so far the answer is NOT to sleep, but I am doing my homework and hopefully we will be sleeping through the night (STTN) soon. I bought a couple books off http://www.amazon.com/ and I am about half way through both of them. They are based on two completely different "schools" of thought and I am looking forward to making a plan and sticking to it.
The first book, No-Cry Sleep Solution is the book that I plan to live by until Cooper is sleeping through the night. Thus far it has stressed the importance of a bed time routine, consistent bedtimes, how much sleep he needs vs how much he is getting, and provided charts to track nap times, night wakings, and routines. I have been tracking naps and night wakings for three nights (today is day 4) and, to be honest, it is a little depressing. I knew Cooper was waking a lot through the night, but now that I am physically writing it down and counting them, it is far worse than I feared. Last night was our worst night so far with 9 (Yes, NINE) wake-ups, which trumps the other nights of 3, 5, and 7 wake-ups. Sigh. I think he is on the brink of cutting teeth which is why we are tracking and not actively making changes to our routine just yet.
Our biggest challenge is that Cooper wakes up to nurse. Every time. He never goes back to sleep without nursing. I did cheat and look ahead to see what the book says and you can read an excerpt HERE if you are interested.
It is hard. I want to do everything the book says, but it is hard to keep a constant routine with Quentin being out to sea and a three year old who cannot be left alone while I put Cooper to bed. So, we are working on a routine/bedtime that will allow me to out Cooper to bed after Adyson (she goes to bed around 8:00 every night) even though I think Cooper would benefit from an earlier bed time. Luckily we only have a couple more "underway" times to endure and Quentin will be home until pre-deployment work-ups starting this winter.
The second book, Sleeping Through The Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Nights Sleep, is a "Cry It Out" type book. I can't do it. While I am picking up some tips from the book, I just cannot put Cooper in his room and let him scream until he is physically sick from it, which is probably what would happen. And let's face it, no one in the house is going to be getting any sleep if Cooper is screaming for hours (especially Adyson who is only one wall away)!!! I suppose I am not opposed to letting him fuss a bit, like when he wakes up when I lay him down, or when he stirs in the night without waking completely, but not full blown all out crying, where is gasping for air after every scream. Can't do it.
So, that's where we are at. I am going on a year of less than a full nights sleep and it is catching up with me. I am tired ALL the time and it is no fun.
Luckily, for him, he is just too darn cute :)
And he gets that from Big Sissy :)
