The last several nights have been doozies thanks to a combination of teething, growth spurt, and a cold. My 9-month-old has woken multiple times in the night, and sometimes required settling twice before I have even gotten back to sleep once! So, I thought it would help me keep my sanity perspective to take a moment to celebrate one teeny tiny sleep milestone.
Photo by Abdulaziz Almansour
You see, my firstborn did not fall asleep without nursing until she was over two years old. My second mastered that glorious skill a little sooner. My third, ever-proving that each child is different, often refused to fall asleep by nursing at all, and would instead require me to pace the floor, holding her just so, facing outward, never in. But last night, even as I knew I was facing an endless night of wakings, I celebrated one wonderful moment. My daughter nursed as usual, then popped herself off and rolled around on the bed. When it was clear she wasn’t going to settle on her own, I picked her up and gave a brief thought to pacing the floor, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I tried to get her to rest on my chest. She thrashed a little but I rubbed her back and said, “It’s okay. It’s okay.” That’s all it took. She rolled off my chest into the crook of my arm, her head resting on my shoulder, and drifted off to sleep. Thank goodness for small victories!
My baby nursed to sleep for a good while. Now she nurses to settle down, but rarely to sleep. She will put herself to sleep sometimes, but there’s nothing I love as much as her snuggling against my chest and falling asleep there. Only problem is it’s hard to put her down after that!! I could stay there forever.
Jessie
You really have to take the small victories as they come in parenting. Hooray for an easy bedtime! I hope that there are many more to follow.
yay! My 2.5 year old is just learning to sleep without nursing. Now I’ve been waiting until she is very very sleepy and then I latch her off and tell her that I have to use the Potty. By the time I get back, she is sound asleep!
That’s wonderful that it’s working for you — I have often done the same thing, saying I need to do something and that I’ll be right back. I always follow up, and 95% of the time my kids are asleep already.
I remember feeling joy about that milestone. Unfortunately, she’s only done it a handful of times in the last 19 months and I am having one of those days where I am not sure she’ll *ever* fall asleep without needing me to nurse her. Truly, she might just need me to go with her to college
. These night nursers will someday go to sleep on their own and perhaps sleep a good stretch all in a row, right?!