The Sleep Chronicles : The One Where Steve is a Hero

Without a doubt, getting Claire to sleep has been one of the biggest issues I’ve struggled with since her birth. It even bumps out breastfeeding from the top spot. I can’t say that she’s a terrible sleeper because she’s been sleeping through the night since November, and before that had a predictable night-time sleep pattern.
No, once she’s asleep she’s an angel.
It’s getting her to sleep that has been the nightmare. Getting her to sleep was a production every single time, and because of this drama, naps were almost non-existent. Adding up the amount of sleep she was getting in a 24 hour period always made me feel like an utter failure. I knew she was not getting anywhere near enough sleep and it was more than a little frustrating for me, especially considering how easy it was to establish a routine with Callum. The inability to get her to nap was the one perk about going back to work, at least on the days I work it became Mom’s problem.
I had tried everything, or so I thought. I had moved up the bedtime, I had nursed her in her room in the dark, I had rocked her and walked her and sang her lullabyes. I had left her in her crib to scream. I had stood over her crib and soothed her. I had sat beside her crib and just stared at the wall while she reached through the crib for me, screaming. All of this was to no avail because the minute I tried to put her down, or leave, she’d just start all over again. She had to be completely drained and exhausted before she would finally, finally fall asleep. This was often close to 10 pm, or even later. At naptime I would often give up. Claire isn’t my only child, I couldn’t spend hours trying to get her to sleep and still watch, feed and play with Callum.
Enter Steve.
Steve bought Callum a cd player for his first Christmas, so he did the same for Claire this year, while I picked up a couple of generic lullabye cds for her stocking. When Steve puts Callum to bed he will often put on a cd before leaving the room. This is not something I do at all. I actually think that music interrupts sleep and instead will turn on Callum’s mobile since it only lasts about 1 minutes and stops.
Claire doesn’t have a mobile, and the two crib accessories she does have I don’t like because they have lights. When you turn them on, she perks right up and thinks it’s playtime.
The other day Steve came down after being forced to deal with Claire and mentioned that he had turned on the cd and it really seemed to help. I mentioned this to my Mom who said that singing is what she does to calm Claire down, too, and she felt that the music would keep her company and help her sleep. I knew that singing to her calmed her down. Singing to ANY baby tends to calm them down, but I really wasn’t convinced that leaving a cd player on in the room of a very light sleeper was a good approach.
Well, I was wrong. Very, very, very wrong.
On Thursday Claire had 2 naps, that were two hours. TWO, TWO HOUR NAPS. And she went to sleep with little fanfare. There was still rocking, but I could put her down, she woke up, then went straight back to sleep. Just like that.
Maybe it was the music? Or maybe it was fact that her Uncle Raj was here and she was just showing off?
Actually, I’ve put her down for every nap, and every bedtime since the beginning of the week with little fanfare. Today’s afternoon nap has been the only glitch so far, and that? That is something I can deal with and keep my sanity.
I think it’s actually more than just the music, though. I think it has been a combination of things that all came together, including putting her to sleep on her stomach, putting her down on this super soft blanket my Grandma bought her, and then throwing this super soft blanket my friend Cindy made her for Christmas on top. I think the coziness of the blankets soothes her. These blankets are ultra-soft.
And I think we have to give some credit to time. I think Claire’s come into her own sleep-wise. Callum’s time was just different, and sooner. Sometimes I forget that they are individual people with different needs and differt personalities and even though the experts say one thing or another, the ultimate decision comes down to this little creature. This little creature who really doesn’t care how I feel about it or what I think should happen.

Of course, that’ll change when I beat it into her that I’m the boss.