Putting the Baby to Sleep
I’m being far more diligent and stricter second time around when it comes to putting the baby to sleep.
I’m making sure I teach Savannah how to sleep on her own from the get go.
It is working.
I’ve just put her down in her cot, after a feed. She was sleepy, but still awake.
She lay there looking around, and trying to root on her fingers.
I knew she was not hungry as she just had a big feed. She was beginning to use my boobie as a sleeping crutch. I can’t go down that road again.
I felt my heart pull as I started to move slowly out the room.
Sleep little one sleep
“But look at her Caroline. She’s so little. She must be so afraid, lying there on her own trying to go to sleep. She’s been safe in your warm tummy for so long always connected to her. You can’t leave her. Pick her up.”
And so the mind battle begins. Torn between knowing what lies in the future and how to make that easier by getting it right now and with an overwhelming love for my child that makes me just want to cuddle her and rock her to sleep and keep her by my side.
If I could, I’d never put her down.
But, my job is to teach and guide her and with that comes learning how to sleep. You’d think they’d coming out knowing, but they don’t.
I just have to remind myself what happens a few months down the track when they don’t know how to get themselves asleep.
Hours of rocking.
Patting on back.
Sleep Rescue strategies that don’t work, all in an effort to help restore some of your sanity.
Sleepless nights.
Waking up every hour for a feed, not because they are hungry, but because they are awake and don’t know how to get back to sleep.
I can’t walk that road again. I know how much easier life will be for me, if I just forego the pleasure I receive in having her lay sleeping in my arms. Not every time, just mostly.
Instead, I’ll just make sure I pay more attention to the moments when I can cuddle her and not worry that I may be setting her up for struggles later on.
I’ll make my time more quality.
Give her that one extra squeeze before I do put her down, and relish in the pride and joy I feel when I see how clever she is in putting herself to sleep.
It will mean Mummy will be less stressed and tired in a few weeks time, and that will be far more valuable to Savannah then just having a cuddly, happy mummy for the first few glowy weeks.
How did you cope with putting your baby to sleep?
Comments
Penelope
We live and learn…I plan to do this differently with our next one too.
Caz
I hope I can get it right this time. Why don’t they teach us how to do this stuff at school? Useful information
Veronica @ Mixed Gems
I also planned to do it differently second time around. Learn to self-soothe rather than feed to sleep. It did work, with some tweaking over the months, for most sleeps until recently. My bub’s 6 months and has started to roll and she keeps herself up. I can see she’s tired so I’ve resorted to cuddling her, or occasionally feeding to sleep just to get her there. I remember a change with my first child at about the same age (though she mostly fed to sleep beforehand anyway). I’m hoping she’ll either figure out how to sleep on her tummy or more regularly roll back so I can get her to self-settle again. Fingers crossed. Good luck for you too.
Caz
They are so unpredictable aren’t they? Just when you think you have it figured out. It is not easy. Sometimes Savannah will go down easy other times its a three hour ordeal.. I dread sleep time now. Hoping that in a few weeks it will be sorted.
sheila
Oh how did we survive it? Trial and error, to be honest. Lots and lots of it! LOL
Caz
Can’t wait till she gets it
Jenn
So looking back, nine months later how did you go? I too plan to sleep train early when we have a second baby but I’m also torn because those newborn snuggles only last for a few weeks! 🙂
Caz Makepeace
Oh we hit teething and then it all fell apart. She’s been dreadful lately. Not sleeping night or day and she just cries and throws things out of her cot to get me to come in. This morning she managed to drop off on her own after a little protest. Maybe the teething nightmare has paused for now and she’s getting back on track. I’d say enjoy the snuggles, because she won’t and sometimes I wish she would as I’d get her to sleep quicker and I love her cuddles