Sleeeeeeep

(Another somewhat exhaustive, detail-laden post about sleep, but I'm writing mostly for my own good).

This Dr. Weissbluth who wrote Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child really does know some stuff. His book is totally disorganized in terms of the manner in which he presents the information. But, he knows his stuff.

Last night, Eliot slept, without crying, from 6:45 pm until 7 am. I nursed him around 4:45 pm, then Brady read to him and changed his diaper, then I swaddled him tightly and nursed him again around 6:15, then Brady bounced him on the ball, and he was asleep in his crib by 6:45 pm. He awoke at 7:15 crying, because that's his m.o.: to get woken up by the change from REM sleep to deep sleep, which happens after about 30 minutes. I rushed in and tried to soothe him without picking him up. He wasn't calming down, but he wasn't completely awake, so I picked him up and bounced for a minute. He calmed down. I put him back into bed, and he stayed there, completely silent, asleep.

I awoke at 3:45 am. I think either my breasts woke me up, or I woke because I knew my baby was hungry, or a little bit of both. He wasn't crying of hunger, but I decided to go down and dream feed him (feed him while he stays more or less asleep). It was either that or pump to relieve the pressure in my breasts. So, I went downstairs and turned on the bathroom light next door to his room so I would have a little bit of light to nurse him by. I walked into his room quietly and picked him up carefully, sat down in the rocking chair, and nursed him. He kept his eyes shut through the whole thing, which took about 25 minutes. When I laid him back down, he opened his eyes and seemed to be waking up, turning his head a lot back and forth. I gave him a pacifier, and picked him up and bounced him for about 5 minutes, then laid him down again and gave him an extra blanket and made "ssshhh"-ing noises for 5 minutes. Then I stood there for 5 more minutes to make sure he was asleep. Then I went back to bed. He was silent again until 7 am, when he awoke making happy baby noises.

By 8:45 am he was ready for his morning nap, so I swaddled him and bounced him. He fell asleep. I laid him in the crib, kept my hands on him, "sshh"-ed for a few minutes, then left. He was asleep for 35 minutes, before waking up making little noises. He sounded awake, but he wasn't screaming. I had expected to go in to soothe him past that 30-min mark, so I was waiting outside the door, but since he wasn't screaming, I just decided maybe he would get himself back to sleep. And he did! I think it took about 10 minutes, but I didn't time it. It might have been 15.

The only downside here is that it is now 10:04 am. My yoga class has started. But the first half hour is just mamas checking in, and the yoga doesn't start until 10:30. I kind of hope he wakes up soon so we can go... but I'm not going to wake him up because we're still in this delicate phase of establishing patterns and sleep schedules.

...

It is now 10:32 am. I have officially missed yoga, but Eliot is officially getting a stellar morning nap, in his crib, in his own room, and not in the swing. I'm psyched.

...

He slept until 11 am and woke up happy. His two later naps that day were shorter, only 30 minutes, and he woke up crying and couldn't be soothed back to sleep. But my understanding is that his afternoon nap will develop later, and those two short naps will consolidate into one longer nap.