Oh, I have been waiting for this day for so long I just can't believe it's here! I think I might have to go treat myself to a margarita tonight...anyone want to come celebrate with me?
I must give credit for my husband for this victory. Many times these past few months, as I was getting more and more sleep deprived and bitter, he would gently say that he would help me "train" Nathanael to comfort himself to sleep (that's his nice way of saying "cry it out") :)
And I would always brush his comments aside. I just wasn't ready. My heart still couldn't bear the crying that I knew would come (even though I knew it would be short-lived because we went through it with the other boys who were successfully "trained" and still loved me afterwards).
But last week I was at the end of my rope. Nine months of getting up every hour or two had taken it's toll. It was time. I decided to wean at the same time because the ultimate cause of Nathanael's night-time wakings was that he always wanted to be comfort-nursed back to sleep. Somehow I had gotten into the habit of nursing him to sleep for all his naps and also during the night, and as a result I had accidentally trained him not go to sleep any other way. I now look back and admit that was probably not the best approach, but when you have 3 other kids who need your attention you tend to choose the way that seems easiest out of sheer desperation. So that's what I did, and it bit me in the butt...
Anyway, once we decided to "re-train" Nathanael, I figured that if I slowly cut back on nursing, and quit the habit of feeding him to sleep, he would learn not to be dependant of me to get to sleep...he would learn to comfort himself to sleep. And this week seemed to prove that hypothesis correct.
We started the new routine last Sunday night... 1) Change his diaper and put on jammies 2) Read a few books in his room 3) Hold him while playing his "Twinkle Twinkle Teddy Bear" 4) Lay him in the crib and say "I love you, Good Night" 5) Let him cry for 10 minutes 6) Repeat steps 3-5.
The first 3 nights we had to go in about 3 times before he would fall asleep (probably out of sheer exhaustion). But on night 4 we only had to go in once, and night 5 he didn't need us to come back in to comfort him at all. Each night got progressively better with how many times he awoke during the night as well, and by night 6 he slept through the night completely. The weaning process also went smoothly. I cut out all nighttime feedings on the first day that we began our new routine. The next day I cut out 1 daytime feeding. The following day, I cut out 2 daytime feedings, the third day I cut out 3, and by the fourth day he was completely weaned and thankfully didn't seem to mind a bit. In fact, I think he loves his bottle just as well as nursing. It is so sweet to watch him hold the bottle with both hands all by himself. And even though I hadn't planned on weaning him this early, I feel as if a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders, which further confirms that I think the time was right. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved nursing and bonding with my baby in that special way, but when the bond became a burden rather than I joy, it was healthy for me to wean and bond in other special ways instead. Now I get to watch my husband or my older boys give Nathanael a bottle, which is very sweet indeed. And now I'm free to leisurely get groceries or go on a date with my husband without worrying about getting back for nursing at a certain time. Heck, I'm even free to go on a trip for a few days...anyone want to meet somewhere for a girl's getaway weekend to renew our spirits and help us to embrace our vocations as wives and mother's with new enthusiasm? :)
P.S. Paul and I decided to get a babysitter and go out to celebrate tonight... I had a tasty Montana Sapphire Margarita and Paul had a Lemon Drop Martini. What a great reason to celebrate! And don't I look incredibly happy and well-rested in this photo? :) I'm toasting to my sweet husband for being the strength that I needed to win this victory of sleep. It's times like these when I realize why God put the two of us together :) Thanks, honey! Here's to you and here's to sleep, blissful sleep!
No comments:
Post a Comment