After toughing it out with varying levels of sleep deprivation over the past year, this weekend we finally made the tough decision to night-wean Miss Lily. This past month a combination of teething and a potential food allergy (more on that later!) has left her waking up consistently every 45-75 minutes all night long and sometimes taking up to half an hour of nursing/cuddling to settle back down to sleep.
By this weekend I was frantic, cranky, and just so, so bone tired that I didn’t feel like I could function. Matt has been great about taking the kids on the weekends so I can sleep, but his work schedule during the week, coupled with the fact that Lily & Gabriel rarely nap at the same time, left me with 5 long sleep-deprived days to survive between each weekend. So we used part of our date-day on Sunday to browse the parenting book section at Border’s and came home with the No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers.
A sleep log of a couple of nights illustrated that Lily was getting less than 8 hours of sleep at night, even though she was in bed for close to 12 hours and that I was getting about half that much. So we came up with a sleep plan that has Matt & I splitting the night into two shifts and teaching Lily to sleep without nursing. Old habits are hard to break and the first night was pretty rough, but last night we all got some sleep and things are looking quite a bit sunnier today.
Another really helpful article, if you find yourself in our sleep-deprived position, comes from Dr. Jay Gordon’s web site: http://drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp . It’s a very gentle approach (although honestly, I feel NCSS is very gentle too).
I feel better just knowing we have a plan. It’s helping me avoid the dread I usually feel each night before going to bed and also making me feel like there might be a sleep-filled light at the end of this tunnel…
3 comments
julie says:
September 13, 2007 at 3:12 pm (UTC 2 )
Well, we tried to night-wean. Then the teething started. We may try again once her fourth molar comes in (it’s on its way now), but for now, she’s back to nursing several times per night. So I’m apparently a big chicken too
amygeekgrl says:
May 23, 2007 at 10:36 pm (UTC 2 )
i know you’ve been struggling with this for a while. glad to hear you are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
and yes, thank goodness for husbands who let us sleep in on the weekends. i don’t know what i’d do without those cpl extra hours!
Corrina says:
May 23, 2007 at 12:59 am (UTC 2 )
I know we’ve already talked this subject, well, to death but…. I so get it! Repeat after me, the Mommy Mantra,
This, too, shall pass
This, too, shall pass
This, too, shall pass
She is head strong and stubborn and sassy and bossy and FABULOUS!! It’s a shame that all these marvelous qualities make her a sleepless diva!
Thank goodness for great husbands and quiet Saturday mornings.
Love you.
C.