It's like we took 3 steps back last night! Chance woke up at 11, 12, 1, and 2, taking about half an hour to go back to bed. He wouldn't nurse for more than a few minutes but protested when put back in bed. Even when I rocked him to sleep and put him back in the crib, he woke up within 30 minutes. Finally at 3 I was at my end and so the battle of wills began. I sent Cam downstairs with a set of earplugs, then let Chance go full-force for 10, 20, 30, etc. minutes. He was back asleep by 3:45 but only for 15 minutes. I tried to nurse him then, same deal: 4 sucks and already dozing, *not* a pattern I want to continue! So into the crib he went, lots of soothing words and massage, but to no avail, baby was UP, AWAKE, and ready to PLAY!
So, I ran a tub, and Chance stayed in his crib. The jets on the jacuzzi really buffered out the crying quite a bit and I finally got to try the bath products my friend Lynne bought me for my birthday - lavender. I thought that if the scent didn't help Chance sleep, at least it would help me sleep. After a 20 minute soak in the tub I went back to my little boy's room and started the process over again, meanwhile researching coping techniques online. Finally he went to sleep at 5:15 and stayed asleep until nearly 7:30, at which point I thought he must be genuinely hungry (last nursed "well" at 11:00 PM.)
I nursed him in bed and we both slept until just shortly before 9. By 10 he was already cranky (of course, he had a rough night too!) so laid him down for a nap but again he refused to sleep. So...the battle resumes. I
wouldn't mind getting up in the night to nurse him, but all he wants is to be soothed to sleep. Both Cam and I feel he needs to learn how to do this himself - we are not prepared to be waking in the night like this at 6, 9 and 12 months of age. The doctor feels that his weight is sufficient that he should be able to handle a 10-12 hour stretch of sleep at night, so that is our goal. We would even settle for 6-8 hours!
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