So what was the Last Great Gentle Sleep Solution? It was in fact Father Earthly's idea. I blame the fact I'm so sleep addled and wretched I couldn't think my way out of a chocolate factory at the moment (would I want to? I don't know...). That's not to say he isn't sleep addled too, but at least he doesn't have to get up and breastfeed in the middle of the night. Are you ready? Have you tried everything else and can think of nothing left in your gentle armoury? Are you pretty much ready to throw baby out of the window in an attempt just to get some god-danged sleep?
Well, try one last thing please. I think it may just have worked for us, and I'll certainly keep you posted. If you're a two-parent family, what does the other half do while you put baby to bed? Make dinner? Watch TV? For us, it has been a case of Dad puts boy Earthly to bed and I try and put Girl Earthly to bed. Until the last few months, this has worked. If you read my last post, you'll know it hasn't worked for some time now! What if... what if both of you try? Not individually in shifts, but at the same time...?
It suddenly makes so much sense to me now. Baby is at that stage where she is beginning to realise Dad is an important figure in her life too, though she's still very attached to Mummy of course. So while she really wants Mummy, she's not keen on Dad disappearing either. Think about it: her life revolves around us and when one of us disappears she naturally frets. When will she see us again? Are we gone forever? How can she sleep if she's fretting about that possibility?
Tonight there was no screaming or crying (from anyone). We just both lay down with her and soothed her together. At one point Father Earthly had to go and check on boy Earthly, and immediately girlie started to wriggle and squirm and become very unsettled. When he returned, she calmed down again and within minutes she was asleep on Father Earthly's chest, sound in the knowledge that I was also nearby.
So there you have it. It might seem OTT, but when it reduces the household fractiousness and bedtime ritual to something so much saner again, I am ALL for it.
Has anyone else tried this? If you're having sleep issues, I urge you to give it a go. What more nurturing, holistic, family-oriented and peaceful way could there be?
I don't want to burst your bubble, but like all good things, this may come to an abrupt end lol. This worked for us for a while, but then our little guy began to see no difference between day company and night company, if you know what I mean? It was like, hey, we are all here it must be time to socialize. So we had to go back to one of us, which he cried about, because he didn't want the fun to end (little monkey). He is 2 now, so he has started to go into his own bed, some nights. Its a hard slog this sleep business, but if you have found something which works, hang on to it with tooth and claw lol.
ReplyDeleteHello, by the way, how very rude of me.
Valerie
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Hi Valdree and welcome :) Thanks for stopping by. Unfortunately I know only too well how fragile and fleeting these solutions can be. Everything in babydom is a phase, including the victories!
ReplyDeleteJust seen you're a fellow East Coast Scot - hello!!
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Yep, fellow Scot lol
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May it last. May you have sleep. xx
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