Let me start by saying that getting Locke on a decent sleep schedule was difficult and we made a lot of mistakes on the way. First mistake-trying to get him on a schedule in the middle of packing and moving across the country. Not to mention the fact that we lived at my mom's the first week we were in Tennessee and then moved all of our stuff into our new house. I think for sure he felt the stress that we were feeling and that affected his sleep. Second mistake-unrealistic expectations and not enough research. I read Babywise front to back multiple times and thought I was ready. HA! Nothing prepares you for the battle your kid can put up when you try to get him to sleep!
Basically this is what we did minus most of the drama: From the beginning of Locke's life we listened to the pediatrician and during the day we didn't let Locke sleep more than 2 hours at a time (no more than 4 at night since I was trying to establish a milk supply) and followed the rule of eat, awake time, sleep. This was pretty hard since newborns get so sleepy when you feed them but we pressed on, and by the time he was 2.5 weeks old he was sleeping 3 and 4 hours at a time at night. After we moved and got into our house I pretty much holed up with Locke for 2 weeks and followed a 2-3 hour schedule of eat, play, and sleep. These weeks were really hard, mainly because every day I felt like I was losing the battle with sleep and I was very homesick for Texas. It's very isolating being home with a newborn all day when you've just moved and don't have friends to come by. At the end of those 2 weeks I really felt like giving up and waiting until Locke was older, like maybe 3 or 4 months old. One of the things that really helped at this point was the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Sleep Problems by Tracy Hogg. I didn't read it but I read many of the points online and how to use them. She talks about how to help your baby sleep instead of just expecting them to do it on their own. Another thing that helped with daytime naps was buying a swing. Babywise says not to use a swing, but I'm here to tell you that in my opinion, if your baby will sleep well in a swing, let them do it.
Like I said before, Locke started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old but he started sleeping 8 hours at night by 6 weeks old. It was great but his naps during the day were seriously terrible. For a couple weeks he wouldn't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. It was screwing up the 2-3 hour schedule and then he would be cranky all the time. Now, let me tell you what saved us.....(dramatic drum roll)
This! The thumb-sucking! On the day Locke turned 2 months old two very important things happened: Locke discovered he could suck his thumb and he had his 2 month shots. The shots were significant because the next day he was feeling crappy and took a 2.5 hour nap. Up until this point he hadn't napped longer than 45 minutes! I think his body was like, "Hey, I actually like naps and they make me feel better!" He's been a pretty decent napper since then. The thumb-self soothing has a lot to do with it. When he gets sleepy that thumb goes in his mouth and he starts rubbing his eyes and I know it's time to put him in the swing.
Just in the last week or so he has also started sucking his fingers on his left hand. It's really cute when he tries to suck these and his thumb at the same time! If I could do it all over again here's what I would do differently: I would use a swaddle blanket. We had one and I used it the first night he was home and that was it. I would give it more time and use it again. Babies tend to fling out their arms and freak themselves out when they're sleeping and Locke did this a lot. Swaddling prevents this and makes them feel secure. I would implement Hogg's EASY routing along with the 4 S's to help Locke fall asleep. So many times I laid him down awake and expected him to fall asleep. I just don't think that was realistic for him at that age. I would have already bought a swing to begin with. We had a Mamaroo, but it doesn't have a swing feature, and he didn't really like it. I would not force Locke to sleep by himself all the time during naps. If I could take it back, I would have loved more snuggles with my baby. I was very afraid of falling asleep with Locke next to me and so he slept in the pack n play most of the time. They are only little for so long!
I still think with the next baby (many, many years from now) that we will start sleep-training from birth, just in a different way. The sleep we have been able to get is wonderful and Locke is a relaxed, easy going baby 90% of the time. Honestly, I think how a baby sleeps depends a lot on their personality. I can also say that I couldn't have done it without Erik's help. He encouraged me and helped me when I couldn't listen to Locke's crying anymore. Now he does the bedtime routine with Locke almost every night. Thanks babe!
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