Reg is a baby with a "strong need to suck" to put it technically. He LOVES his hand, when he can get it to his mouth, but at bedtime it's all about "The Bink." I haven't quite decided how I feel about this. I mean, on the one hand, when he stirs in the middle of the night, all I have to do is go pop the binky back in his mouth and that's that. However, some nights he stirs so much I feel like all I do is get up.
See what I mean. The inevitable happened. He dropped the binky on his own, and it landed like this. I couldn't have staged it better.
But with all the controversy over the binky, how can you not love this face?!
p.s. Does anyone have tips on sleep training. Reg goes down really easily now-no crying or anything. However, an hour after being put down he wakes up and gets too worked up to fall back asleep quickly. I've been researching, and apparently this is a common problem with starting sleep training, but I'm wondering if anyone else had this issue and how they dealt with it. Thanks!
7 comments:
I don't know what to tell you about the sleep thing but I do have thoughts about the binki. Miya loved to suck her hand too and she finally figured out how to get her thumb in consistently around four months. I don't know how you feel about thumb suckers but if you would prefer that just emphasize the thumb and throw a big deal when he figures it out. While the binki is a hassle when he's young when you want him to stop there is actually something you can throw away not like a thumb. Plus, binkis are so darn cute! Anyway, it's a though choice.
I am so proud that you are letting him put himself to sleep. You will thank yourself later when you can lay him staright down and walk away with silence. Then the alternative having to ALWAYS hold/rock/bounce/etc. to make him fall asleep. Good for you guys.
As for the binki, both my boys enjoyed there binkn for bed, Jeff was always a stikler for no thumb so he would always put a sock on there hand. But sometimes letting them cry it out a few minutes they usually are too tired to cry for long. Good luck!
So there is a girl named Ashley in our new ward that said she was Brandon's FHE sister and your friend and/or roommate! Small world!
My sister in law and all Ryan's cousins swear by the book Baby Wise.
Hi! This is Brooke Hedin. I can't believe your baby is already here. When we left the ward we just found out you were pregnant. How exciting...now onto the sleepign issue. I don't really have any profound wisdom for you. I found with most things it ended up being a phase that they grew out of. Who knows. Maybe teach him to sleep without the binky at all. We did with Katelyn and loved it.
My pediatrician told me research shows that babies who sleep with a pacifier are less likely to die of SIDS. Just food for thought.
About sleep training, I'm not an expert. James didn't start sleeping though the night until after his first birthday (at which time we had moved into our new house and weren't so worried about bothering the neighbors if we let him "cry it out" when he awoke in the middle of the night).
The "crying it out" method was really hard on all of us. James would wake up at 3 AM and scream for an hour or until we gave in and got him. The only thing that would calm him down was nursing. We tried to sleep train him gradually, letting him cry 10 minutes one night, 20 the next, etc. before getting him, or where we would try to calm him down by just holding him or talking to him (no go, he'd just scream louder--he wanted milk!). After a few nights of not giving in, he started sleeping through the night. However, there were a couple of times we let him cry it out, only to find that his diaper had overfilled and leaked everywhere. We felt really bad.
But that's the reality of it--if you are going to let your baby cry it out in the middle of the night, you may teach him to "self soothe," but at times you aren't going to be there for him when he really needs you.
So where do I stand? I'm not against sleep training entirely, but I don't think I'll use the "cry it out" method again. We've stopped employing it on James. Occasionally, James will still wake up in the middle of the night. Usually he just wants to be held, so we take him back to our bed and cuddle with him for a little bit. We also check him diaper. In a few minutes he's ready to go back to his crib. He sleeps better, and I believe he feels more safe and secure. And Jon and I, instead of enduring an hour of cries and anguish over whether or not there is a "reason" for his cries, get to enjoy a few special, quiet moments with our little boy.
Maybe it would be different if we hadn't done any sleep training. Maybe he would still be demanding milk every couple hours--I don't know. But in retrospect, the "crying it out" method seems a little cruel.
If you find another method that works, be sure to pass it on!
I have also heard great things about the book Baby Wise!! :p)
Just be grateful you only have 1 to put down for the night. My deal is "well...if I let the one cry...he'll wake up his brother..." I need a miracle!!! :p)
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