Goodnight Sweetheart...

If you havent been following along on our sleep journey with Griffin, you can catch up here. It has been an interesting 6 months of sleep, I must say. There was little sleep in the beginning because of pumping, then late night nursing sessions. But Griff got the hang of it and started sleeping long stretches at 6 weeks and just improved from there. Then around 4 months old, Griffin started waking several times a night, and everything went down hill from there.

I have no real clue what happened, but I do have some theories or ideas. I think that Griffin's reflux started acting up, then he got his 4 month shots and felt horrid for a few days, then Mr.Pate and I did not stay consistent but instead we started changing everything up. Griffin got confused and we sent him mixed signals. We stopped swaddling really suddenly and probably before he was ready. He moved him from his crib to the rock n play. We started holding him more. And he got used to it. The fact that he is a gassy reflux baby made things more difficult. We didnt want to just leave him crying because what if it was his stomach issues?? And sometimes it definitely was. But we got in the habit of feeding him a couple of times a night again, and I think that made his stomach stuff worse at night.

So fast forward to now. Is he sleeping? Not usually but sometimes. Here is what I have learned through this process:

• Babies sleep is a mystery. Some say more sleep brings more sleep. Some say really keep them up and exhaust them then they will sleep. Fill their tummies up with cereal and they will sleep.... etc. etc. We did these things to no avail. What I have learned is every baby is different.
• Consistency is of UTMOST importance. A bedtime routine is key to him getting drowsy and putting himself to sleep. Griff usually puts himself to sleep great. 
• People are really opinionated on the CIO thing. I dont care which way you believe, but it does annoy me how much non-CIO people harp on the damage even 5 minutes of crying can cause. Do their babies never cry for 5 minutes?? Because there are lots of times throughout our day where Griffin may cry for 5 minutes straight even though I am there tending to him (diaper change anyone? giving an infant medicine?). I have read so many articles that harped on how I am killing brain cells by letting him cry... newsflash- babies cry. Not just when they are trying to sleep either. 
• All the books are saying the same thing. Basically they give you a plan and want you to stick with it. Consistency. Thats the point. 
• The "No Cry" approaches really dont give you a plan or an approach. They basically tell you to comfort baby then put them back down, then do it again and again. Eventually your child will learn to sleep. Well thanks for that... I really thought he would do this till age 30! ha!
• I can function on very little sleep. 
• One day I will sleep again. 
• My son is soooo precious and most of the time I am taking the wee hours of the morning to truly savor him right now. I smell his hair and kiss his sweet cheek and listen to his cute breathing and thank my God for being so generous. For blessing me when I deserve a curse instead. Amazing Grace.