5/29/05 - Sleep Issues

Joshua is officially eleven months old today. Wow, eleven months . . . where did the time go? Wasn't he eight pounds of newborn cuteness just yesterday?! Of course, he's still just as cute - even cuter if you ask me or Tim, because we think that he's the most beautiful baby in the world. Except maybe at 2 a.m. Not that we don't love him then, because we do love him SO much. And he's still absolutely precious, but I'm not sure how many more of these sleepless nights we can take. Yes, he's eleven months today and still not sleeping through the night. Of course, every baby is different, and I know that, but isn't it hard when people ask about those things? Like somebody is keeping score? "Oh, how cute! Is he walking?? Is he sleeping through the night??" And the answer to both is no.

The walking isn't an issue for us. It was really just an example of the score-card people keep, and we're not worried about it. He'll walk when he's good and ready, and I don't want to rush him out of babyhood before he's ready . . . Are you wondering why I don't want to rush him in one area, but I do in the other? I know I could say the same thing about sleeping. "He'll make it through the night when he's good and ready." Even as I sit here and type I know the hypocritical nature of what I'm saying. But be that as it may, on we're rushing like a bull toward a waving red flag.

Let me recap. Wednesday night was actually the straw that broke the camel's back. Joshua went to bed at 7:30. He was up at 8:30, and again at 9:30. He slept until midnight, but then was up again until 2:00. Finally at 2 a.m. he fell asleep again until bright and early at 6:30. This is actually a pretty typical night, except for the two hour awake stretch, which he doesn't do too often. (And I know there are other factors to take into consideration, so please, I beseech all three of you who will read this, don't email me asking if he's napping to much or not enough, going to bed too early, or any other sleep concerns. I've done the research and we're doing the best we can!)

So Thursday night comes around and we decide . . . dum, dum, dum - that Joshua shouldn't nurse at night anymore. Big decision, HUGE for our family. We're not weaning him by any means (read about the many wonderful benefits of extended breastfeeding at the La Leche League website), but he's gotten to the point where he will not sleep without nursing. I really truly think he wakes himself up just to nurse, and so we were nursing four, sometimes five times in one night. Since I can't sleep when he's in the bed and Tim sleeps like the dead, co-sleeping is out, and at this point we HAD TO DO SOMETHING!!! It was rough, Thursday night. Friday was a little better, and Saturday about the same. Still waking regularly every two or three hours, but falling back asleep a little more quickly each time. Our family is not of the "cry-it-out" school, either, so we're trying to be as gentle as possible through the whole process. It's Sunday now, so we'll see how it continues throughout next week. We're committed for a week to the process, though, then we'll re-evaluate.

So that's our major life crisis at this point. If that's all that is wrong, we truly have something to be thankful about, don't you think?
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