Monday, July 7, 2008

I Slipped.

I didn't mean to slip. It was a moment of weakness. I only slept with him twice.

My oldest has always had trouble sleeping through the night. When new moms complain about their baby not sleeping at six months old, I tell them that my oldest still doesn't sleep through the night and he will be six years old (Yes, you should see their shocked, very tired faced when I say it). It isn't so bad anymore. But it is only because we are strict with our bedtime routines. Super strict.

We don't lay down with our boys at night. We go through a routine that never changes. Teeth, pajamas, books and lights out. Through the past six years, I have tried every sleep method. You name it, we've tried it.

This past weekend we were away at our in-laws summer place on Lake Erie. It is a condo and it is very open and spacious. The light shines through the large windows and the sound of everyone below fills the loft. My kiddos struggled to fall asleep with the light and noise. My children out of their routine were desperate to fall asleep and so were we.

So, in a weak moment, I layed down with my oldest son and helped him fall asleep. It was beautiful how easy it worked. We had two relaxing nights at the condo and they went bed beautifully.

But tonight, we are back to our strict ways and he is nearly crying it out upstairs. I never imagined that I would be doing this at 6 years old. Back to Ferber!

11 comments:

Someone Being Me said...

Ugh. I can't imagine. Mine has been waking up in the middle of the night lately. I'm hoping it's just teething. Good luck.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Poor little guy. I hope he gets back into the swing of things, pronto!

Jennifer said...

aww. that is rough. i mean it was great that you are such a comfort to them, obviously, to just lay down with them/him and get them to sleep so nicely... and honestly I would have done the same thing. who wouldn't. you want your children to sleep well with out being upset and when you are in a strange or new place it is hard to fall asleep at any age... at least i think it is.

i hope that the routine gets easier again and that there is no more tears that has to be so hard on all of you. :( I know i held my son, literally, for the first 8 months of his life for him to sleep... then it was so hard to put him down, he would cry, i would cry... and i knew it was my fault b/c i had held him for so long.. ugh.. thankfully he is a great sleeper now, and still at almost 5 naps for me too, for almost 2 1/2 hrs about every other day, sometimes every day when i'm lucky. :)

best wishes to all of you!! :)

and HUGS!!!

xxoxoxoo

Don Mills Diva said...

Ugg - I feel for you. My son sleeps with me at my parents and it's always a struggle when we come back home...

Stephanie said...

Wow! It does sound odd for him to be doing that at 6! I guess he just loved the mommy time. I haven't done that with my kiddos yet but I fear the day I do! ;oD good luck getting everything straightened out.

Genny said...

Those "moments of weakness" can be beautiful though, can't they?

Rhea said...

I slipped too. We finally had both boys in their rooms and sleeping well in our new house...then the six year old got sick and slept with us a few nights...and he hasn't managed to get back to his bed since then (oh, a few months ago...ok, maybe more like 6). Oops.

Clare said...

Oh that is so hard!!! I love to take Bradley to visit family, but it is always so hard to change their routine. They are tired and out of sorts when you get home, and then it is so hard to get back to the normal schedule. Good Luck! Clare

Maternal Mirth said...

We go through this with our middle child. The best thing I can tell you is stay strong. And find out what he is bothered by ... fear? Loneliness? Then solve the underlying issue. There's no rush, no matter how old your child gets. They ARE still your baby :)

Jessica said...

My 2nd is a horrible night sleeper. She goes down just fine but is up still HUNGRY in the middle of the night and will be 9 mos. Crying it out hasn't worked. My older son would come into our bed at 4 of 5 am and sleep peacefully for another few hours...my daughter wants no cuddling, no snuggles...bottle, binky and bed. Kinda makes me sad. I sorta cherished the need to snuggle up to mommy!

KG said...

BWAHAHA - I still sleep with my son who is almost a year old . . . the reason why is what you stated. In other words, that you sleep really well when you allow it to happen! I mean - look - my choice is a half-assed night of sleep and a full day of chasing after him while hubby is in Iraq ahead . . . or just letting him get in bed and enjoying a blissful night? He can come on in for all I care. Who cares where he is as long as he's asleep!?

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