As you can see from previous entries, there was an immediate improvement after the first night.
I still thought I may be confusing baby by giving him milk on his first wake up, but not the rest, so from Sunday 9th, I cut out giving milk after bedtime completely.
Please Note: I am confident he's eating good three meals in the day time as well as snacks, he's also having 21 oz of formula, throughout the day, and also a breast feed first thing in the morning.
So, the first night of doing this, (Sunday 9th March) Joshua woke up at 11pm, he cried for small time, but settled back down without milk. Unfortunately he woke Ollie up and at the time I didn't know how long he would take to settle, so Oliver and I swapped rooms. Joshua then didn't wake until 4.30am, however I didn't need to go into him, as he just settled after whinging a little. He then woke at 6.10am, so I brought him into bed for a breastfeed.
The second night, Monday 10th March, Joshua stirred around 11pm and 1am, he didn't cry for long periods, I did go in, to shh and pat, but he settled relatively quickly. He then woke at 5.30am, and I took him for a breast feed.
So, last night, the third night, 11th March, Joshua did an amazing 6.45pm to 4.30am! So I am pretty sure that can be classed as 'Sleeping through the night'!
So that would be 9 nights after initial start of sleep training, and Joshua has been transformed from waking every 2-3 hrs through the night and feeding, to not feeding in the night at all, and doing a stretch of 9hrs 45 Mins!
I hope it continues, but I feel we are definitely on the right track :)
I am impressed. S it's a big cuddle to you and Joshua. I am wondering whether it would work with Vesper - she woke up after 2.5 hours after having eaten 2 pots of solid food, some banana and a breast milk meal. Andy went in to calm her down and she fell asleep and woke up after further 2.5 hours, when I fed her SHe only fed for about 3 minutes (her norm is 4-5 min) which again says she was not very hungry and woke up just because she's used to it. The next night had a 5 hr stretch and last night 4 hr stretch. As we are getting more and more into haveing 3 meals a day, I think I may follow in your steps xx
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, thank you for your comment x
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think on the wake up 2.5hrs after solid food, I think it's extremely unlikely Vesper was really hungry, in fact, since Andy calmed her down and she slept a further 2.5 hrs without being offered Milk, I would say she definitely wasn't hungry really. So what method did Andy use to calm her down? Did he cuddle her, then put down?
I bet if you had tried to settle her without milk on the second wake-up, she would have eventually settled.
Small babies obviously need to feed in the night, but at 7 months, and on solids, I really think they wouldn't be hungry during the night. It can be a habit though. That said, all babies are different, but you, as Vespers mum will know whats right for you all.
I don't agree with leaving babies to for long periods with out going in. I always go in if he seems really distressed, or after 5 mins or so. But after that first night, he's settled so quickly anyway with minimal crying. I think it's all about testing the waters. A baby may cry loudly for 5 mins, and they settle down afterwards quickly.
It's normal for kids to not drink/eat in the night, right? If we keep feeding them, surely thats just teaching them, its normal to drink in the night and they'll keep waking up expecting it. I am aware some will disagree, and think I am doing the ultimate sin by attempting to 'Train' my baby to sleep through the night. We are all different though, and have different views. I just knew I had to try and do something about this. Its not over yet though, but at least for me, heading in the right direction.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do with Vesper xx