep. He begins the month still napping in the swing and later naps laying on pillows on the couch. Elliott starts sleeping between Mommy and Daddy in a sleep positioner at night, but will often end up back in Daddy's arms.
2-3 Months: Mommy and Daddy continue to bounce away to get Elliott to sleep. Elliott starts napping in his co-sleeper in the sleep positioner and eventually settles into about 4 naps a day. He usually starts the night in his co-sleeper, but ends up between Mommy and Daddy in the big bed during the night.
3-4 Months: Mommy starts breastfeeding Elliott to sleep in the big bed, so he naps and sleeps at night in Mommy and Daddy's bed again. Elliott settles into 3 naps a day, and Mommy's friend Leigh Ann gives the best advice ever: instead of scheduling nap times, make naps 1 1/2 to 2 hours after waking from the last nap (what a relief for Mommy!!!!)
4-6 Months: Mommy is still breastfeeding Elliott to sleep in the bed. Elliott's nap routine is more and more like clock work, and the time between them gets longer. He's also waking twice and then eventually just once a night these days (what nice and easy months!)
6-7 Months: Elliott goes down to 2 naps spaced about 3 hours apart, but more importantly he starts to roll over and scoot/crawl, which means no more napping in Mommy and Daddy's bed! At 6 1/2 months, Elliott sleeps for the very first time in his own crib all the way downstairs. He begins napping in the crib, but stays in the big bed for nighttime. But how is Mommy to get Elliott to sleep for naps??? This is a difficult decision because she is not ready to stop nursing him to sleep, but he wakes up immediately when placed in the crib after falling asleep nursing. (Should I admit this next part in a semi public forum????) Mommy decides to just climb on in the crib with Elliott and nurse him to sleep there - perfect transition solution for both of them!
7-8 Months: The dreaded month...Mommy is over climbing into that crib, and just in the nick of time, Elliott finally starts to stay asleep after being placed in the crib. Mommy either nurses Elliott to sleep in his glider or Daddy dances Elliott to sleep to Hank Mobley (just like when he was a newborn) before placing him in the crib. Elliott now starts the night off in his crib and stays there until his first night feeding at around 11:30 PM or his 2nd feeding around 3:30 AM (yes, he's back to two feedings - growth spurt and seperation anxiety to boot). Near the end of this month though, it is taking longer and longer for Elliott to fall asleep, sometimes taking 2 to 3 tries over a few hours before he'll stay asleep when placed in the crib, and he won't breastfeed anymore to fall asleep for naps or at bedtime (biting Mommy or refusing all together - boo hoo). He is also waking many times throughout the night to nurse and is nursing almost constantly from 3:30 AM to 6:30 AM - separation anxiety no doubt, but Mommy's boobs can't take it any more, and she's exhausted.
8 Months:
Day 1 - Mommy decides something has to change because they all need to start getting some decent sleep! Mommy gets Elliott drowsy in his glider by giving him his bottle and reading "Good Night Moon", then she dances with him for 5 min to Hank Mobley's "Soul Station", and then she places him in his crib awake! He immediately stands up and starts playing for about 15 minutes, and then the crying begins. Mommy sits right by the crib, but never makes eye contact. Elliott cries and cries and cries for 24 minutes, and Mommy cries a little too. Elliott falls asleep, and Mommy goes upstairs to drink a beer at 3:00 PM! Bedtime goes a little better with just 10 minutes of crying, but the 3:30 AM waking is no good because Mommy breastfeeds Elliott but doesn't give him a bottle this time. He cries for 30 min and so does Mommy.
Day 2 - Same routine, but Elliott doesn't cry for his first nap and cries less than 15 min for his 2nd nap and at bedtime. Elliott wakes at 11:30 PM, and then sleeps until morning.
Day 3 - Mom sits a little further away from crib now, and Elliott doesn't cry very much before falling asleep. Elliott goes to sleep for the night at 7:30 PM and doesn't wake until morning!
Day 6 - Mom sits at doorway after putting Elliott in the crib, and Elliott falls asleep within 10 minutes with no crying at all for both naps and bedtime. Elliott has slept through the night every night since day 3!
Whew, until the next thing...
The biggest news by far this month though is that since Elliott turned 8 months old, he has already slept through the night three times. This has never been a huge goal of mine, so I haven't been rushing to make it happen, but I must say it was a special little treat to wake up at 6:30 AM after a whole night of uninterrupted sleep (Brandon thought I was crazy when I told him I missed Elliott's sleepy breastfeeding in the middle of the night and was a little sad though). This milestone and the fact our nephew is due to be born in just a matter of weeks (so exciting!!!!!!!!!!) made me think back to the journey Elliott's sleep has already gone through...
1-2 Months: Mommy/Daddy bounce and bounce and bounce on the big ball to get Elliott to sleep. He begins the month still napping in the swing and later naps laying on pillows on the couch. Elliott starts sleeping between Mommy and Daddy in a sleep positioner at night, but will often end up back in Daddy's arms.
