The Difference a Week Makes

So all that stuff I said about my baby sleeping through the night...lies. All lies. Within a matter of a week we are basically back to business as usual.

I blame it on sickness. We have been sick for the umpteenth time this winter. And the sickness seemed to unravel all the beautiful progress we made. Inconsistent, non-existent sleep. Poor Gavin. He has cried more in the last 5 days than he has in his whole lifetime. I HATE IT.

With his health on the mend, his sleep has yet to catch up. He cried for almost an hour and a half tonight before nodding off. All this (lack of) sleep has sent me back to the books to see if there's something more I can be doing. And interestingly, the books are lame. They have nothing to offer me that I hadn't previously thought or tried. In fact they vary in theory; even directly contradicting one another.

One book says to let your child cry it out (no matter how long) so they can teach themselves how to fall asleep. If you interfere with this practice process, you are not allowing your child to become independent.

Another book says crying it out makes your child feel that they have been abandoned when they need you most. An infant's wants are the same as their needs until they are about one year of age. So if they want to be comforted to go to sleep (ie. whatever that may entail), then comfort them.

Sickness aside, Gavin has never been much of a sleepaholic. So it all comes down to this. You read about sleep practices, consider your own intuition, and make the best decision for your own child. Easy, right?

Maybe I'll just invent a special potion that will cure his sleep ills.