Solo Sleep for LLC

It’s exciting every time we have a new addition to LLC’s list of firsts. (You know I love my lists – plus, I’m spurred on by my baby book and baby calendar which encourage me to chart LLC’s developments).

We had forged a fairly successful bedtime routine – bath with daddy; change; feed & story with mommy; bed in moses basket) but since everyone tells us once you establish one pattern it is likely to change, we decided to pre-empt that ourselves by moving LLC into her own room for bed last night. So much for the old adage that “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” – we figure we should start to sew her seeds of nighttime independence as she’s going on for 10 weeks and getting more attentive and no doubt astute by the day.

LLC’s room is not a fully kitted out baby themed nursery as it’s also our office and guest room rolled into one. This suits our space, our budget and our purposes but we’re still keen to have the room reflect her as best it can. The bookshelves hold her books, on the wall hangs her awesome name banner sewn by the hand of Aunt D, her dresser dons her music box and ABC picture and the changing table hangs over her until now “naked” cot bed. Yesterday I finally “dressed” the cot bed and it’s proved a crowning glory in helping the little lady’s room look more complete.


So the room looks good and LLC’s crib is a cozy sanctuary for sleep, guarded by a small brigade of stuffed animals. But how did bedtime in this new environment go?

I nursed LLC on the futon in her room rather than our bed. I read her story. I shushed her into that seven mile stare state between consciousness and sleep and slowly lowered her into her crib. I retracted my hand, slowly, gently and then “Waa, waa, waa” - small sounds but on the brink of a crescendo. Her small eyes darted left and right, frantically taking in her new surrounds.

I braced myself that this nighttime transition may not be easy and that tonight might be the start of a tiring journey for awhile. I scooped up LLC, rocked and shushed again for about a minute and then placed her back in her crib once she fell quiet. She looked up at me with big full moon eyes. Such a huge searching stare from such a little person. I explained that this was her new big girl bed and that mommy would be back to feed her in the night and then in the morning like usual. She stayed quiet, so I gave her a goodnight kiss, switched on her monitor and left the room.

She woke once in the night to be fed and went down again fairly easily afterwards. She then woke up a little after 6am, a bit earlier than normal but we’ll take it!

So her first night sleeping solo went surprising well. I’m not getting too excited as it’s only been one night, but I’m hoping this auspicious start will be a sign of bedtimes to come. A mama can only hope.

Routine Schmootine

It’s Friday night, Chris is out at karaoke, LLC has been sleeping since 8:45pm and I’m psyched to have some quiet time on the computer! It’s a crazy life that I lead. I love it.

Now that LLC is four weeks old Chris and I decided that we’d try to put her down to bed around 8pm as opposed to 10:30/11pm as we’d been doing. She may still wake up for a 10:30/11pm dream feed but our hope is that we’ll get to eat dinner together rather than in shifts or with an overtired baby on our knee. Could this help prevent LLC getting zonked and entering her witching hour while giving Chris and me some precious alone time?! – it was as though some kind soul switched on a light bulb in my baby addled brain.

Yet I don’t know if this plan will work. You know I like my lists. I also like my plans. But I’m learning that routines and plans don’t often fly, or at least fly for too long, with a newborn. I hope I don’t jinx us by saying it, but LLC has been pretty good at sleeping during the night. Sure, we’ve had our 2am screaming incidents or nights where she wakes up and then won’t settle. But more often than not, I read her a bedtime story while giving her a feed and can then place her, dozy but awake in her basinet, and she will put herself to sleep. This worked between 10-11pm but will it work earlier in the evening?

Our first several weeks were ad hoc with little semblance of order. Often a pattern I see emerging with LLC will shift after several days. I’ve been told by friends with experience that this is the name of the game with young babies. They remind me that routines emerge gradually and that I can’t force structure too soon. My fellow new mama NCT friends and I are now experiencing this reality. Still, it would be nice to find middle ground where I can encourage some semblance of order to LLC and my days without jumping on the Gina Ford bandwagon. Yet I’ve found even lighter touch Baby Whisperer Tracy Hogg’s less intense EASY (eat, activity, sleep, you) structure doesn’t always work – if LLC falls asleep following a feed I’m hard pressed to wake her for the activity phase of this "cycle".

Expert routines are all healthy food for thought, particularly when all this is new to me. Yet I can’t help thinking that I need to focus more on LLC’s needs, what I plan for us in a day, and how these can be reconciled.  Then maybe gradually, some loose routine will take shape...