Given the number of restless nights the baby has previously been having, I decided to see if there was anything that might help give her a better night’s sleep.
I’ve read that most babies have a biological clock that’s preset for an early bedtime, around 6:30-7:00 p.m. When you work around this time, babies tend to fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer. But as with most people living in the real world, this obviously isn’t the most ideal schedule for us. If we were to put the baby to sleep at 6:30, I would only see Caitlyn for a total of one hour every day during the week. And we’d have even less of a life than we already have.
I believe that 8 o’clock is the ideal sleep time for our baby and for us to work around. It’s not too early and it’s not too late either. This is also the time when she starts rubbing her eyes and will fall asleep quickly when put down.
However, for the past two months or so, Caitlyn has been going to sleep around 9 o’clock, waking up a few times during the night, and getting up at 8 the next morning. The main reason for this change is that when my parents were here, she’d want to stay up longer to play with them. And now that we’ve moved further away from the in-laws, coming back home from dinner at their house takes a bit longer.
Last Thursday, when we didn’t go to the in-laws, I insisted on putting Caitlyn to bed at 8 o’clock to see how she would respond. Not surprisingly, she didn’t fuss as much that night and slept in a bit later. But the wife wasn’t thoroughly convinced and because we came home later the next few nights, I couldn’t continue my experiment. This resulted in a later bedtime for Caitlyn, and in my opinion, not as good a night’s rest.
Finally on Sunday through last night, I was able to put her down to sleep around 8 o’clock again, and lo and behold, she's only been waking up once for a feeding and doesn’t wake up until 9 in the morning. As an added bonus, she started drinking 210 ml of formula instead of her usual 180 ml. A miracle you say? A coincidence? I think not.
Even the wife had to admit that the baby did sleep better by going to bed earlier. And as everybody knows, a well-rested baby means a happy baby. And a happy baby means a happy mommy. And a happy mommy means an extremely relieved daddy.
Yes, an 8 o’clock bedtime means we can’t stay out as late as the wife would like to when hanging out with people or eating, but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
I’ve read that most babies have a biological clock that’s preset for an early bedtime, around 6:30-7:00 p.m. When you work around this time, babies tend to fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer. But as with most people living in the real world, this obviously isn’t the most ideal schedule for us. If we were to put the baby to sleep at 6:30, I would only see Caitlyn for a total of one hour every day during the week. And we’d have even less of a life than we already have.
I believe that 8 o’clock is the ideal sleep time for our baby and for us to work around. It’s not too early and it’s not too late either. This is also the time when she starts rubbing her eyes and will fall asleep quickly when put down.
However, for the past two months or so, Caitlyn has been going to sleep around 9 o’clock, waking up a few times during the night, and getting up at 8 the next morning. The main reason for this change is that when my parents were here, she’d want to stay up longer to play with them. And now that we’ve moved further away from the in-laws, coming back home from dinner at their house takes a bit longer.
Last Thursday, when we didn’t go to the in-laws, I insisted on putting Caitlyn to bed at 8 o’clock to see how she would respond. Not surprisingly, she didn’t fuss as much that night and slept in a bit later. But the wife wasn’t thoroughly convinced and because we came home later the next few nights, I couldn’t continue my experiment. This resulted in a later bedtime for Caitlyn, and in my opinion, not as good a night’s rest.
Finally on Sunday through last night, I was able to put her down to sleep around 8 o’clock again, and lo and behold, she's only been waking up once for a feeding and doesn’t wake up until 9 in the morning. As an added bonus, she started drinking 210 ml of formula instead of her usual 180 ml. A miracle you say? A coincidence? I think not.
Even the wife had to admit that the baby did sleep better by going to bed earlier. And as everybody knows, a well-rested baby means a happy baby. And a happy baby means a happy mommy. And a happy mommy means an extremely relieved daddy.
Yes, an 8 o’clock bedtime means we can’t stay out as late as the wife would like to when hanging out with people or eating, but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
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| I'm a big girl now! |
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| Can I grab the elephant and stand at the same time? |
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