Sleep

Our current parenthood battle is sleep. The last few nights have been rough... there were tears... from me. But today I have regained confidence and perspective on the subject. We tried the "controlled crying" method. It worked quickly the first two times he woke during the night. I hated it. I was seriously on the floor crying. But he wakes so frequently during the night (after the end of each sleep cycle which is like every 45 min- hour) that if I let him cry himself back to sleep... he'd end up crying all night.

I truly want Milo to have healthy sleep habits and be an independent sleeper. I think that is very important. But... I think mothers are also led to believe that your baby should be sleeping through the night ASAP. That's an unrealistic and sometimes unhealthy expectation. Every baby is different. For some families the "controlled crying" method works. And that's fine. But Milo is a snuggly baby. He is a lover. He needs reassurance when he wakes up. And he is a bigger baby with a higher caloric need. He may not be able to go 7-8 hours between feedings during the night.

After giving it a lot of thought and consideration... We are going to go back to the more nurturing route. When he wakes up crying, we will go in and settled him back to sleep... with the goal of not having to pick him up to do so. I couldn't do it when he was a week old, and I can't do it now... When Milo needs something emotional or physical... I want him to know that he can count on his mom and dad to meet those needs. And that's not to say that if you use the controlled crying method you aren't meeting your child's needs. I just know that Milo has more of a need for nurturing than other babies.

A friend of mine whose oldest son is now 16, reminded me that there will be a day... that will come too soon... when you can't hold them in your arms and rock them anymore.

On a more positive note... Milo enjoyed the peas I made for him... and LOVED the pumpkin he had today.

Oh and we did move the crib into his bedroom finally. All I can say is thank goodness for video monitors!!!