After 19 Months and 13 Days...

I think I finally, finally have a baby who will consistently sleep through the night! Kaleb started out as an OK sleeper. Then he was a great sleeper; from seven weeks to over four months, he sleep eight hours a night. But then we took that trip to Disneyland and it was all over.

I've tried everything. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child helped a bit, if only to stretch out his sleeping time from one hour to three or four. Every time he'd start sleeping longer, he'd get sick. Or start working on another tooth. But the biggest factor was this one: this kid is stubborn.

But after too many nights of not enough sleep, or the three of us asleep like a giant H in our bed (Kaleb the middle stroke), I had had enough. So once he was finally feeling better after that stomach flu, and his two stomach teeth had finally cut through (meaning he should be done teething for awhile), it was time. The biggest step was just not putting him in our bed at night when he cried. I helped him find his blankie, tucked him back in bed, and then let him cry.

There were a few nights I messed up and, on autopilot at 2:30 in the morning, I stuck him in our bed without thinking. There were a few nights of LOTS of crying (told you, he's stubborn). But,in the past two weeks, Kaleb has slept through the night a total of eight nights. EIGHT NIGHTS! And three of those have been the past three nights. But it gets even better.

Last night, when he had finished his bottle (and don't ask me how I ended up with a baby who still wants a bottle at age 19 months...that's a whole 'nother post), he snuggled with me in the rocking chair for a few minutes, then sat up, pointed to his bed, and said "Bed!"

Astounded, I said, "You want to get in your bed?" (because usually "bed" means MY bed!)

He shook his head. "Yes. Bed."

So I lay him down in his crib. He rolled over and was asleep five minutes later.

I'm trying to not pin too much expectation on this---I'm sure there'll be plenty more nights of him waking up. But this is a huge stride forward. Sleep, for him and me. I think I've forgotten how it feels to sleep all night!

Comments

[Lara]

Congratulations! That is hard..I hope that he keeps on sleeping for you.

[Lorrie]

Woo Hoo to you!! I hope this is a permanent thing for all of you!

[robyn bedsaul]

Wow! That totally is the BEST feeling! Congrats! My youngest took about that long too, maybe a tad longer. It was such an adjustment for me because my twins slept through at 9 weeks and STAYED that way!

[Tracy]

Hey congratulations! I remember this time with my son...ugh...I didn't sleep for like nine months!! *smiling*
Tracy

http://tracysaidwhat.blogspot.com/

[Kayci Bitton]

Congrats and good luck! :) Love ya!

[Gwyn]

Congratulations! We had one exactly like this, down to the bottle stuff way too long.
I completely understand your joy, even though it's been a good 15 years since we experienced it ourselves!

[Linda]

Aaaaahhhh...what a wonderful Mommy moment!

May God bless your sleep with sweet dreams!

[Didi]

Wow that's GREAT! I think you are WELL on the right track for this....what a breakthrough that he ASKED to go into his bed!

[chris jenkins]

that is so awesome - what a milestone to rejoice! hope all is well and hope you are finally getting a good night's rest!

[Liz Ness]

AWESOME! Congratulations to you both (and a hug for all of the hard work)!