Hope??

Funny, I had forgotten how mom's love to help other moms. Absolutely no sarcasm here, really, I was amazed at the outpouring of advice and well wishes for Charlie and his sleep issues. Since he is not my first, I haven't really gotten that much advice from other moms. I remember with Kailyn that lots of people were happy to share their opinions... often... even if they didn't have kids. To the point of, can I admit, slight annoyance. But with Charlie I guess most people have assumed we've got it figured out.

Until I mention that I don't... my goodness! I thank all the people that called and emailed what worked (and didn't work) for their kids. Which brings me to what is one of the most difficult (to me) parts of child rearing. There is no "one way," no "silver bullet," and certainly no "manual" that will help any of us along. A couple of moms are adamant that the "cry it out" method is the way to go and I am just prolonging the issue by not doing it. Others think that's kind of mean and have offered other ideas, including putting him back in our bed. One mom went through the same thing with her little guy just recently and it continued from month 7-11, then just kind pf petered out, suggesting it might just be a "phase." Another mom loved the "cry it out" with her first but then found that it didn't work at all for her second. So, I had forgotten about all the advice that will come your way if asked, but more importantly, I had forgotten how all the advice will seem to contradict each other and really land you back to square one... with no idea what path to choose.

So, after a long talk with one of my favorite and most admired moms in the world, who, in fact, used the "cry it out" method but thought that it was so hard she and her husband had a bonfire outside so she couldn't hear the crying, I was starting to form a plan. While not responding to my baby's cries feels very unnatural to me, especially when I am not convinced that he is not hungry, I am nearly to the point of exhaustion and am willing to try most anything short of drugging my child (which was also suggested!). However, since this goes against my instincts, I am not going to do it right now. I am going to wait a week or two, recheck his weight, and see where we are. Charlie and I have talked about this, too, and amazingly, I think he was listening to his mama...

Because.... for two nights now, he has only woken up twice. I take that back. He's woken up a few times more than that, but HE HAS STARTED TO PUT HIMSELF BACK TO SLEEP!! Did he sense my desperation? One friend suggested that he likes to be snuggled at night because I held him alot when he was a newborn. Which got me to thinking: I used to hold him alot more than I do. So, I have added in some extra snuggle time during the day, especially since I have really cut back on nursing. Both my kids have been very snuggly babies (which I LOVE!), and I almost think that they need this like they need food. We also put him in a super warm bunting, which I was originally hesitant to do because they warn not to allow your baby to overheat. But I know my guy, and he LIKES TO BE WARM!! Other than that, we are just making a concerted effort to fill him up during the day, especially with filling solids.

So, I hope that I haven't jinxed myself by hoping that maybe we won't have to "cry it out" after all. But I haven't forgotten the idea. He was regularly waking up at 11, 1, and 4. Last night he woke up at 12, put himself back to sleep without crying, then woke up at 1:15 and was hungry. Really hungry - he ate 8 oz!! After that, he slept until 5, and Brian was able to help him back to sleep in about, I don't know, 4 seconds. Not bad, if you ask me. I can handle this.... Hopefully, he'll give up that early morning wake up, and then we can work on no more feedings if we can fill him up during the day. I think that we are on the right track....