Sleep training... doesn't that sound lovely? Conjures up images of perfecting the starfish position, getting in some warm bath and hot cocoa preparation and testing for the perfect flannel pyjamas. Preparing for the spooning finals, the afternoon nap contest, the tricky snoozing on a plane competition...
Sadly no. I'm talking screaming, shushing, patience-testing such as a saint would fail. The baby, obvs.
Our little one, despite being an evening screamer for her first three months, did, rather cleverly we thought, decide to settle into an 8 hour routine from about 8 weeks - she dropped off after a feed or a scream around 10 and woke us at 6. Ideal - one of us got to work on time; the other got to have a leisurely breakfast with baby and boy. We got into bed before we fell apart from tiredness.
Sadly, late nights began to pique her curiosity and she started only going down for the night around midnight, after a lot of feeding and screeching and wide awake playfulness.
I got into bed a week ago and said, "I can't take any more of this". It was the point at which I knew I needed A Different Tactic. So, time to turn back tail between my legs to the Baby Whisperer, whose book I had thrown against the wall weeks previously because it infuriated me with its calm 'just do this and the baby will do this' ridiculousness. But it had a plan for getting the baby to settle in the cot, and in the absence of any other, it now seemed the time to get serious and try...
So, for the last 6 nights we've been picking up and putting down in a darkened room for our evening entertainment. I liked the plan. I didn't feel mean putting her down by herself because I could cuddle and calm as soon as she got upset. And in between I got to lie down and immerse myself in blog land.
And it worked. Well for a few nights it did anyway - one night she even went straight to sleep with barely a whimper. Then last night I stuck out 20 minutes of trying to calm my wiggly little noise machine in the dark before I gave in and brought her downstairs to distract her with lights and TV (quiet immediately!). So we'll see what happens as we try to keep it up, BUT...
...there is one small problem, in that for the last several nights I've been working my way through the complete archives of a blog I came across the other week, which I was absolutely loving (the wonderful Mwa's Lost in Translation). It was like reading a good book, going 'oh yes, I so get that' the whole way through, then finding out your favourite character has come to life at the end. And it was like getting to know a new and fabulously funny and frank friend, chatting with her late each night.
But then I read my way right up to the present and there's no archives left. So now I need something new to keep me going whilst we pick up and put down some more tonight and doubtless nights to come. I'll trawl around a bit until something captures my imagination I think, then do another whole-archive read - it's nice getting to properly know a blog(/blogger) rather than just flit in and out.
Which brings me to my second post topic - this has been making me think about this blog and what I want from it. I wanted it to be a kind of notepad for me to refer back to - good recipes, ideas I'd had for when I eventually get this completely pipe dream cafe up and running (i.e. 2nd of never), projects I'd finished, pretty things I might want to buy or just look at. That kind of thing.
And for some reason I didn't really want it to be about personal stuff, mummy and baby stuff, 'musings'... Not quite sure why. I liked reading those kinds of blogs, I just didn't feel that that was what I wanted to do.
But now I think perhaps I do. And besides, I choose what I cook primarily on how easy it'll be to clean up nowadays, and I knit at a rate of about three rows a year so there's not going to be much of interest on the foody/crafty front.
So, not promising anything because anytime I decide what this should be, or how often I should post, or whatever, it's pretty much a guarantee that that won't happen, but just saying, perhaps I'll open up a little and share a bit more minutiae and mind-noise here from now on.
As a mummy who had lots of challenges with sleep training with my first I know how hard it is - but I also know how rewarding it was after a few weeks when 90% of the time he fell asleep fairly easily and quickly and this did continue once he knew that was what was going to happen every single night. Now at 3 most nights he hops into bed, has a song and then says goodnight. Ahhh bliss.
ReplyDeleteI might have a blog for you to look at when I am ready to show it!
I'd be interested to read more of your mind noise, although I know how hard it is to share it, yet not cross the line of what feels comfortable to have 'out there'. Tricky balance to find, especially if you're not blogging anonymously.
ReplyDeleteYou may today be officially my favourite person in the whole world. You certainly gave my self-esteem a large boost. For which I thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteAs for other blogs, there are some great ones if you click on the commenters on my blog. I tend to pick the ones who talk of their own lives a lot, too.
And your own blog you should do with exactly what you want and what makes you happy... obviously. Good luck with it!
K - Yay on the new blog! I am looking forward to the hopping into bed days - we had an hour of screaming last night after falling straight asleep the night before so still a work in progress...
ReplyDeleteagirl - hello! thank you for visiting - yes it is a tricky balance and also just takes longer I think because I want to make sure what I'm putting out there is actually saying what I want it to say - I can take half an hour to get a text right, let alone blog posts!
mwa - hello and lovely to see you here too! I change my mind all the time about what I want this to be but I think over time it'll build its own coherence. perhaps. yes, have been checking out your commenting crowd - plenty to get stuck into there - yay.