Did you know that there are babies who, when placed in their cribs awake, will fall asleep all on their own within a few minutes? And were you aware that there are babies who actually can sleep through the night at 6 weeks of age? I didn't know. I mean I had certainly heard of such babies, but I always thought they were mythological....fabricated to make mothers of babies who didn't sleep through the night (mothers like me) feel inadequate. You see my first baby, Ben, was not a good sleeper. Don't get me wrong. He was a wonderful, sweet, happy baby. He just didn't fall asleep easily and he didn't stay asleep more than a few hours for the first several months of his life. When Benjamin was a baby people would often ask if he was sleeping through the night as if it were some measurement of his character or mine. I would explain that although he was a good baby with a sweet disposition he wasn't a good sleeper. Frequently my confession of having a baby who didn't sleep well to these people was met by claims that their babies slept through the night by 6 weeks. Admittedly I was jealous of their wonder babies and a part of me never fully believed them. If you have a baby that isn't a good sleeper I'm sure you can relate (and if you need some reassurance that you will one day have a child who sleeps read this entry about how A Full Night of Sleep Awaits You).
When our little Elizabeth arrived I was quite sure that I would not get a full night of sleep until she was 6 months old. Based on our experience with our sweet Ben my expectations were very low. My first night in the hospital with Ellie left me worried that Benjamin was a dream sleeper compared to her. I was up with her...forever. Then we went home and I was getting up with her two or three times a night. Better. After a few weeks I was up with her just once a night. Wonderful. And now my little girl will be 7 weeks old tomorrow and has been sleeping through the night for nearly a week. Perfect. That's right. My dream baby started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks! I didn't really believe it was possible, but here we are. And now I know that it wasn't because of anything I was doing wrong that we had trouble getting Ben to sleep. That's just the way things were...and things are not the same with every baby.
So if you're a mama of a baby who keeps you up at night, don't be discouraged. You will eventually get to a good night of rest again. And if you're a mama of a baby who is a fantastic sleeper, try to appreciate what a special gift that is. Not everybody is so lucky.
1 comment:
Hate to say it (no one likes a party pooper) but usually this changes by the week!! I've decided, in our house at least, that when the good weeks come we party with all that extra energy and CELEBRATE and then when it all changes when we grin and bear it knowing that a good week is on the way!
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