Sleepless in Searcy

Baby boot camp isn't going so well at the Miller household. We started on Friday night. The first two nights, Grant was up at 11:00, so I nursed him in hopes of him sleeping longer. If he woke up after that, he was on his own. He cried for 30 minutes on Friday night and Saturday night he actually slept till 4:30. My goal is for Grant to sleep uninterrupted from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Right now, it seems his pattern is to want to eat every 5 hours during the night.

Last night was the test and we failed miserably. Grant was up at 1:00, so I went into his room made sure he didn't have a dirty diaper and offered him a sippy cup of water. Yep, he was real happy about that. Twenty minutes later of crying, he was asleep. I thought, wow, that was easy. Nope...he was up 20 minutes later crying all over again. So, I'm mentally prepared to just let him cry. Well, my sleeping husband doesn't feel the same way. He is moaning and groaning about how he has to get up for work, etc., etc. (love ya, Jim!!)

In attempts to keep sanity without a full fledged argument at 2 a.m., I go and nurse Grant, however he still wakes up 30 minutes later. At that point, baby Tylenol is given thinking the child must be ill. Of course, Grant is all smiles to see me and wants to cuddle and rock. You get the picture. I just lay him down and I guess he went to sleep because I closed my bedroom door, turned the monitor off, and put a pillow over my head. He didn't wake up again till 7:00 and fell back asleep for 2 more hours.

So....I'm in a predicament. Jim's theory is that Grant is just not ready. He still needs to eat during the night. My theory, he is 8 months old and according to the textbook, he should be able to sleep a 9 to 10 hour block of time. I'm very tired (literally) of being up one or two times each night for the last EIGHT months. I'm run down, my patience is short and I just want a good nights sleep. And last week when we were at the pediatricians office for Grant's ear infection, he told me it was time to let him cry it out because he was old enough to sleep through the night.

I need some "been there done that" tips that worked! Should I expect him to be up off and on during the night? How long will this last? Should I wait?

C'mon, help a mom out!

Sleeping Baby

Grant has up until a few nights ago been a pretty decent sleeper. He takes good naps during the day and goes down easily at night. For the past couple of months, he is still waking up between 4 and 6 to nurse, but he usually would always go back to sleep without a fuss. While I'm ready for him to sleep till the morning, I can typically handle one feeding in the middle of the night and feel pretty rested the next day.

Starting three nights ago, Grant has been waking up between 4 and 6 and deciding he wants to stay awake and be social after nursing. At 6:00 a.m., that is an acceptable request even if it is too early for me. At 4:00 a.m., it is not acceptable. I am totally on board with letting him cry it out except I have a sleeping child who shares a wall with his squeals and cries. Another issue is that he is rolling onto his stomach and can't roll back over to his back. So if this happens he for sure will cry out loud.

Last night, I nursed him at 4:15, rocked a few minutes, and put him in his bed. He immediately started babbling and squealing. He is not crying; he is just awake. After about 20 minutes, I go back and do the same routine and again 20 minutes later where he did fall asleep. By now, it is 6:00 a.m.

Thankfully Laura didn't have to get up for school, so I could continue to sleep till Jim left for work. BUT, I do not want to start bad habits and I certainly don't want to be up for two hours each night.

Should I just let him babble, squeal and cry and not worry about waking Laura? Any advice is appreciated!!!!