A full night of sleep awaits you.

I love my son. I really do. Like more than I ever thought possible. He is such a sweet boy, and he was a sweet baby too. Happy and easy-going. But he was a terrible sleeper. Truly. As a baby he would sleep well if he was being help or was moving in a car or a swing (which we did not have). I don't think I can describe the care and finesse with which we had to lay him down in his bassinet or crib so that he wouldn't be disturbed, but it was something akin to practically crawling in there with him not to mention the butt patting, singing, stroking, rocking, nursing that took place before the child would close his eyes. I remember Jeff actually picking up Ben's entire bassinet to rock him to sleep so that we wouldn't have to move him once he fell asleep. And Benjamin never really slept for very long either. He maxed out at about 2 or 3 hours most nights for months. The first time he slept for about 6 hours he was well into his fourth month, but those nights were few and far between. He frequently woke up during the night and would not go back to sleep without going through the whole ritual described above. We were so exhausted. And it never helped when other mamas would claim that their babies slept through the night at 6 weeks old. I would respond to such claims with things like "Oh wow" or "Lucky for you" or "That's great" when in my mind I was really thinking "Well good for you. You must be mother of the year. Would you like a cookie?" Nasty, right? But in my defense, between pregnancy and the baby, I hadn't slept through the night in about a year and I wasn't exactly in the mood to hear about it.

When Ben turned 5 months old, Jeff and I were tired of it, literally, so we asked around for advice from different friends and coworkers and came across a sleep training program called the Sleep Easy Solution. I watched the DVD a few times through and started right away. Lucky for Jeff he was on call the first night. I suppose neither of us got much sleep that night :) By the end of the week, Ben was doing much better. I had weened him from his nighttime feedings and he was falling asleep all on his own within just a few seconds of crying. Whew. Relief. But then he got sick and we had to start all over again. Success again. But then we took a trip and we had to start all over again. Success again. Sick again. Trip. Ahhhhhhh! Even though we struggled through that first year things were markedly better after Ben was about 6 months and the "training" process got easier each time. He can still be a finicky sleeper if we travel or have company or if he is sick, but for the most part he sleeps just fine. In fact, he is in a big boy bed and has done really well. He naps for 2-3 hours a day and sleeps for 11 hours at night. He even stays in his bed until we go get him.

So if you are struggling with a baby who won't sleep well for you, be assured that with time and/or training, you will make it through. There is a full night of sleep awaiting you some day in the future....hopefully the not too distant future.

Benjamin, someday when you are old enough and you happen to be reading this I want you to know that you were a lovely baby. You were sweet and smiley and happy. You didn't sleep all that well, but you were a honey of a baby and I wouldn't have traded you for a lifetime of good sleep. I love you, Ben Ben.