Chasing Sleep

I was inspired to write this post by a friend who has an 11 month old, who is still waking up 3-4 times every night to nurse. She is at her wits end. She is exhausted and drained. It is effecting her day to day. She is such a caring and loving Mom who doesn't want to traumatize her little cutie by letting her scream it out. I say scream baby scream.

When Ella was 9 months old and still getting up multiple times per night to eat, I knew something had to give. I had let this behavior go on way too long. I was advised by a Mommy friend and nurse to go cold turkey. Stop any and all night feedings and night visits. I was told it would take three nights. My hubby and I committed to making it happen, then my three nights of misery ensued. Three nights of pure, screaming hell out of my little one who I couldn't bare to let scream even for a minute before now. The fourth night - SILENCE. Sweet serenity. From that point on Ella was a terrific sleeper. My saving grace was a video monitor. It allowed me to peak in on my girl, without having to disrupt her. It also allowed me to let her scream for those three nights, with the peace of mind that I knew she was safe and ok in her bed. It was my life line.

My little Lily, who is now almost 10 months old has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 weeks old. This is a total fluke, I have no explanation. I parented them both the same, but my Lily has just always been a great sleeper. So what makes the difference between a restless sleeper and a sound one? In my opinion, it's just their make-up. It's all about what makes them tick. So if your little one isn't born a perfect sleeper, try the three nights of hell and hopefully you and your bundle will sleep like a baby for all the nights that follow.

Mommy Mantra - Make your kids an incredible Part of your life, not your WHOLE life.

Tonight, my hubby is out with some old college friends. He stopped home to change and picked up a mushroom pizza from our favorite pizza shop. The girls ate happily, we played outside and then bath and bed. Tonight I read them stories in Ella's bed together. Ella held Lily's bottle as Lily patted her on her cheek. I wanted to take a picture, but I didn't move in fear of ruining this perfect moment. Don just called and I told him about our night. He said he was jealous I got to have such a sweet time without him. He is out partying, yet he was jealous of my time with the girls. I married the right guy.