New Videos!

Pictures can no longer capture the essence of Lily, so we've been taking more video! She enjoyed playing in the rain with cousin Jesse and is just learning to "jump" over things. My little girl is so proud of herself! :) She is just too cute these days!

STTN (Sleeping Through The Night)

It is true, my little man is already sleeping through the night. I've had several people, mostly other new moms, ask what we have done to get him to sleep through the night. People also tend to be in a bit of awe when they see how easy Lily goes to sleep and hear how she plays quietly in her crib when she wakes. I say we are blessed because I'm pretty sure that is mostly what has led to having good sleepers, well, and maybe a little genetics since we have no trouble sleeping. Still, there are a couple of things that I think have helped the process along.

I think the most important thing is that we tried pretty early on to get them into a pattern of eating, having awake time, then going to sleep. Getting used to going to sleep without nursing is huge. Then, when they do wake up a little during the night, they don't have to nurse to go back to sleep. I know that letting them cry it out is controversial, and I certainly don't advocate long periods of crying, but our children were almost always asleep after less than ten minutes (which may be the blessing part) and now go to sleep without crying at all. I think the video monitor helped me some with this because I could turn the sound off (it's hard to hear) and watch and know they were ok.

The other thing is that we don't get them up unless they are really awake and hungry. Jack makes all sorts of grunts and sounds during the night. Sometimes he even wines or cries a little, but he isn't really awake, so I don't get him up. When he is really awake, he lets us know! As Lily got older, we would leave her in her crib some in the morning while we were getting ready and she got used to just hanging out there and being happy. She sees it as a happy safe place where she likes to be. I'm not sure how that is going to transition when we move her to a toddler bed.

I think that having a bedtime routine that lets them know it's time for "long sleep" (at nap or night) also helps. With Lily we do a bath (every other night), then put on her pj's and sleep sack for Lily, then we brush her teeth, go in her room and let her turn off the light, and I sing her a little song before putting her in her crib. With Jack, I nurse him,  then change his diaper and swaddle him. He get's the pacifier and a little snuggly rocking before I put him in his bed.  I think this routine clues him in that this is different sleep than when he falls asleep in the swing or car seat during the day, which helps him sleep longer.

The final thing that helped both of our little ones early on was keeping them swaddled. I've noticed that both of them tended to startle and wake themselves up when they weren't swaddled. I really think it helps them sleep and Summer makes awesome Velcro swaddles that really make them feel cozy and safe. I left Lily swaddled when sleeping until she was probably four months! I'm not sure if it would work if you haven't done it since they were little. I doubt an older baby would want to be swaddled if they aren't used to it.

So, that is what we have done, and you can't argue with the results, but I know it doesn't work that way for everyone. I do think we have been truly blessed with pretty easy tempered little ones. 

Victory

You may not know this about me, but I am a little stubborn. When I put my mind to something, I make it happen.  I can even become a bit obsessive. That is part of what bothered me about nursing Jack (that and the incessant pumping). I just really wanted to nurse him. I saw it as part of my identity. It is who I am. I am a nursing mom. I nursed Lily. I should, and desperately wanted to, nurse Jack. I hated everything about pumping. I took every step I could think of to "solve the problem". Chiropractors, lactation consultants, ENT, not to mention tons of message board posts. Nothing seemed to be working.

This past week, though, we had a break through.  I had  an appointment with a new lactation consultant. She and my amazing doula came to my house to watch me nurse and help me figure out what was going on. Honestly, I don't think they told me anything I hadn't already heard or tried. We didn't even really have great nursing sessions. But, when they left, I felt a new sort of peace. I came to the realization that even if I didn't nurse him, he was getting my milk and I could and would put my mind to surviving the pumping.

Then, the very next day, I discovered a way to get him to the breast. It wasn't anything insightful. I would hold him with his head at the breast while he screamed and bounce him until he relaxed enough to latch. We had a few feedings that started that way before he began to latch without the screaming. Within about a day, he seemed to actually be happy to nurse. Victory!

Since then we have been almost exclusively nursing, AND Jack has been sleeping through the night. I feel like a totally different person. I still worry just a little that he isn't getting enough milk from me, because he is a very quick nurser, but he seems to be pretty happy and has good awake time and good sleep, so I think he must be. I know it shouldn't be this big of a deal, but it is awesome. It makes me so happy!