Leaving a sleeping baby lie

The next step is to try to reduce the need for our son to be picked up.

To start, I’ve tried to “shh” whenever I’m offering comfort.  At times, I’ve even tried to offer just the “shh” as comfort… usually when my arms or legs were tired.  This has resulted in some success, but nothing consistent.  It has definitely helped with quieting his “moans.”

Now, when he wakes, I make an effort to not pick him up immediately.  I offer “shh”ing and sometimes a pat on the back.  Eventually, I’d like to stop patting and just place my hand on his back and eventually not even have to do that.  So far, it’s had about a 50% success rate.  That means I’m lifting him out less and that means I don’t have to put him back less.  Putting him back down can potentially wake him up, so it’s important for us to hold him a little longer and make sure he’s in a deeper sleep.  So, not having to put him back down means we’re saving a lot of time and that means everyone is getting more sleep.

Recently, I stumbled across a little helpeful technique.  As our son wakes up, he usually pulls himself up to all fours as he “moans” and sometimes cries.  If we get to him pretty quickly, I’ve found that he’s mostly still asleep.  I used to think that it was necessary to pick him up, but I was wrong.  Sometimes, just moving him (usually away from the crib edges to the middle) combined with the techniques above, are enough to get him back to sleep.  Usually, he’s back to sleep in less than a minute!

I think we’re making really good progress.  We’re definitely feeling better, but it’s hard to know if we’re just getting used to not having as much sleep.  Still, if I’m going by how I’m feeling, we’re moving in the right direction.

~ by Steve "Oz" on August 20, 2007.