Success after 2 years: Sleep

Much and much better. I remembered since Emmet was born we’ve had quite some trouble getting him to sleep. He was a very light sleeper.

He loved sleeping while your were holding him at the most uncomfortable position sampai yang paling melenguhkan. And he loved sleeping after breastfeeding while still latching on the nipple. Even the slightest move would wake him up. I remember even at 8 months, I still froze until he would wake up from his day nap, all I could do meanwhile were browsing the internet with one free hand and changing the channel on the tele.

That was when I was so rajin to download Desperate Housewives, Heroes and Prison Break. I could not eat or drink or go to the toilet. So everything else must be prepared to be place within reach before he falls asleep. I guess I need to do this so that Emmet could get all the sleep he can get since he woke up a lot at night. He couldn’t even be asleep for more than 2 hours straight.

Only sometimes was I able to unlatch him and quickly put him into the bedroom on the tummy and pat him to a deeper sleep. But at least by 2 month old I finally found out that he sleeps better on the tummy.

He slept quite well when he was about 3 months going to 4 months. He would be asleep by 10pm and only woke up once at night at about 4am for milk and woke up again at 8am. But since his eczema got worse the sleep got worse too until he was waking up almost every other hour at night.

I remembered I was so desperate at 1 year, so tired from night feeding I was ready to resort to some professional help. We tried once on sleep training from this book I got from the charity shop, it’s called ‘The Contented Little New Baby’ or something like that. Even though the book suggested the method can only be successful if there were no medical problems, I gave it a shot.

The book suggested that parents keep trying for about 3 days to 2 weeks to see the result. But being a first-time mom with a fisrt-born baby, I just didn’t have the heart to hear him cry for hours. Even when Rizal suggested we just turn off the baby monitor, I got so depressed I just gave it 2 days.

Anyway, deep down inside I knew it wouldn’t work since because of the eczema. Emmet was waking up at night because he just wanted to scratch and scratch and scratch. He scratch when he’s tired, sleepy, hungry, bored, not getting attention and so on.

Now

He wakes up just about when I was finished making breakfast for Rizal at 8am. No more crying. He would go across from his cot then over my bed and go down on the floor, open the bedroom door and the living room door and come looking for me in the kitchen. But of course he wants milk immediately.

He would get tired and ready to nap at about 2pm after lunch. Sometimes he would nap at 12pm and have his lunch after he wakes up at 1pm. He usually have his milk until he doze off. Then I would put him on the sofa, still on his side beside me, pat him for a minute until he settles well. If he naps early he would nap again at about 5pm. But I seldom let him nap for the second time since I started minding Mika at weekdays. The nap pattern would be different when we are on the go though.

He would be ready for bed at night at about 10.30pm to 11pm. I would breastfeed him in the living room until he looks sleepy and I would ask him if wants to sleep in his cot in the bedroom. If he feels he’s ready he would get off my lap and pull my hand to stand up and guide me to the bedroom. He would climb up the bed and settles in his cot while I turn on the bed lamp and some light music (mozart/jazz/yusuf islam). I would pat him to sleep for about 5 to 10 minutes.

He would wake up again at about 5am for milk and every other hour thereafter. Oh yea I forgot to tell his milk routine. Or did I? If he wants milk he knows he’s supposed to kiss both my cheeks, forehead and lips, and salam and kiss my hand, and then baca doa (well…just the amin sapu muka thing). I would always need to remind him to do all that most of the time. But when I purposely ignore him at night and he got realy desperate, he would smother my face with his wet kisses until I surrender and offer my hand to be salamed and kissed and after amin doa have to bagi susu la.

After having his milk sometimes he would doze off beside me or he would climb back to his cot or if I woke up I would put him back into his cot. Much and much better when he was 6 to 10 months old and slept on my chest every night.

So I guess life is getting better….