Julien slept throughout the whole of last night. 12 hours straight. Unbroken. And that's a first in his entire life of all 14 months and 2 days. YES!
I did my research reading and asking frens' for their tips. A few swore by The Baby Whisperer's Pick-Up-Put-Down method, where you pick up your crying baby from the bed to soothe them, then put them down immediately once he has quietened down. I was told persistence is the key and that it could take anything from days to weeks to get Baby used to it. We tried that and to be honest, we were both tired out. Daddy Low had more success than me, 'cos supposedly, Baby is used to Mummy's smell and would then put up more of a fight when you try to put him down. But at the end of the day, this method was just hard for us, since Daddy Low had to work and asking him to do more of it was just exhausting him. More importantly, it seems to us that J becomes more awake when we try this method whenever he wakes up at night - he seems to become energised and cries harder and longer at each separation.
We also tried giving him water, but he would refuse it, so sometimes we ended up giving him milk again. And milk is great, because it helps him to drift off to sleep. At times, I asked myself why not just stick with the milk then; it's easier for everyone - just get up, prepare the milk and stick it in his mouth and he goes to sleep and we can go back to bed as well. But the thought of the possibility of no-nightfeed nights was just too tempting, which also means no need to prepare hot water or bottles on the ready etc. Brilliant! I have also read that nightfeeds increase the risk of tooth decay once Baby has teeth and J has lots of them!
In the end, we turned to our last measure, something that I thought I would never do - we just let him cry it out. It sounds horrible and it is horrible to lie in your bed at night and listen to your baby cry on and on. But I made myself lie in bed, reminding myself that this is for him, to help him to sleep throughout and have a better rest at night. And for us, so that we can live like humans again and not half-zombies in the day.
Everyone who's done it told me that it just takes 3 days to unbroken sleep. And true enough, that's all it did for us. The first night, J cried and cried, getting louder and longer each time. Interestingly, I also noticed that when he stopped, he would stop totally, and at times, I get the feeling that he was waiting and almost as if he was listening, trying to hear if there's any reaction on our part. Those in-between silences were the most pregnant pauses I have ever felt in my life. He cried for about an hour, then drifted off to sleep, but woke up a few hours later and cried again, but for much shorter this time and at times, it felt more like whimpers. And when he woke up in the day, it was like nothing happened the night before. He was just as cheerful and full of smiles when I popped in my head and said "Good Morning!"
The second night was largely peaceful till about 6am and he slept at about 9am. Daddy Low took him out, soothed him, then tried putting him back in bed, but he would have none of it, so he ended up in our bed. But that was alright, since it was near waking-up time anyway. Daddy Low told me later that he enjoyed holding J and watching him sleep, and smelling him just beside him. I think it was a nice time to spend together, since Daddy Low gets very little time with J by the time he knocks off. And when J woke up between us, he was so sunny and bright, poking his face into mine with a loud "Ma!"
The third night was last night. He is used to drifting off to sleep after his bottle of milk on the mat on the floor. Then, we put him in bed after. I decided to try getting him used to his bed, so I put him in his cotbed when he was already drowsy after his milk. It is strange how he is near to falling asleep while on the floor, but becomes much more awake once he senses himself in his bed. He put up quite a fight, but I was prepared for a long night. So, every time, he sat up, I made him lie down again. There was much crying and wailing, but because he was already drowsy, the struggle did not last long thankfully. At the point when he no longer sat up after being made to lie down, I knew I had won half the battle. I just kept patting him, then changed to rubbing his back and he was soon fast asleep. Jubilation! :) And the good boy slept from 9pm till 9am. Unbroken sleep. Wonderful!
We did the same routine when putting him to bed again tonight. I am hoping for another brilliant night. And when J has mastered the art of sleeping throughout the night without waking up for milk, cuddles, whatever, we will move on to getting him to sleep earlier. How brilliant it would be if he is on a 7pm to 7am sleep pattern instead!
For now, Bonne Nuit, mon bebe! :)
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