This post is for my documentation on Presley's sleeping arrangements. :)
We are not co-sleepers. It just doesn't work for our family. Brady has slept with us on occasion when he was sick, when we were away from home, and other odd instances, but it is not the norm. Presley has also ended up in our bed after an early morning feeding just hours(or minutes) before time to wake up, however again not the norm. Neither Caleb or I get any sleep if they are in the bed with us and we both agree we just don't like them sleeping with us. We are flexible, though, and we realize there are exceptions, like storms or illness for instance, when a little snuggle time in the big bed is called for.
Our sleeping arrangements with both children have been in a bassinet in our room until around 4-8 weeks. This is about the time that we expect nightly feedings to decrease and a bedtime routine in their bed in their room. With Brady I wanted him consistently sleeping in his room by the time I went back to work at 8 weeks postpartum. I don't have the same timeline with Presley, because I am not going back to work any time soon. However, I still wanted her in her crib around the same time.
Last week, she was only waking up once a night around 3:30 am. She was regularly sleeping for 5-6 hours at a time each night. I knew it was time to move her. BUT I didn't really want to. (Note: I wanted to with Brady. I was focused. I was ready. I wanted him in his room.) I am not sure if it is because this is the first sign, in my opinion, that she isn't a little newborn baby anymore or if it is just a second child thing, but I decided to wait until she was 6 weeks old.
She turned 6 weeks on Monday (August 13th), so we put her to sleep in her crib around 9 pm. She grunted, whined, and fidgeted until she fell asleep. Then she woke at 1:30 am. I fed her and put her back in the bassinet beside my bed. She woke again around 4 am. Then went back to sleep for few more hours.
Tuesday (Aug. 14th)was the same thing. It took a while, but she finally fell asleep on her own. Then woke around midnight, 3 am, and 5 am. I kept putting her back to bed until the 5 am and then I let her sleep with me in my bed.
I was getting a little frustrated, not because I was having to get up, but because she was sleeping worse. Her bedtime routine was very similar to what we did with Brady at the same age, except one thing. I knew this going into it and had every intention of doing it with Presley also, but hadn't purchased what I needed. We always turned on a lullaby c.d. when it was bedtime with Brady. He slept with that c.d. for the first 2 years of his life until the c.d. player started skipping and we just stopped. Brady continued to sleep well with out it, but I always contributed his wonderful sleeping to that c.d. He would hear that lullaby song and his eyes would immediately get heavy.
So, Tuesday I bought a noise machine for Presley's room at Target. I found one I really liked and it is so small and easy to travel with. The c.d. player and c.d's are a little bit of burden to travel with, that was my only complaint about the c.d and player. The noise machine uses batteries and can easily be thrown into my bag.
Wednesday (August 15)I did the exact same thing as the other 2 nights, but after I put her in her bed I turned on the noise machine to the heartbeat around 9 pm. She was so still and content. No whining, no fidgeting, no grunting. She quickly fell asleep and stayed asleep until 5 am!!!! The noise maker turned off after 45 minutes. She was just so calm, she was able to get to a much deeper sleep.
Thursday night(August 16) she went right to sleep with the noise machine and bedtime routine around 9 pm. We had some severe storms this night and she got pretty restless through out the night. At 2:30 am, I got up because I heard her cry out. She was fine and asleep when I went in her room. I think I could have given her the paci and turned on the noise machine and she would have went back to sleep, but I just went ahead and fed her. I was already up and she had been fidgeting all during the storms. She then slept until 6:30 am.
Since then she has consistently went down between 9-10 pm and slept until 2:30-5 am, falling back to sleep immediately after I feed her until we are all up for the day between 6-7 am. I am super happy with her sleeping habits right now. She has done so well. I can handle only waking once a night and right back to sleep.
I also have started swaddling her for her afternoon nap and using the noise machine. She sleeps for 2-3 hours at the same time Brady is napping most days! This is awesome and key to a successful day in our house!
