Three nights ago I made a new rule. The baby, now a strapping five month old, gets one feed between 9pm and 7am, and one feed only. This feed happens after 1am (so that the night is reasonably evenly split up). So the rule goes: not before 1, not before 7. I know he is able to go at least six hours without a feed and so any other time he can just be soothed back to sleep without feeding. I hope over time this will make him sleep better and move towards longer stints without feeding. I repeated this rule to him each night, usually at bathtime.
Bizarrely, since then he has not woken up before 1 and has willingly accepted just one feed, if he does wake up at other times he has meekly gone back to sleep with cuddles alone. Considering that the nearest thing he had to a pattern recently was to wake up at 11.30 or 12, and that he usually demanded about three feeds a night, it's very odd, almost as if he could hear me. This sounds silly but it's happened a few other times, nights when I say 'I can't bear another bad night, he has to sleep well' and he then sleeps beautifully or nights when I've said 'why don't you sleep until 2?' and he does. Even my husband noticed. "Can he hear you?" he asked, "Because when you say something like you really mean it he does it." I'm not sure if it's just random, or whether something about my intent rubs off on him or....? Who knows.
Anyway I'm thinking of asking if he could start potty training next.
Bizarrely, since then he has not woken up before 1 and has willingly accepted just one feed, if he does wake up at other times he has meekly gone back to sleep with cuddles alone. Considering that the nearest thing he had to a pattern recently was to wake up at 11.30 or 12, and that he usually demanded about three feeds a night, it's very odd, almost as if he could hear me. This sounds silly but it's happened a few other times, nights when I say 'I can't bear another bad night, he has to sleep well' and he then sleeps beautifully or nights when I've said 'why don't you sleep until 2?' and he does. Even my husband noticed. "Can he hear you?" he asked, "Because when you say something like you really mean it he does it." I'm not sure if it's just random, or whether something about my intent rubs off on him or....? Who knows.
Anyway I'm thinking of asking if he could start potty training next.
No comments:
Post a Comment