Pages Menu
TwitterRssFacebook
Categories Menu

Posted by on Jul 18, 2015 in Featured, Life, Sleep | 5 comments

Slow and steady wins the race

Slow and steady wins the race

I’ve written here before how reading Elizabeth Pantley’s No Cry Sleep Solution was a road-to-Damascus type epiphany for me. It changed my approach to parenting. Where before, one bad night was enough to send me into a tailspin, after reading that book, I learned to look at the bigger picture and see the gradual improvements that were happening instead.

Heading into the winter last year, when we were 18 months in with our second child, the setup in our house would have had Supernanny and Gina Ford and all the rest of the self-appointed experts in a tizzy. Co-sleeping (bed-sharing in fact, so “worse” again), breastfeeding on demand at night, no set nap time during the day. Disaster, right? Except it wasn’t. It worked for us for a long time. And since I’m feeling liberal with the clichés today, my parenting approach consists of a lot of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude.

But somewhere between the summertime and November last year, it stopped working for us. A combination of things I guess. I day-weaned the toddler thinking I was so smart and she promptly reverse-cycled on me and got her extra feeds at night instead when I was half asleep and not paying attention. She also hit that infamous “Leap 10” that fans of the Wonder Weeks book or app will be familiar with. It’s a developmental leap that occurs around the 18 month mark, and is characterized by “crying, clinginess, and crankiness.” Fun times.

And last but not least (and I think this was really what signaled the end of her co-sleeping days), our little toddler sprouted. Suddenly we were being woken by a little foot kicking out or an arm flailing. Then I hurt my leg in late November and ended up on crutches for the best part of a month. 

So something had to change. But instead of trying to change everything at once, we went for one small change at a time. First we night weaned by introducing a bottle, which she wasn’t that keen on. By Christmas, the night time feeds were completely gone. 

Then we set up a toddler bed for her in the kids’ room, with a mattress on the floor for whichever of us had to get up to her during the night. 

That toddler bed lasted a couple of months until she started referring to the mattress on the floor as “my bed” and we conceded that she was actually spending her nights on the mattress and not in her toddler bed at all. So we dismantled it and put it away in the attic. 

In the beginning, one of us was on that mattress with her all night, but we’ve gradually reduced that and now at least a night or two each week, she sleeps through on her own in her own bed. 

Lately with the bright evenings, going down to sleep has been an issue, often taking an hour of lying beside her helping her drift off to sleep. So this week we’ve started to make changes there, and over the next month or two I am hoping we’ll get to the point of a story, a kiss goodnight, and then leaving her to drift off herself. It happened one night this week! It’ll surely happen again at some stage! 

Whenever I begin to doubt this lazy child-led approach to changing sleep routines, I remind myself that I’ll miss those cuddles to sleep when they’re gone. I look at my five year old now – a child who was once in the running for world’s worst sleeper, and I can’t remember the last time I had to lie beside him till he drifted off. Sometimes in the midst of these early sleep deprived years, it feels like the sleep struggles have been going on forever, but once we’re through them and looking back, it all seems to be over in the blink of an eye. And I find I’m glad for travelling this slow and steady path to get where we’re going. 

5 Comments

  1. Glad to hear it is making moves in the right direction! I’m dreading the blasted Leap 10; we’re finally hitting a stage where we don’t need to sleep next to me, just sleepwalk in and shush him a few times a night and live in fear of that going backwards. Definitely going at a pace that suits your own family is important which is what you seem to be going, really glad you’re getting some kip 🙂
    Lisa – Four Walls, Rainy Days recently posted..Dressing Up and Boogying on Down, my Little Loves of the WeekMy Profile

  2. Lovely positive post, gives me hope for my 22 month old!!

  3. I feel the exact same! Each time I feel like to night waking or bed sharing is beginning to get to me I just as quickly remember that these days won’t last forever and those cuddles won’t be long stopping. Enjoy it and embrace it eh?! Glad things are progressing for you all 🙂
    Louise (@TattooedMumsy) recently posted..Daily VitaminsMy Profile

  4. You & I have a very similar approach, you’re having far more success though, she won’t be with me forever though……right??

  5. I’m a big believer in doing whatever gets you through the next day… It took 2 years and 3 months before my toddler slept a whole night through. He does need regular naps, but I’m happy to fit around his schedule if it means he sleeps better (and therefore I do to).
    Stuff and Nothing recently posted..A long week, but we have moved houseMy Profile

%d bloggers like this: