I am so excited to say that our little babe is finally sleeping in her own bed - all night! WOO HOO. I still cannot believe it and it has been a week already! This is how it happened:
First of all, Fraser and I have always been on the same page in regards to being against letting your child scream hours on end, to but themselves to sleep. This is why I bought all of the no-cry sleeping solution books. So for the past four months, I slowly made some changes, that I believe got us to where we are now.
For instance, getting Harper used to her crib in order for her to feel safe when in it. I did this by putting her in her crib, several times throughout the day with some toys and books, to play. The whole time, I would be in her room with her, interacting with her. Then eventually I would put her in the crib with her toys, and would tidy up her room. Eventually I was able to put her in her crib and while she played, I could tidy up our house (all while checking on her every couple of minutes).
At this point in time, she was napping her bassinet or our bed - which was fine since she was only 5 months old and not moving around too much. When it got to the point of her rolling constantly and trying to wiggle out of her bassinet - it was time to try her naps in her crib. At first, the only way I could get her into her crib was if she was totally asleep and she would usually only last 15-20 minutes. This stayed this way for about three weeks. She would have numerous short cat naps, all through the day, which isn't the greatest.
Over the next few weeks, she started to get more comfortable and out of the blue started to nap for longer. The one morning I nursed her to sleep and she slept in her crib for an hour and forty minutes. I couldn't believe it. She was all snug in her crib, safe from rolling and crashed right out!
We eventually had her on a good routine of having two naps a day, each ranging from an hour and fifteen minutes to two hours. She was napping in her crib, but still co-sleeping in our bed at night. This was a great arrangement, until she became very active at night - tossing and turning constantly!
After about three months of this, the one morning she decided she wanted to goof around in our bed from 4am until 6am. She was laughing, talking and kicking! I picked her up, but her in her sleeping sack and put her in her crib. She whined for about two minutes then put her head down and slept in her crib for 4 hours! I was so shocked I had to check on her at one point to make sure she was breathing! I couldn't believe it! I didn't nurse her or rock her to sleep!
That night, I said to Fraser "It is time to try putting her in her crib at night, AWAKE!". This was terrifying because we weren't sure what she was going to do and we knew it wasn't going to happen if she lost it, as we didn't want to leave her in there screaming her head off! So this is what her routine looks like:
6:30pm: Bath
6:45pm: Massage with lotion
7pm: Jammies on, hair brushed, teeth brushed and vitamins
7:15pm: Read book (if she's not overly tired)
7:30pm: Nurse (not allowing her to fall asleep)
7:45pm: Kisses and put her into her crib - AWAKE!
I want to also mention a few things I think help her sleep good.
1. Munchkin noise machine: It has multiple noises, from a heartbeat, the ocean, white noise and lullabies. I put the rain setting on low. It also gives off a slight light which is nice and makes it unnecessary to have a night light.
2. Fan: I have always had a fan on at night when she sleeps, its great for air circulation (SIDS preventative) and is great at drowning out outside noises. It's important not to point it right at them - as this will make them cold and will most likely keep them up! I point it towards her closet and I have it set so it doesn't move back and forth.
3. A Lovey: This was something I read from one of my no-cry sleeping solution books. You pick out a small to medium sized stuffed animal that has nothing that can be chewed off (no buttons, plastic noses..etc.,.). Then you keep it close to you, for example while nursing. I would stick it in between Harper and I while I nursed her, so it would smell like me. This is the only thing I allow in her crib.
4. A Sleep Sack: We use the Halo brand. Everything you read says children under the age of one, should not have a blanket in their crib. Firstly for the obvious reason, if it gets over their face, they may not be able to take it off all of the way. And secondly, it may come off of them in the middle of the night causing them to wake up because they are cold. Harper has had a sleep sack since she was born because I have always been paranoid of giving her a blanket. They are seriously amazing! They keep them nice and cozy and worry free.
I truly believe these items help Harper get a good sleeping during her naps and at night.
Now one thing I think all parents should invest in, is a video monitor. Don't bother with the other ones, you will most likely end up wanting a video one anyways! Nothing is more reassuring then being able to see your baby at any time while they are sleeping.
Here's miss Harper Lynn, sleeping on her belly (her favourite sleeping position) with her small pink teddy in the corner!
So the night Fraser and decided we didn't want to get kicked in the kidneys or FACE at night (haha) we both agreed that if she got overly upset and it lasted longer than a few minutes, we would keep things the same and try again in a few weeks. To our surprise, once I put her in her crib awake, she whined for 10 minutes. Didn't even truly cry, she would whine for a minute, then put her head down for one minute. She repeated this for 10 minutes and then finally kept her head down and went to sleep. I was so excited but also skeptical. I figured she would sleep as long as she normally does for her naps and wake up upset. She slept for two and a half hours, woke up to nurse, and we tried her in her crib again. She slept from 9:30pm when she woke up to nurse, straight until 6am! That whole night, I slept like total crap. Firstly because I was so used to having her in our bed that I felt out of place. I also kept turning on the baby monitor to make sure she was okay. We have continued this routine since. This is what our nights have looked like:
After normal bath routine (above)
7:45pm: Put into crib awake
8pm: Asleep (usually she rolls around for a few minutes, and whines a little)
10:30/11pm: Wakes to nurse, they usually call this the dream feed
4:30am/6am: Wakes to nurse
7am/8am: Awake for the day
So on average, she wakes maybe once a night to nurse or not at all until 6am. Before, when she was co-sleeping, she was waking every two hours like clock work to nurse, because it was there and available! So a HUGE difference. It's been amazing!
We have successfully managed to get Harper sleeping through the night, in her own room, with minimal tears. I'm so proud of her and us!
Now to end this post off with some random photos of Harper, enjoy :)
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