Better

So, I finally decided to take everyone's advice. After reading all of your comments, and reading throughly through Moxie's sleep section, I decided to try some stuff.

Yesterday Tori took her two naps successfully (her first at 8:30am) and then we took her to the pool for several hours and she played and played. Afterward, I brought her home, gave her a bath, and then nursed her. She fell asleep at 7:15, and I put her to bed at 7:30. Normally she goes to sleep between 9 and 10 (I know, I know, I know), a habit left over from me getting home from work after 7pm.

Shockingly, she stayed asleep. She stayed asleep through Sarah and Pete coming over to drop off the dogs for the weekend (we're watching their dogs while they travel), even though the dogs barked a bit. She slept through Charlie going to bed at 9:30. She slept through me going to bed at 10:30. Sadly, the dogs barked and woke her up after that at 11 (we locked them in the office and they were quiet for the rest of the night), but she went back down just fine.

She was up two other times through the night, but there were a couple of hours between each wake up (2, and 4) so we all slept between those wake ups. We thought we were doomed with her at 4--Charlie tried to rock her back to sleep and she wasn't having any of it, she wanted me--but she fell asleep again and didn't wake up until... 8 am.

8 am.

I am shocked. Apparently, those with more experience know the deal--she was too tired to sleep before.

Sigh.

We're going to keep an eye on her today--she may also transition to one nap a day, I'm afraid--but we'll let her direct.

Soooooooooooooooooo much better.

____________________________________________

Sorry about the confusion yesterday. I needed people with MBAs and OTHER people who are chefs. I got lots of MBAs, so I'm fine there, but I still need some chefs. I'm looking for folks that have gone to culinary school and are either working as chefs or some other culinary area. :) Thanks again!

Comments

[stacy]

Both my kids dropped the morning nap right after they turned a year old. My son was never a napper - just a cat napper so it was heavenly when he started taking one 3 hour nap a day - HEAVENLY! My daughter on the other hand took two good naps a day so when she switched over to one Momma had to make an adjustment. Now I don't know what I would do without that 3 hour break in the afternoon. Good luck getting Tori on a sleep schedule to fit all of you.

[Shelley]

Isn't that the most counterintuitive thing in the world, that they need more sleep during the day (that is, naps) to sleep better at night? So incredibly true. Glad things are going better.

[AmyinMotown]

Hey, thanks for the shout out, and I am glad it helped.

Maggie started going from one nap to two when she was a little older than Tori is now, and what would usually happen is one day she'd need both, the next she wouldn't. She was also starting school in the mornings last summer when she was 18 months, so we really worked on slowwwllyyy transitioning her away from two naps. It KILLED me because I loved the morning nap, but it tuned out she napped more total time once she went to one.

[Martha]

Thats great news!!! Congratulations!

[Chiara]

I don't know I managed not to get into Moxie, as long as I've been following you, but I think I just may be hooked!!

[ladykuri]

YAY for sleep!!! I'm glad it worked out so well. Overtired makes it impossible for mine to sleep too, and it can be hard to gauge sometimes. Here's to many blissful nights ahead (we hope anyway!).

[Whitney]

It never makes sense to me that, the earlier kids go down at night, the longer (and better) they sleep. But it works for both my kids too! Glad you finally got some sleep. When mine transitioned to one nap a day, it was a marathon nap--way better than 2 short ones!

[Whitney]

It never makes sense to me that, the earlier kids go down at night, the longer (and better) they sleep. But it works for both my kids too! Glad you finally got some sleep. When mine transitioned to one nap a day, it was a marathon nap--way better than 2 short ones!

[Tiffany]

It is amazing how much sleep babies need. When Mikayla was 1 she would take 2 - 2 hour naps, go to bed between 6:30 and 7pm and not wake up until 7:30 or 8am. Now that she is 2 she takes 1 - 3 hour nap, goes to bed between 8 and 8:30 and wakes up between 7 or 8:30 (depending on if it is a weekend or not). I learned long ago that if the baby got her sleep she was so much easier to deal with!!

Tori will eventually go to one nap but let her do it on her own. And yes there will be days when she NEEDS 2 naps but will refuse to take one but she will work it out on her own.

[Lori]

Do you still need chefs? What is it for? I have a friend who is a personal chef and I think she studied at CIA or in Paris. She travels back and forth from LA to NYC to cook for some super wealthy clients. Anyway, I can ask her.

Let me know. :)

[Anna]

I'm soooooo glad you got abetter night's sleep! It makes all the difference in the world. I must say we've been very lucky with Ben. Regardless of his naps (from 30 min to 2.5 hours), he'll sleep about 11 - 12 hours through the night. Oh, yes- we know we're lucky. ;)

[Meredith]

I'm still a student in culinary school but I work in a kitchen. What is the interview for?

[Laura]

I'm a long-time lurker...first, glad you're getting some sleep, second, I have a culinary degree, and work as a foodservice director. Let me know if I can help

[Janet]

You must feel like a new woman! I was so glad to read that you seem to have solved the sleep problem, because it meant a possible solution for me too....

So the fact that I've been lugging my 5mo all around town on errands for the last 3 weeks is probably stuffing up her sleep? Makes sense. I am settling in for a day of good naps today, and hopefully we can emulate Tori's good night's sleep ourselves tonight!

[suzanne]

Thanks for the link....as I sat here with my three week old in a sling because she won't sleep unless she's on me it was nice to see some affirmation that I'm not screwing things up for her future sleep habits.

I hope you have continued success in your sleep efforts!

[Maria]

I went to culinary school and I am a Pastry Chef/Cake decorator, so contact me if you'd like!

[Haylie]

Can you let her cry it out at night? I may have missed you discussing this in an earlier post but it was the thing that saved my life. At 1 year my pedi told me there is no reason my child should be up at night. They have no physical need for food or milk. We tried it and he cried the first night for 45 minutes and has slept through the night ever since.
Good luck!

[SandyC]

A grandmother once told me that I had to remember that I would be the perfect mother of my child if my child could be the child he was 4 months ago. I had experience being that child's mother, after all, but no experience being the mother of the child in front of me -- he was a new child. In other words, children constantly reinvent themselves, mothers never know which way their children will jump, and motherhood is one long game of playing it by ear, even when we are too tired to hear much.

[Donna]

Yippeeee congrats on the sleep thing!