Sunday, August 17, 2008

To sleep, or not to sleep...?



Well, there are no pictures of the banana bread....I guess that speaks for itself!! Thanks for the recipe Kara!




We have surpassed the 3 month mark with Ezra. He is almost 15 pounds already-he's a big boy! We continue to have sleep issues...but it could be worse. We start our evening routine at 6:30pm with baths-both kids. Up until recently Ezra had his in his little tubby in the sink, Peekaboo in the big tub. This past week Ezra started having a bath with is big sister! When I take him out, I put more water in for her while I dress and feed him. At 7pm I read him a story and then try to put him to bed....ugh! He falls asleep long enough for me to get Peekaboo out of the bathtub, dressed, teeth brushed and stories. I put her to bed and close the door just in time to hear Ezra's first '"ech, ech...." I go in, replace soother, hold his tiny hand for a minute... This continues every 5-10 minutes for the next hour or so. By 8:30 pm, most nights, he is (finally) asleep for a few hours. He wakes at midnight to eat, and again around 5, then is up for the day by 8:00am....


Just shows how 2 kids can be sooooo different. When Peekaboo was his age, she went to bed much later (9-10 pm) but I fed her, put her in her bassinet and left the room. I wouldn't hear from her again until 2-3 am for a feed, and then she would just as easily go back to sleep after that until 7-8 am.




Now, I know there are parents out there who would kill for the apparent ease with which he goes to sleep, but I can't help but wonder....Should I can the soother? I am going in to replace it, maybe he needs to 'learn' to do without? On the other hand, parenting does not stop at 8 pm. These poor, little, helpless souls depend on us for comfort and soothing, reassurance and calming. The advocates of 'cry-it-out' must not be able to put themselves in the place of a tiny infant waking alone and sad in the dark and silence, just wanting the reassuring presence of the person they care about most in the world. And so, I will continue to run into the bedroom 45 times a night, replacing a soother, holding a hand, knowing that I can ease the mind and comfort the soul of this precious little guy.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

The kids are adorable!
You have to do what feels right for you and no one can tell you what that is. Annabel had a soother until she was almost one and then I slowly took it away realizing it would be easier at 11 months then it would be at 2 or 3 years.
When Annabel was 3 months, I think we were still going in at most noises that lasted more then a minute or two but now it's not uncommon for her to make a noise at night and then fall asleep on her quite quickly. She knows that if she really cries out, we'll be there. But she's going to be 2 soon, so she's well developed that trust that your little guy is still needing frequent reasurance of.
I'm sure you're an incredibly amazing mom and you're right to trust your instincts :)

And I wish I was there to try some of that yummy banana bread!