I went back to work in January and shortly there after we transitioned Colin to his crib. He had been sleeping in his Moses basket in our room until then and it was time for everyone to start getting some quiet sleep. What I quickly learned after going back to work is that each week faces new transitions and challenges and we can only take them one at a time. So my hopes of sleeping thru the night in his crib were quickly shattered when he struggled to sleep more than 3 hours at a time. Some nights were heaven on earth and we would get 5 hours and even 6 sometimes but mostly it was 3-4 hours of sleep and then screaming. I would go in Colin's nursery and feed him every time he screamed. After refusing to nurse, we had bottles ready (with an awesome bottle warmer) for middle of the night feedings. After he had a bottle, I would go in the guest bedroom, pump another bottle and then go back to bed. It felt like a never ending cycle of pumping and feeding and a bunch of interrupted sleep.
Fast forward to February when we introduced solid foods and then formula. Life changed and it was great. Colin liked the formula and it seemed to help him last a little longer at night. It also gave me a chance to catch up during the day as he was eating more than I could make. It was so nice to not be stressed about feeding anymore but I would pump what I could and whatever I couldn't, formula would do the rest. (Side note- we are using this Organic formula and love it!)
But enter another curve ball- a growing baby who would unswaddle himself ALL the time! Colin would unswaddle himself at least twice before his first middle of the night feeding. It was more interrupted sleep and sometimes unsuccessful comforting which resulted in a crying baby and a stressed out and tired mama (and daddy). So I did a little research and I stumbled upon the Magic Sleepsuit. I read the reviews and I even consulted a few other blogging mamas who had used it to get their take on if it really was magic. EVERYONE shouted from the mountains how wonderful it was and I decided that it couldn't hurt to try.
I had to laugh when Ryan asked when we could expect the Magic sleepsuit to arrive. I said the shipping would be about 3-4 days as I only did standard shipping for $6. I told him the expedited shipping was $22 and he shocked me when he said this was one of the extreme cases when expedited shipping would have been okay. He must have been stressed and tired too.
The first night Colin used the Magic Sleepsuit he slept 7 hours straight! I sincerely believed it was magic. My baby has never slept that long, without making a single peep. WOW!
Unfortunately I was anticipating Colin waking up all night, so I didn't really sleep that well. I was up every few hours, checking the monitor and hoping he was okay.
I was so excited for the next night of sleep as I knew what to expect. I knew he would be okay in the Magic Sleepsuit and so I went to bed excited for uninterupted sleep. I was sorely dissappointed. Colin was up every two hours. What the heck?! What happened to the magic?! Ugh. So the very tired me the next day decided that this household was now in sleep training mode-- whether or not we liked it.
So at 5 months (and two days) old, we began sleep training. I had studied the cry it out (CIO) method and read Dr. Ferber's suggestions on what to do. I found this website to be extremely helpful and insightful and the playful humor helped too! I knew this wouldn't be easy but I also knew Colin was old enough to understand and learn this. And this mama needed sleep.
I tracked Colin's sleeping (we aren't using this for naps as we are pretty flexible with naps) and thought it might be helpful for some mamas. I'm still tracking as I don't think we have mastered sleeping yet but I feel like we are getting close! And we are still wearing the Magic Sleepsuit as I know it helps Colin.
So if you read this we are making 8-9 hour stretches now!! Yay! I think its progress and getting closer to being a master sleeper!!
Today I'm linked up with Kristin
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