Sleeping through the night at 10 weeks!

Charlie has slept through the night for the past week now! It feels like the clouds have lifted and the sun has come out. I cannot believe what a good nights rest does for Doug, Charlie, and I. Within a week I had him sleeping in his crib...in his room...and through the night

(8 hours with no midnight feeding).

HOW DID WE DO IT???

I can honestly credit our recent sleeping success to our new sleeping schedule. Charlie has just thrived off of it! It is the structure and routine that provides Charlie with a predictable eating, playing , and sleeping pattern that makes our days (and nights) much more manageable. I came to this scheduling after weeks of loosing my mind trying to figure out what my child wanted. Was he hungry? Is he tired? Should I breastfeed again? It was a guessing game.

Our secret to success has been a modified version of the "Baby Wise" method by Gary Ezzo and Dr. Robert Buckman. This method at it's core is a constant eat/wake/sleep pattern. Before the schedule, I was parenting by the seat of my pants and constantly offering Charlie breastfeeding as his only form of comfort. I was trapped in my house ,becasue I did not know how much time I had until I needed to feed him or he needed to sleep. He was also becoming dependant on me to fall asleep for naps during the day, and still feeding twice at night.

Now with the schedule, Charlie is able to self soothe, and I can provide what he really needs instead of constantly offering feeding. I can also get things done, because I know how much time I have before he wakes up or needs to go down again. The Baby Wise schedule has allowed me to get back to my normal life, and feel more confident as a mother. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who is having a child or has one that is difficult to put to sleep. I wish I would have done this much sooner. We are able to enjoy our days together so much more, and plan family time with ease. I wanted to give Charlie (and Doug and I) the gift of a good nights sleep, so I put in the work. It has truly payed off!