Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sawing Logs


For the first 18 months of his life, Bob woke up 8 - 12 times a night and could only get back to sleep with my help. This was hell for all involved. When I finally became so sleep deprived that I:
1. Fell asleep at a stoplight while driving
2. Could not form a full sentence
3. Hallucinated,
Jeff took over and did a gentle type of sleep training with Bob that he found in a book (Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West). I got to re-enter the long forgotten world of Rapid Eye Movement slumber. Because of that rough year and a half, this sound is like a sweet, sweet lullaby.



*Note: I am not being paid to promote or endorse the Good Night, Sleep Tight book although it was life changing and if I could meet Kim West, I would give her such a big, long, hug, she would be scared, and it might be awkward but she saved me and I'm a hugger. Ms. West, you have been warned.

9 comments:

  1. A sleeping child is an amazing thing, particularly if you had to battle to get there. I totally get the awesomeness of this snoring.

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  2. Awesome.

    We sleep trained George when he turned 7 months. He's been sleeping through the night ever since. Even now I can sneak and put him to bed a full 45 minutes early and he doesn't know the difference. (I do that when the husband is working late...)

    We "Ferberized" George. We were highly criticized for it (funny, because our pediatrician was the one who recommended it) --- but we all get plenty of sleep.

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  3. I can totally feel your pain and had to laugh at the results of your sleep depravation. I found a book that I loved and worked (Healthy Sleep Habits of a Happy Child) and held on to that book for dear life every time we had sleep problems with the boys.

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  4. Oh the joy of real sleep again. With our two at ages six and three, we are in a pretty good place. Of course, it always seems like if we have a bad night, it's both of them. It's like they plan it...

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  5. Ditto on the Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child! I suppose when they're teenagers, we'll have the opposite problem, we can't get them up.

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  6. Every night I manage to sleep all the way through is a huge blessing!

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  7. So, wait. Let me get this straight. You sleep all through the night without having to get up at all?! You can actually formulate a complete and coherent sentence without

    Sorry. Lost my train of thought.

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  8. This makes me want to cry. I haven't slept in 9 years. Now my kids are finally sleeping most of the nights without waking me up but apparently I have to train MYSELF how to sleep through the night. I am in an ever-vigilant state so when I am woken up, I sit straight up and look around madly, going "What? Where? Are you sick? Fever? Vomiting? Cup of water? Just snuggling? WHAT IS REQUIRED OF ME?" The way my heart is racing, I could lift the corner of our house up if necessary. Or kill a wooly mammoth, which I suppose is the whole point of it.

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  9. We are really struggling with Forest and I am sleeping most nights on the floor in his room. I will check out Good Night Sleep Tight. thanks!

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