Sleep Cheat Sheet

Banner has been doing such a great job of sleeping through the night recently. I want to remember what it is that WE did to help him with that so that whenever we have another baby to help, we can remember what worked well for (one day) big brother. His first stretch of 8 hours was just before his 2 month birthday. Previous to that, he would sleep for about 6 hours, and immediately following the first 8 hour stretch, he continued to sleep anywhere from 6-8 hours. We've been very blessed with a good night time sleeper, but his naps are still a work in progress.This past week, at 10 weeks old, he has slept 9 hours twice.

So what are we doing to help keep this up? Well, I'm reading a great book, first of all. A good friend of ours recommended (and loaned to us) The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy (by: Kim West). It's the first practical book I've read - giving actual guidelines for how often babies should sleep during the day, how often they should wake during the night, and how much and how often they should be eating at various ages. Every other book I've read tells you something like, "Every baby's different," or "Talk to your doctor about . . ." when I just wanted a rough guideline. I highly recommend this book, and actually following a plan - ANY plan - is a helpful tool. I also like that it's outlined by age, so I don't have to read the entire book at once to get the gist. I can read just what applies to Banner, and I can also read just a little bit ahead to know what's in our immediate future. I'm so sick of those books that take 100 pages just to tell you a simple approach to something. (I found that The Happiest Baby on the Block was one of these books... the author wants to tell you lots of stories, toot his own horn about all his experience, and make money writing a lengthy book about a simple approach to calming a cranky baby. I found that the author tells you the same thing over and over again - not much meat to his verbose writing, and I got frustrated quickly!) Anyway, back to my original point of this paragraph - sticking to a plan has helped a lot, and this book is awesome! (Thanks, Julia!)

What is that plan? Well, for starters, we have a great bedtime routine. It's simple, but consistent. When we notice that he's getting a little fussy, and wanting to sleep (which we don't let him do a lot of before bedtime), we get him ready for his bath. We bathe him every night - but we only use soap every other night (except on his neck, where we find the pesky evidence of a battle with reflux). Banner loves the bath. We try to make this a fun, lengthy process. Sometimes I sing to him, and we do lots of body teaching, saying what we're cleaning as we do it. He gets very relaxed in the tub, and it immediately stops his fussing. I spray him down one last time with warm water before Sam wraps him up tightly in his towel so he doesn't get cold - we make this very quick! Then, Sam diapers him in Banner's room, while I quickly clean up. Then, I get to lather him with lotion before putting him in warm pjs. The lotion is another part of the routine which helps relax Banner. I also talk more about his body and give him a nice baby massage! (I also remind him that when he's older, he can give ME a massage!)

Next, Sam feeds him his last bottle of the night. This bottle is a little bigger than the others. It's about an ounce or 1.5 ounces MORE than the ones he gets during the day. When he's finished, I swaddle Banner and rock him for a bit until he's drowsy but not fully asleep yet. Then, I put him to bed - currently in the pack 'n play in our room. When Banner gets up, usually 6+ hours later (sometimes 8-9!), we feed him an ounce to 1.5 ounces LESS than bottles he gets during the day. Then, he goes back to sleep for another 3 hours or so.

We've also noticed that the earlier the bedtime, the longer he sleeps. Holding him off until 10:00 does more damage than good. It's better to aim for 8:45-9:00ish. He's actually been giving signs lately that he wants to go to bed even earlier.

So, here's the cheat sheet part - both from what I've read and what I've learned on my own:

• Don't play musical beds. Where he starts the night is where he wakes in the morning.
• Don't entertain him when he wakes. He needs to learn that night time is boring and that he won't get much interaction from us. 
• Don't put toys in the crib. His bed should be a place to sleep, not to play.
• Let him put himself to sleep. When he wakes after a sleep cycle, he will put himself back to sleep. He might need us to replace his pacifier, but otherwise, we don't react to every sound or eye-opening.
• Don't change a wet diaper or wet clothes in the middle of the night - unless absolutely necessary. This will only wake him more. If he poops, change him, but be quick and remember not to interact much at all.
• In the morning, make a big deal about it being morning. Interact a lot and smile! Let him know NOW is time to wake up!

These tips are working for us now. I hope they continue to prove effective for Banner. I know it will change with growth spurts, with teething, and with more cognitive awareness, but for now, it's nice to have a plan. And, it's nice to know I have a great resource to go to when I'm in doubt. Our next project is to lengthen and organize his nap schedule.