I can't believe it, but Jackson has been sleeping about 8+ hours through the night for about a week or two now. I know he's a totally different kid from Julia, and that contributes, but we changed up our sleep method - as in actually having one - and it's working!
Let's discuss what we did with Julia: we breastfed on demand, all the time, and that was wonderful. However, she could not EVER sleep without being nursed to sleep, so that left me as the only person who could put her down, and I'd have to nurse on the bed and secretly slip out and away without waking her. It was quite tricky. It probably took us well over a year or so to not feed her in the middle of the night and when we finally started sleep training, it was HORRIBLE (picture me weeping on the floor, not her). In the beginning, we read "Baby Wise" and it scared us. We read "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and it wasn't working. I scoured blogs, I combined everything I heard of . . . At 3 years old she sleeps great, but it sure took a while to get there!
Needless to say, I was curious to try something new with Jax. I think part of our fear of having a second kid was knowing what we went through with Julia. So I came across a post Pinterest (link at the bottom). It basically outlined a 3 hour plan. Baby wakes up - feed. Awake for 1.5 hours. Sleep for 1.5 hours. Wakes up and feeds, awake for 1.5 hours, sleeps for 1.5 hours. The most successful aspect of this plan for me was that it separated feeding from sleeping. Now we put him down awake without nursing. And when I say "we," I mean WE! Anybody can put him down. The boobs can leave the building!
Other contributing factors to success: Jackson is a totally different kid than Jules. He is very mellow. He also started huge so the extra weight has helped him, I think. Also, this not being our first rodeo makes us much more relaxed parents, and he probably catches that vibe. And my favorite - his days and nights weren't confused like Julia's. During my pregnancy with Jax, I continued to take Unisom, an anti-nausea, pregnancy-approved sleeping pill. That may have added a little knocking-out in the womb at night time. I'm not recommending it, I'm not saying it worked. I'm just saying :o)
So we're doing the 3 hour thing. I've been super flexible with it. Some naps have been long, sometimes I've fed before a nap because he was hungry. It's a guide, and boy, IT IS WORKING!
So yay for the mama who shared this with me. I hope it helps you, or someone you know, get a little more rest, and perhaps be less of a new mombie (mom-zombie ;o)
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http://delightfulmomstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/newborn-sleeping-through-night.html?m=1
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