Another post on sleep

So as some of you know, Kieran has taking over an hour to go to sleep every night for the past month or more, despite mommy's efforts to nurse and comfort him to sleep- he seemed to need to cry in his crib (to keep him from getting off our bed to play!- we co-sleep) in order to wind down enough to nurse asleep. This hour plus ritual was frustrating us both and Kieran has been getting less and less sleep during this time.

Well yesterday was an all time low for sleep- he took an hour and a half to fall asleep the night before and then tossed and turned all night- nursing every hour or so and then woke at 5:15- grouchy and tired! He was a crabby mess by 8 (and of course we had plans to have breakfast with friends). He slept a while in the car before breakfast at 9:30 and then was crabby and hard to control all morning. After lunch I lay down with him and nursed and then put him in the crib when he refused to lay still and after over an hour and a half of repeating the nurse/crib he fell asleep only to wake a 1/2  hour later! He was fussy all afternoon and evening and I finally decided something had to give.

Soooo... we shook up the bedtime routine a little. We gave him a bath early (5 instead of 6) and then I nursed him in our glider rather than in bed until he was done and of course, despite rubbing his eyes and being obviously exhausted, he wanted to play! I passed him off to dad at this point and took a walk with the dogs because I just knew he would cry and be inconsolable without me there.

When I got back a half hour later the house was silent... hmmm where's the crying? I tip toed upstairs and peeked in the nursery/bedroom to find my sweet baby boy passed out cold in our bed and my husband watching a netflix on the laptop with his earphones in! "How?!" "What did you do?!" My husband informed me (rather smugly I might add) that he patted his back and held him on the bed so he couldn't get down and play and he cried for ten minutes and then fell asleep. "Go..." he told me "We'll be fine without you" So I went out... bought a book, had a quiet dinner by myself and read (which was such a delicious treat- and yet of course the guilt...)

When I got home around 9- he was still passed out cold. "Didn't make a peep" my DH informed me- again with that smug smile ;) He woke twice in the night (midnight and 5) to nurse but it was quick and he didn't stir otherwise- no tossing, no turning, no crawling around and fussing- just blissful sleep until nearly 7 this morning!!!

A part of me feels a little sad it could happen without me and that it went better with dad than it has been with me there. A part of me feels guilty about the 10 minutes of crying without his mommy. But another part of me- is soooo relieved that he finally got the sleep he so obviously needed. And a selfish part of me was a little happy to have some time to myself- out in the world again in the evening rather than in bed at 7 with a exhausted baby who fights sleep till the bitter end. Maybe it's a fluke and maybe it won't last- but after a restful night (for both myself and Kieran) I have awoken this morning hopeful and excited by the possibility of a more "normal" and abbreviated bedtime routine in our future.

Just wanted to share