As I write Eli has been sleeping for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Wait, can that be right? Let me look at the clock again. Oh my gosh! I am right. I have gone in his room 3 times just to make sure he is ok. Eli hasn’t slept this long at naptime since he was an itty bitty. I have had so much time to myself this morning I am walking in circles. Certainly there are long lists of things to do but I just can’t get used to having time on my hands. I haven’t spent much time complaining on my blog about this but honestly Eli not napping (or sleeping well at night) is driving me bananas.
I have read at least 5 different books about sleep. I have tried every single piece of advice given by family and friends. I have thrown in the towel and said I don’t care just let him do what he wants to do and I will survive. For the longest time I seriously thought something was wrong with my baby. Why on earth won’t he sleep? When he did nap he was awake within 30 minutes. What the heck kind of nap is that? Doesn’t he know I need more than 30 minutes to recoop! What did I do to cope? I started treating naptime like a planning period at school. Just like school you get about 25 minutes if you figure in dropping the kiddos off and picking them up. So after getting Eli settled and then going in when he cried I had about 25 minutes to myself. I decided ok I will write down what I need to accomplish during my “planning period” so that I am as productive as possible while he sleeps. Do you see how type A this is? I get on my own nerves. Well my “planning periods” worked well for a few days and then I fell out of habit and my days just started to get blurry again. The months of April and May are a complete blur. I seriously considered strangling the next Mom I met who bragged about what a good sleeper and napper she had. Being the self analytical person I am I started doubting my ability to parent. Maybe I just suck at this job. My baby won’t nap and won’t sleep well at night.
What I learned from all my sleep research is that like everything else there are two schools of thought. When I was in school learning to teach I spent a lot of time figuring out my philosophy about kids and learning. When I went into the classroom I felt prepared because I knew what I believed in my heart was the right way to teach. When I got pregnant I went through the same thought processes. What do I believe to be the right way to birth my baby? Then BAM parenthood hits you. You can’t build your philosophy until you are actually in the trenches. You have no idea what kind of baby you are going to have. People have good intentions with their advice and the books provide some information but you truly have to learn as you go. God gave me a colicky refluxy high-need baby. That is one of the most challenging of babies to have let me tell ya! They keep you on your toes that is for sure.
Teaching a baby how to sleep is quite controversial when it comes to people having their opinions. I guess that is one reason I haven’t blogged about it. I had to find my place and my philosophy before I could carry on about my opinions. After 6 long months I have come to learn a lot about myself as a parent and the result has been a baby who is now taking up to a 2 hour nap in the morning. Hallelujah!
Speaking of Eli and naps… he is waking up. It has been 2 hours and 5 minutes since he fell asleep. He is waking up like a honey bear which is always a sign that he had a good nap. I am so excited I can hardly control myself. My sister in law Beth used to tell me that her son Luke would lay in his bed after his nap and play quietly while waking up. I have been waiting and waiting for that day to come. That day has arrived! Eli is happily waking up in his crib. Maybe I don’t suck at this after all.
More later on Jen’s Sleep Philosophy…. :)
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