The beginnings of sleeping through the night (or "STTN" as most parents know it)
David & I noticed that Nolan is beginning to sleep through the night and boy, are we excited, even if it only lasts for right now. :)
As I looked back over his sleep log (an app on my iPhone), I noticed that he started sleeping 5-6 hours in a single stretch around six weeks old. After that, he had several nights each week where he slept closer to 7 hours straight.
Then, the day he turned two months old, he slept through the night for the very first time: a full 8 uninterrupted hours! We weren't sure if it was a fluke so, we agreed to just be thankful for what we got and take each night as it came. However, he surprised us by sleeping a full 8 hours every night this past week! What a gift, we both feel like brand new people.
To those curious, we have next to zero consistency in all other aspects of his life, including daytime naps. Some naps are 25 minutes while others are 4 hours, though I can tell you that the vast majority of his naps are right at 45 minutes long and most days he takes 4-6 of them. At times he will nap in his swing, other times his eyes will fly open the second his bottom touches it. Often times I have to hold him for him to sleep, typical "fourth trimester" stuff. The only consistency is that he is awake longer between naps, about an hour and a half, these days.
We have been sticking with a night time routine that we start once he wakes up from his last day time nap, which has been around 8:00pm: we turn down all the lights, turn down the television/radio volumes, and limit our verbal interactions to whispers. I nurse him, give him his bath and lotion massage, change him into Pjs, nurse him again, and David takes him to rock/bounce/sway him to sleep. The whole process is under two hours. He's normally asleep in his bassinet, which is still next to our bed, for the night between around 10:00pm and wakes up around 6:00am. David and I don't stay up much later so we can get a decent night's rest. He only sleeps in his bassinet at night and we never put him in it for daytime naps. During the day he sleeps in my arms, in my Ergo carrier, in his swing, in his infant-to-toddler rocker/vibrating chair, and in his car seat. We think this further helps him distinguish day from night.
As I looked back over his sleep log (an app on my iPhone), I noticed that he started sleeping 5-6 hours in a single stretch around six weeks old. After that, he had several nights each week where he slept closer to 7 hours straight.
Then, the day he turned two months old, he slept through the night for the very first time: a full 8 uninterrupted hours! We weren't sure if it was a fluke so, we agreed to just be thankful for what we got and take each night as it came. However, he surprised us by sleeping a full 8 hours every night this past week! What a gift, we both feel like brand new people.
To those curious, we have next to zero consistency in all other aspects of his life, including daytime naps. Some naps are 25 minutes while others are 4 hours, though I can tell you that the vast majority of his naps are right at 45 minutes long and most days he takes 4-6 of them. At times he will nap in his swing, other times his eyes will fly open the second his bottom touches it. Often times I have to hold him for him to sleep, typical "fourth trimester" stuff. The only consistency is that he is awake longer between naps, about an hour and a half, these days.
Nolan asleep in his infant-to-toddler rocker (with the kickstand up so it lays flat) for a 9:00AM nap
We have been sticking with a night time routine that we start once he wakes up from his last day time nap, which has been around 8:00pm: we turn down all the lights, turn down the television/radio volumes, and limit our verbal interactions to whispers. I nurse him, give him his bath and lotion massage, change him into Pjs, nurse him again, and David takes him to rock/bounce/sway him to sleep. The whole process is under two hours. He's normally asleep in his bassinet, which is still next to our bed, for the night between around 10:00pm and wakes up around 6:00am. David and I don't stay up much later so we can get a decent night's rest. He only sleeps in his bassinet at night and we never put him in it for daytime naps. During the day he sleeps in my arms, in my Ergo carrier, in his swing, in his infant-to-toddler rocker/vibrating chair, and in his car seat. We think this further helps him distinguish day from night.
The first rule of STTN, don't talk about STTN!!!
ReplyDeleteSilent applause for everyone in the Shaver house!
Yay! Glad you're getting so much rest. Eliza slept for 7 hours straight last night, and I can't believe the difference in how productive I am today. It's amazing what a good, straight stretch of sleep can do. Hope it lasts with Nolan!
ReplyDelete