Sleep Progress?
We’ve had a couple of incidents that give us hope that putting Natalie to sleep won’t always be so much of a project.
Earlier this week, I had nursed Natalie into a deep sleep in our new glider. We test her level of sleep by performing the “arm test.” The test is picking up her arm and dropping it. If it’s completely limp, she’s out. If she resists at all, she’s still in a light sleep. Apparently the test isn’t always fool-proof, because when I put her down, she woke up. But instead of nursing her or getting Chris to walk her, I decided to try rubbing her back. When I’ve tried this in the past, she usually revs up into full-blown crying and I end up nursing her. This time, Natalie got up and flopped herself face-first into the mattress a few times before settling on a comfortable position. I rubbed her back slowly for 5 minutes (I watched the clock) then sat next to her for a few minutes to make sure she was really asleep, and then gleefully walked out of the room!
Then a couple of nights later, she stopped nursing while she was still awake and fell asleep just rocking in the glider! I made myself rock another 10 minutes, did the arm test and then put her down—she didn’t move a muscle!
Baby steps…but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. One day, we’ll be able to read Natalie a bedtime story and leave her to fall asleep on her own. Hopefully by the time she’s 5. I like to keep my expectations low.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I came to your blog via mothering.com. Your baby and mine sound so alike! Putting Zora down for sleep has always been a major production, and then she doesn’t stay down for long. I suspect it’s because she has always been so active- she has never laid in one place long enough to doze off on her own. Z has also always been a major car hater like N, because she just hates being tied down in the car seat. That has been getting better recently, though. I gotta try the snack thing for the long drive we are planning this weekend.
It’s so reassuring to know that someone else out there has to really work to get her baby to sleep. And reassuring to hear that it gets better, even by tiny steps. Can I ask how long Natalie sleeps on her own, once you have gotten her down in bed? Maybe your reply will give me hope!
October 25th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Thanks for your comment! How long Natalie stays asleep varies a lot–sometimes it’s only 1.5 hours until the first waking, sometimes 4 hours. Sometimes Dad can get her back to sleep walking her, sometimes she needs to nurse. On a couple of occasions, she’s slept 7-9 hours without waking, so I know there’s hope.
I would definitely recommend the snack trap. Best of luck on your trip and with the sleeping.