Hallelujah! ::::runs to the tops of mountains and shouts::: "Web did it! He slept through the entire night!!!!!!"
He went down at 7:30ish and didn't wake up til 5:50 am (and even played and talked with himself until I got up to feed him). Yay Web! I am so proud of him and knew that he could do it!
(Before you get all judgemental on me thinking that Web sleeping through the night is more for me than him, it is not. Believe me. I wake up everynight and check on him whether sleeping or not. Sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone and is imporant to his progress.)
Now... this brings me to something else not a lot of readers know about our family. Web sleeps in his crib at the foot of our bed in our room. He has since we moved in to our new house. (And even when we were in our apartment, he was either in bed with us, or just a few steps away in his room - literally 2 steps took us from our room to his.) I have really grown to enjoy the fact that he is with us in our room safe and sound (his room is across the entire house). I never used to think of myself as an attachment parent (especially before Web was born - I had a lot of preconceived notions about what type of mother I would be). I like to think of our parenting style as a more "modified" attachment style.
What is an attachment parenting style? The term was coined by Dr. Sears and basically finds that this type of parenting is highly responsive and attentive. When Web was born, Trey and I often would do "kangaroo care" with him which is skin on skin contact. Most every day we would let him rest and sleep on us skin to skin. I also wore Web when I went anywhere. I wore him in a sling and still do to this day (well... after surgery, Trey does). We both wear him in a baby carrier. He also slept in the bed with us when he was a newborn. We found it comforting to know that we could just look over and see him breathing. He also felt more comfortable to be between us and slept very well and would wake up every 3 hours on the dot to eat. And just up until about a month ago, Web was never sleep trained. We sleep trained him a little after 7 months so that he could learn the very important skill of putting himself to sleep. It only took two days and now, we can put him in his crib wide awake, and he will put himself to sleep without a peep. But we still get up with him at night if he cries to feed him or soothe him back to sleep. Believe me... there used to be times where we would both question if we were "coddling" him or "spoiling" him by doing this. But I think the entire family is comfortable with our approach to parenting. THIS IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT.
*Now... don't get me wrong. We have experimented with night feedings to see what is right for Web. We've let him lead the way by offering less formula and seeing if it would be enough for him, etc. But we've always followed his lead.
I've always believed that you should do what is right for your family. If this doesn't work, great. Find out what does.
Where the heck was I going with all of this???
Oh yes! Web in our room! Ok...... Trey and I are going back and forth about when to move Web to his room. When is he ready? Will be scared in there? Will he feel alone? What about when we get pregnant again? Will both of them sleep with us? When will he feel comfortable with it?
Trey and I just aren't sure. I KNOW that I would like to have him comfy in his own room by or around his 1st birthday. I definitely don't want to move out Web when we move the next one in. I certainly wouldn't want him to feel "traded out" by doing that. We're hoping for him to be around 2 and a half by the time we have our next so there's plenty of time, but by then he also would like to have his "own" place to play, etc I'm sure. We're just not sure.
What do you think? Leave a comment! :)
He went down at 7:30ish and didn't wake up til 5:50 am (and even played and talked with himself until I got up to feed him). Yay Web! I am so proud of him and knew that he could do it!
(Before you get all judgemental on me thinking that Web sleeping through the night is more for me than him, it is not. Believe me. I wake up everynight and check on him whether sleeping or not. Sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone and is imporant to his progress.)
Now... this brings me to something else not a lot of readers know about our family. Web sleeps in his crib at the foot of our bed in our room. He has since we moved in to our new house. (And even when we were in our apartment, he was either in bed with us, or just a few steps away in his room - literally 2 steps took us from our room to his.) I have really grown to enjoy the fact that he is with us in our room safe and sound (his room is across the entire house). I never used to think of myself as an attachment parent (especially before Web was born - I had a lot of preconceived notions about what type of mother I would be). I like to think of our parenting style as a more "modified" attachment style.
What is an attachment parenting style? The term was coined by Dr. Sears and basically finds that this type of parenting is highly responsive and attentive. When Web was born, Trey and I often would do "kangaroo care" with him which is skin on skin contact. Most every day we would let him rest and sleep on us skin to skin. I also wore Web when I went anywhere. I wore him in a sling and still do to this day (well... after surgery, Trey does). We both wear him in a baby carrier. He also slept in the bed with us when he was a newborn. We found it comforting to know that we could just look over and see him breathing. He also felt more comfortable to be between us and slept very well and would wake up every 3 hours on the dot to eat. And just up until about a month ago, Web was never sleep trained. We sleep trained him a little after 7 months so that he could learn the very important skill of putting himself to sleep. It only took two days and now, we can put him in his crib wide awake, and he will put himself to sleep without a peep. But we still get up with him at night if he cries to feed him or soothe him back to sleep. Believe me... there used to be times where we would both question if we were "coddling" him or "spoiling" him by doing this. But I think the entire family is comfortable with our approach to parenting. THIS IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT.
*Now... don't get me wrong. We have experimented with night feedings to see what is right for Web. We've let him lead the way by offering less formula and seeing if it would be enough for him, etc. But we've always followed his lead.
I've always believed that you should do what is right for your family. If this doesn't work, great. Find out what does.
Where the heck was I going with all of this???
Oh yes! Web in our room! Ok...... Trey and I are going back and forth about when to move Web to his room. When is he ready? Will be scared in there? Will he feel alone? What about when we get pregnant again? Will both of them sleep with us? When will he feel comfortable with it?
Trey and I just aren't sure. I KNOW that I would like to have him comfy in his own room by or around his 1st birthday. I definitely don't want to move out Web when we move the next one in. I certainly wouldn't want him to feel "traded out" by doing that. We're hoping for him to be around 2 and a half by the time we have our next so there's plenty of time, but by then he also would like to have his "own" place to play, etc I'm sure. We're just not sure.
What do you think? Leave a comment! :)
Comments
I moved Lane into his own room when he was about Web's age (maybe a month or so younger) and I did notice he slept a lot better on his own. I don't know if was quieter or what, but he seemed to really enjoy it. But whatever you do, Web will adjust and be a happy, healthy baby... just trust your mommy instincts. :)
The new photos are AWESOME!!