The boys are beginning to develop a daily routine, but it's hit or miss.
We once assumed that, the more they were awake during the day, the better they'd sleep at night. Turns out, the opposite is true: the more they sleep, the easier it is for them to fall asleep and stay asleep.
We've recently acquired an often-recommended book by Dr. Weissbluth (spelling?) called, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Children." In it, the Dr. recommends letting the babies stay awake no more than 2 hours at a time, and putting them down to sleep regardless of how awake they are or at the first signs of drowsiness, before they get overtired.
Some days, it works like a charm: they're sound asleep, we rouse them every 3-4 hours to feed and be changed, and by the end of the feeding, they're already drifting off, so we wrap them and put them down, and they're out cold. This cycle repeats over and over.
The other extreme is that they refuse to sleep, they cry and whimper relentlessly, and even refuse food. This cycle, too, can repeat over and over.
This week has been a roller-coaster between one extreme and the other. Wednesday, they slept all day and night, but yesterday they refused to sleep, and became overtired and irritable.
As always, there's not much we can do but cope and hope that, soon, they will settle into a more predictable and sustainable routine. Dr. Weisbluth writes that each day is a new opportunity to execute a sleep strategy and establish healthy sleep habits.
As with all things, perseverance and discipline will eventually pay off [we hope].
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
yeah, that book is great. although we still totally suck at following it, since we're way more into spoiling our kid 24/7 instead of training him on a schedule. one day he will grow up to be just like mark shorb.
ReplyDeleteMark Shorb, he's a gem! (hi Mark if you read this, it's danielle from college..) TUZZ -- you should write a book, "nomad to dad." (nomad in a good way :) ...
ReplyDeleteGlad to see my name wasn't invoked for the fire hose of excrement post. Hi Danielle from college. Thanks for the kind words Tuzz, I am now caught up on the trials and celebrations of your new adventures. I'll check back soon. Who is Ange anyway?
ReplyDeletesup shorb... this is Joe Gardner. Ange is my wife, who has a google account that I can post with. Sorry for the confusion. Our kid is 7 months old now, and looking to be a killer swimmer.
ReplyDeleteLove the frequent updates and the humor in your acceptance of all the tribulations new babies bring. Hang in there. It gets better.
ReplyDelete