Sssshhhh The Baby Is Sleeping

*whispers* for the past 4 weeks BG has slept through the night, in her own bed (Please don't hurt me)


This has been 9 months in the making and we had to make a big decision to get her to sleep through. We finally bite the bullet and tried controlled crying with her and after one night of it, it worked. It took 20 mins in total and  we have had 12 hours of a sleeping toddler every night since.


I know many people are against Controlled Crying as a technique to get babies to sleep and I understand all the reasons and arguments against it , for us it really was a last resort and I'm am glad we finally did it. 


We we're really spoilt when BG was younger, she dropped her night feeds at 9 weeks and starting sleeping 7 to 7, it was heaven. We felt slightly smug, other friends we knew were desperately trying to sleep train their children and BG did it all by her self. All was perfect until she was about 6 months and she started teething, then she became ill, her sleep routine was ruined and it has taken almost 9 months to get it back on track.


It wasn't just a case of BG waking up in the night and having to get her back to sleep and back into her cot. Once she was awake she wouldn't settle and go back into her cot, every-time she fell asleep  she would wake as yiu laid her back down, so it became easier to take her down stairs and sleep on the sofa with her. BG wouldn't sleep in our bed with us.


It was mainly OH that would get up with her, I am really deep sleeper and once she dropped those night feeds I barely hear her cry (we already know I'm an evil mummy) so OH would get up.


It then become easier to leave her sleep on the sofa at night and not even try and put her in the cot, OH would sleep on the floor next to her, she would wake up at 4am and crawl down for  cuddle. 


I know it sounds completely mental but it worked and we all kinda got some sleep. However after 9 months of this, it was taking a toll on me and OH mentally, physically and for me emotionally. I missed sharing my bed with him and evenings had become quite strained. 


We had allowed BG to get to such a bad routine at home and it was starting to tear us apart. I must also pint out that when BG slept at her nan's she slept through the whole night, it was only at home that she didn't


So 4 weeks ago after BG had spent the night at her Nana's, we put her to bed when she fell asleep at 7pm, she woke at 9pm. OH went up, laid her down, told her it was time to bed and we left her for 5 mins and yes she did scream, he went back up did the same again and we left her 10  mins, he went up a 3rd time and within 5 mins of him coming back down she was asleep and she slept until 7.30 the next day. 


BG now sleeps through the night, we only had to do it once. Its starting to make a huge difference in out life, me and OH are spending quality time together and BG wakes up in a great mood. We go in and get her, she picks up Pooh bear, gives us a kiss and is ready to start the day. The last month has defiantly been good for us. 


I'm not saying this is for everyone, it was a last resort for us and something I'm glad we have now done. 


Its amazing what sleep can do for your family (though I have to get used to OH snoring again)


NM X 

Sleep Is For The Weak...

...well that's what Baby Girl must think, because she won't ruddy sleep and is definitely not weak!!

Now I know I keep banging on about how great BG slept when she was younger but trust me I need something to hold onto! I need to believe that she will again sleep through the night or I might go mad!

The first 9 weeks BG was home was hard, she woke through the night for constant feeds and me and OH would take turns to do the night shift, sometimes one of us sleeping down stairs with her so the other could get some sleep.

Then at 9 weeks she dropped 3 nights feeds in a space of a week and started sleeping 7 till 7!! We couldn't believe our luck, we were secretly quite smug, we had friends trying different sleep routines and we had done nothing and yet or baby slept 12 hours straight!

Don't get me wrong she didn't always have a good night sometimes she would settled till 8 or 9pm and other times she woke early but all in all she was a dream that is until about 10 weeks ago.

Our perfect night had come to an end!! At first we though it was her teething and low and behold 3 teeth popped out !! yay sleeping though the night will commence again, WRONG!

She is still not sleeping right at all and we are suffering. BG either settles really well at night but them wakes super early, its been 3.30am for the past two days, 4.30am before that. We just can't settle her and get her back into her cot, that girl wants to play! Or she doesn't really settle at all and is up most of the night!

Now I am fortunate that OH helps through the night, actually to be honest he does a lot of the nightshift then will wake me early so he can get a few hours before work. The problem is that even when he gets up to her I still don't sleep well and I can hear her and miss him in the bed!

I read somewhere that between 6 and 10 months Babies go through a sleepless phase due to all the new things they are learning and it passes. Well BG will be 10 months on Sunday we are praying that this ends soon.

My house looks like a bombs hit, we've almost given up on food and coffee is my bestest friend in the whole wide world!

At this rate we won't need a costume for Halloween me and OH can go as Zombies!

Now over at the fab blog Sleep is for the weak is a sleep deprivation carnival and she wants some pictures, thankfully there are none of me but a few of OH...sshhh don't tell him

NM X

Its Time To Turn Off The Baby Monitor!!!

I'm a really lucky mummy, Baby has slept through the night since she was 8 weeks old! She's doesn't wake up in the middle of the night and is in bed by 7pm, so why can't me and OH get a good nights sleep????

Now baby sleeps in her own room, I know the say have the baby in your room until they are 6 months old. However we couldn't fit the cot into our room so once she grow out of her Moses basket she was moved into her own room. We have the baby monitor on in our room so we can hear her and hear her we can!!

Baby is a very noisy sleeper, she snores, grunts and groans and keeps us up all night as we wake up at every noise, then if we don't hear her we panic, hence we are not getting a good night sleep.
So we have made a decision to turn off the monitor while we are in bed, we will still be able to hear her if she cry's. We have a small house and her room is right next to us, sometimes its like living in stereo and you hear her through the wall and then through the monitor.

Our house is so small it doesn't have a landing up stairs just a La! You walk up the stairs and see 3 doors in front of you, baby's room, our room, bathroom!

Tonight is the night we are going to turn off the monitor and try to get a full nights sleep!! If baby can then we can, can't we?

NM x