2-3 Months: Mommy and Daddy continue to bounce away to get Elliott to sleep. Elliott starts napping in his co-sleeper in the sleep positioner and eventually settles into about 4 naps a day. He usually starts the night in his co-sleeper, but ends up between Mommy and Daddy in the big bed during the night.
3-4 Months: Mommy starts breastfeeding Elliott to sleep in the big bed, so he naps and sleeps at night in Mommy and Daddy's bed again. Elliott settles into 3 naps a day, and Mommy's friend Leigh Ann gives the best advice ever: instead of scheduling nap times, make naps 1 1/2 to 2 hours after waking from the last nap (what a relief for Mommy!!!!)
4-6 Months: Mommy is still breastfeeding Elliott to sleep in the bed. Elliott's nap routine is more and more like clock work, and the time between them gets longer. He's also waking twice and then eventually just once a night these days (what nice and easy months!)
6-7 Months: Elliott goes down to 2 naps spaced about 3 hours apart, but more importantly he starts to roll over and scoot/crawl, which means no more napping in Mommy and Daddy's bed! At 6 1/2 months, Elliott sleeps for the very first time in his own crib all the way downstairs. He begins napping in the crib, but stays in the big bed for nighttime. But how is Mommy to get Elliott to sleep for naps??? This is a difficult decision because she is not ready to stop nursing him to sleep, but he wakes up immediately when placed in the crib after falling asleep nursing. (Should I admit this next part in a semi public forum????) Mommy decides to just climb on in the crib with Elliott and nurse him to sleep there - perfect transition solution for both of them!
7-8 Months: The dreaded month...Mommy is over climbing into that crib, and just in the nick of time, Elliott finally starts to stay asleep after being placed in the crib. Mommy either nurses Elliott to sleep in his glider or Daddy dances Elliott to sleep to Hank Mobley (just like when he was a newborn) before placing him in the crib. Elliott now starts the night off in his crib and stays there until his first night feeding at around 11:30 PM or his 2nd feeding around 3:30 AM (yes, he's back to two feedings - growth spurt and seperation anxiety to boot). Near the end of this month though, it is taking longer and longer for Elliott to fall asleep, sometimes taking 2 to 3 tries over a few hours before he'll stay asleep when placed in the crib, and he won't breastfeed anymore to fall asleep for naps or at bedtime (biting Mommy or refusing all together - boo hoo). He is also waking many times throughout the night to nurse and is nursing almost constantly from 3:30 AM to 6:30 AM - separation anxiety no doubt, but Mommy's boobs can't take it any more, and she's exhausted.
8 Months:
Day 1 - Mommy decides something has to change because they all need to start getting some decent sleep! Mommy gets Elliott drowsy in his glider by giving him his bottle and reading "Good Night Moon", then she dances with him for 5 min to Hank Mobley's "Soul Station", and then she places him in his crib awake! He immediately stands up and starts playing for about 15 minutes, and then the crying begins. Mommy sits right by the crib, but never makes eye contact. Elliott cries and cries and cries for 24 minutes, and Mommy cries a little too. Elliott falls asleep, and Mommy goes upstairs to drink a beer at 3:00 PM! Bedtime goes a little better with just 10 minutes of crying, but the 3:30 AM waking is no good because Mommy breastfeeds Elliott but doesn't give him a bottle this time. He cries for 30 min and so does Mommy.
Day 2 - Same routine, but Elliott doesn't cry for his first nap and cries less than 15 min for his 2nd nap and at bedtime. Elliott wakes at 11:30 PM, and then sleeps until morning.
Day 3 - Mom sits a little further away from crib now, and Elliott doesn't cry very much before falling asleep. Elliott goes to sleep for the night at 7:30 PM and doesn't wake until morning!
Day 6 - Mom sits at doorway after putting Elliott in the crib, and Elliott falls asleep within 10 minutes with no crying at all for both naps and bedtime. Elliott has slept through the night every night since day 3!
Whew, until the next thing...
So was that day 6 or day 4? See, I read the whole thing! Whew! It IS hard work getting kids to sleep. I feel for you, but congratulations are in order. I know this is huge for you. It does seem miraculous, doesn't it? I really couldn't believe after all those months of intensive "parenting to sleep" that either of mine would go on to sleep without me. But they did. Even if he does "regress," you've already been able to do this, so the hurdle has been jumped, the experience learned, and you have something to come back to again. I say all this as I cross my fingers and hope my children will not turn on the lights and start playing like they did over and over last night.
ReplyDeleteYou have done an excellent job! It is so hard getting these kiddos to sleep! I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to crawl in the crib with both of my girls. However, I was afraid it would collapse beneath me!
ReplyDeleteLeigh Ann