Sleep

Sleep has been cruelly teasing us. Two months ago when we first got Z he would wake 2-3 times to feed (or at least we thought that was what he wanted). We then weaned him down to just 1 feeding per night. Then a couple weeks ago that feeding started to occur later and later. He was waking at 2AM to feed, then 3, then 4:30, then 5:30AM and then the magic happened...Chris and I woke one morning last week and it was 7:15AM! We were thrilled. It was the first time Z had slept through the night and the first time Chris and I got a full nights sleep in over two months. We went to bed that night holding our breath Z would show a repeat performance and we were rewarded with a 7:30AM wake up call! We enjoyed 3 nights-in-a-row of "sleeping through the night." Then Sunday night, to our great disappointment, Z broke his streak. Since then he is back to waking once each night.


When we first hear him, Chris or I will just stick his pacifier in his mouth and walk out. This works for about an hour, then we hear him again, and again until we give up and feed him 1/2 a bottle. Last night I went in there at 2AM, 4AM, and then at 4:30AM I caved and gave him 4 ounces of formula (his typical feedings are 6-8 ounces). We then heard him crying hard at 7AM. Chris gave him his pacifier and he went back to sleep until 8AM. So is it teething? A growth spurt? Combo?


I really think you can draw a strong comparison between the superstitions parents exhibit with those of baseball players. Baseball players are known to hit a winning streak and claim they have to keep wearing the same stinky socks, not shave and tap the bat on the ground three times before every time at bat in order to maintain the streak. Parents trying to get kids to sleep through the night will meticulously repeat the bedtime routine that worked the one night their child slept through the night. I'll think - it must be because I used the orange pacifier, put his lovey blanket under his left arm, had him sleep on his right side, and gave him exactly 6.385 ounces of formula right before bedtime. Surely I can't give him one sip more or less of formula or he won't sleep through the night! Add this thinking to the sleep deprivation and no wonder so many moms feel like they are losing their minds!


Here is what Z has to think of all this: