You know, every time I think I have this whole parenting thing figured out, something else pops up and I have the feeling of oh-my-gosh-what-am-I-doing-I-am-in-completely-over-my-head!
I remember the first time I was alone with Cole - it was the day we came home from the hospital, and Chris and my mom went to Target to pick up a few things. I was nursing Cole, and I remember thinking, "Wait a minute. What if I forget what to do? What if he starts crying and I don't know what to do? What if I change his diaper wrong? How is it possible that they just let us leave the hospital with this tiny little human and we didn't even have to take a test or anything to make sure we were capable?"
But slowly, I added bits of pieces of "mama knowledge" to my repetoir. I figured out how to calm his crying, the best way to get him to sleep, what to do if there was no changing table in a bathroom. I started feeling like I could really rock this parenting gig, feeling capable and knowledgeable.
But of course, as soon as I start to get to that step of feeling confident, Cole likes to change things up and throw a monkey wrench into all my plans.
Lately, it's been sleep that's been an issue. Cole doesn't like to miss anything, so he fights going to sleep. So, like any good parent, I do whatever I can to get him asleep. Rocking, singing, bouncing, walking, standing on my head, you name it, I'll do it if it means he'll sleep (and hence, then I can sleep). But lo and behold, now Cole is almost completely incapable of falling asleep on his own.
So we are working on this. We're trying slowly to wean him off his sleep dependency by laying him down when he's still awake, and not picking him up again, even if he's crying. But it's a fine line - I want to nurture and comfort my son, and attend to his needs, but I also need to teach him to be self-sufficient as much as possible.
Anybody have any advice for us? I'd love to hear how you overcome sleep difficulties! And Chris especially would thank you for any knowledge...the boy needs his sleep! :)
Hi Mandy! Sleep is such a difficult issue. With all my boys, it's different. Henry was nursed and rocked and held to sleep until he was 18 months old. Now, he sleeps fine. Spencer was a "put him down and he goes right to sleep" kid. Oliver was a "rock me to sleep" kid until around his birthday and Ezra it seems is a "hold me until I'm dead asleep" kid. I think, if you are happy with what you're doing, then it's fine. But if you are NOT then it's time for a change. "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley is a WONDERFUL book. I highly HIGHLY recommend it to all my clients. It's a gentler way to help your baby sleep the way you need him to, without tears. I don't personally believe in letting babies cry themselves to sleep, so for our family it was a fantastic book. I'm pretty sure every library on the planet has the book, and if not, you can purchase it for a good price. :) Good luck!
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