Monday, September 13, 2010

Update

He is officially sleeping through the night! That's no wake up until around 6 AM. I'm getting sleep again and feeling whole. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Adios Pacifier

Sorry for the lack of posts lately as my blogging is directly related to the amount of sleep I have been getting. For the past 3 weeks we have been finagling with how Miles sleeps at night. I have bought better nighttime sleep diapers. Stopped swaddling. Made sure he was warm enough or not too hot. Gone to disposable diapers at night. All of this has lead to a dependence on the pacifier.

At first it was once a night I would go in to reinsert the paci. Slowly it picked up, but I assumed it was because of the other finagling, not an oral fixation on the paci. Well, it reached a peak when we went to Palisade Colorado for some peaches and Colorado wine. I was waking up about every 45 minutes at night and for his naps putting that dreaded thing back in. I was getting zero sleep and Miles was rocking the yawns around the clock.

That was it, cold turkey, no more pacifier when we got home. I would have started right then and there, but I don't think the guests in the hotel would have appreciated a crying baby at 1 in the morning.

I was going to be strong and firm, let my baby self sooth himself to sleep so at 18 I would not have a grown man dependent on the pacifier. Intellectually it sounds easy, but emotionally it has got to be one of the hardest things in the world listening to your baby cry and cry and cry.

The first night I vowed to sit by his crib the entire time ensuring his safety. Right. Let's just say I caved and gave him the pacifier which quieted him immediately. Ok lesson learned, he's not cold, wet, hot, sad, lonely, etc. He just wants he pacifier. The 2nd time that night I was going to be firm. He cried 1 hour and then I caved.

So me zero, pacifier 2. Awesome.

New plan, I cannot sit in the room with him because nothing I do calms him down. Not patting, not shhhing, not holding, not walking, not standing on my head, you get the idea. Only thing that works.... the pacifier.

Last night he did fairly well, each time he awoke, he cried briefly and was back asleep. Until 2AM rolled around. He cried for over an hour as I lay in my bed waiting and praying for him to fall back asleep. He finally did. Me 1, Pacifier 2.

Today, he has gone down for his naps without much out of him. He awoke and fussed for about 5 minutes. I went in to check on him shortly after to see if he really needs to get up and his thumb and his pointer fingers were in his mouth while asleep. Thank God he found his thumb and a little bit extra to suck on.

I realize I am probably creating another big problem for down the road, but I will deal with that when the time comes and after I have gotten more than 2 hours of consecutive sleep.

Do 18 year olds still suck their thumbs?