Parker's Progress

My little guy, Parker, turned 11 weeks old on Wednesday. One of the most dramatic shifts we are thus experiencing has been the improvement of his sleep habits. On the same weekend I began my methotrexate regiment, Kari and I decided we needed to do something about how we handle his fussiness about being put down to take a nap.

The event that I believe has single-handedly turned his sleep patterns around happened rather benignly. It had been a rough weekend. Parker had been up for several hours at a stretch and more or less stayed awake until 3:00 in the morning. Finally, on Sunday the 20th, Kari laid him in his crib to take a bath. Despite having been sleeping before going down, he almost immediately woke up and started bawling. I decided that while Kari was taking a bath, I would attempt to let him cry himself to sleep. This is a strategy suggested in a book I am reading about healthy sleeping habits for babies. I decided that rather than the book's suggestion of letting him cry for one hour before going to pick him up and soothe him, I would give him 30 minutes. As most parents are aware, letting your baby cry is one of the hardest experiences known to man. However, I knew he was not hungry and had a dry diaper, so I tried to stick it out.

Well, he certainly attempted to test my theory, because the little guy cried and screamed louder than I had ever heard for exactly 24 minutes. And then...nothing. He slept for 15 whole minutes, woke up and screamed again. And then...nothing. He then proceeded to sleep for more than 3 hours! I was so happy, but cautious.

However, that seems to have been the turning point. He went from going to bed at midnight every night, to falling asleep around 8:30, and most nights, sleeping until 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.

He went from waking up twice every night to feed and be changed, to sometimes waking up, but mostly sleeping through the entire night.

One thing I know for sure is that as soon as you think you have something figured out as it applies to an infant, it changes, but I am very happy that he has had 3 weeks of sleeping extremely well. He also takes 2-3 naps a day, some lasting as long as 3 hours.

For any parent frustrated by their baby's poor sleeping patterns, I suggest you try this. The first time or two will be very difficult, but it will certainly be worth it.