In hopes of helping my nine-month old to sleep without crying it out, I'm working my way through The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night. You can read Operation: Mama Needs Sleep {Part 1} here. So I'll get right to it. How is the No-Cry Sleep Solution working for us so far? Keep in mind that this plan is all about patience, and it is expected to take 20-30 days to see significant improvements. Here's our sleep log after two weeks of the plan.
Our Sleep Log: Age 9 1/2 months
| "Should" | 5/1/2012 | 5/15/2012 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Naps | 2 | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Total Length of Naps | 2 1/2- 4 hr | 2 3/4 hours | 2 3/4 hours | +1/4 hr |
| Bedtime (Asleep time) | 6:30-7 pm | 7:55 pm | 7:42 pm | -1/4 hr |
| Total Length Nightime Sleep | 11-12 hr | 10 hours | 10 1/4 hours | +1/4hr |
| Awake Time | 5:30-7 am | 6:06 am | 6:00 am | 0 |
| Number of Awakenings | - | 6+ | 5+ | -1 |
| Longest Sleep Span | - | 2 hr | 1 3/4 hr | -1/4 hr |
| Total Hours of Sleep | 14 | 12 3/4 hr | 13 hr | +1/4 hr |
This table is based on the original from page 177 of The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
. The "should" column is also based on the average sleep times provided in the book for a 9 month old.Baby Sleep Strategies
The No-Cry book offers a ton of great suggestions on how to gently get babies to sleep. Some are tailored to specific situations like co-sleeping or crib, breastfeeding or bottle, newborns or toddlers. There is something in there for everyone! I did my best to implement as many as possible, but there's only so much an exhausted mama can remember to do. There were several more simple strategies that I intended to use but lost track of in the haze. I plan to add those in for Part 3. In addition, in the midst of all this life happens. We travel or make a special outing, and all the naps and routines go out the window pretty quickly.
Of course it happened that I did the second log on a night of terrible teething, so the average sleep we've been getting may actually be better than shown. I don't usually make a habit of looking at the clock, so I don't know for sure. I'm really happy that we have cut out at least one night waking. Before we started the plan, the shortest sleep span was a miserable 15 minutes; in the second log it was 1 1/4 hour. That's a big improvement. I can tell you that I am now happier, more engaged, and functioning.
The sleep strategies that we (mostly) implemented in this phase included:
Of course it happened that I did the second log on a night of terrible teething, so the average sleep we've been getting may actually be better than shown. I don't usually make a habit of looking at the clock, so I don't know for sure. I'm really happy that we have cut out at least one night waking. Before we started the plan, the shortest sleep span was a miserable 15 minutes; in the second log it was 1 1/4 hour. That's a big improvement. I can tell you that I am now happier, more engaged, and functioning.
The sleep strategies that we (mostly) implemented in this phase included:
- Watch for signs of tiredness and get baby down for nap immediately
- Distinguish between night and day by letting baby nap with window shades open
- Make sure baby gets good naps during the day to reduce night wakings
- Watch baby closely when you expect him to wake up from a typically short nap and help him stay asleep longer
- Follow a consistent daytime routine
- Follow a detailed & consistent bedtime routine
- Make sure baby is actually awake before helping them get back to sleep
- Ditch the nursing nightgown and dress to make the "milkies" less accessible
- Gently break the latch after sucking slows. Repeat. (assuming I can stay awake to do so)
- We moved the co-sleeper mattress to the floor next to our bed. I nurse Baby to sleep there at the beginning of the night. Then we don't disturb him when we come to bed later. After his first waking, he spends the rest of the night in our bed snuggled next to me.
A Note on Naps
Previously BabyE's napped anywhere from 1-4 naps per day for around 40 minutes each time. He averaged a total of 2 hours per day. He now naps fairly consistently 3 times for a total of 3 hours per day. He now gets at least one nap that lasts longer than an hour each day which is what the book says is a minimum nap length. Though it's not necessarily reflected in this log, I feel we have seen significant improvements. (DH came home early. The dog barked. The nap was over.) In fact, this post would not have been possible without one of those glorious "long" naps!What gentle sleep solutions have worked for your baby?
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I'm so glad to see this is working for you. I'm surprised to see the 6:30-7:00 bedtime...We NEVER get Addie down that early. I thought I was doing good by getting her down at 8 every night?!?
ReplyDeleteI know! Doesn't that seem impossibly early? I can tell that E is tired before we actually get him to bed, but I think I'd have to get dinner on the table by 5 to achieve it!
DeleteMy son at that age was sleeping approximately as MUCH as in the chart, but he was at the max for naps so his night sleep was shorter, and he stayed up and woke up later. Here's what worked for us. I'm surprised that the chart shows specific TIMES at which baby should go down for the night and get up; I think that very much depends on the family schedule and the times when that individual baby tends to be sleepy. We were grateful that ours preferred a late schedule because WE did not want to get up at 5:30!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like E is tired in the evening. I wonder if maybe it would help to encourage him to go to sleep even earlier but not necessarily try to keep him down for the whole night after that. My son from birth seemed inclined to sleep around dinnertime, but then he'd wake up after a while and be up for a while. We just did not view it as a problem. We put very little effort into getting him to bed until he was about 18 months old.
I think the mattress on the floor is a very good idea since you've seen that he's disturbed by your coming in.
Is there anything you've found that increases his nap length? My son was more likely to drowse off while moving (in sling, stroller, or car) until he was past 3 years old...but as he got bigger, he became more likely to wake when he was picked up after the travel, so when possible we'd do things like sit in the car reading or paying bills while he finished his nap. I don't know if NCSS advises having baby sleep only in bed? We didn't really consider that approach, but then, we had a kid who could sleep through stimulation, whereas E sounds more easily disturbed.
Good luck! Sounds like you're on a helpful path.