Last Thursday we got Liam's new bed all set up and talked about how awesome it was that he finally had his own big boy bed to sleep in. He jumped all over the mattress and pointed out all the pillows. He brought books over and we read. I tried to make sure we spent a good amount of time in his room so that Liam would understand that his bedroom is a fun, safe place for him to be in.
So how did this week go? Honestly, it felt very similar to him sleeping in our bed. The good news is that he spent every night in his bed, but the bad news is that so did we! There were nights that seemed better than others but as the week progressed it seemed like Liam's nighttime wakings became more and more frequent (not to mention closer together). It also didn't help that as the nights went by, I could tell that Liam was beginning to get sick. Last night he had a fever and I never got a chance to change out of my clothes and into my pjs before joining him for the night...fun! I will say that apart from last night (which was crazy difficult), I've noticed that I am having more difficulty falling asleep without Liam next to me. I didn't really expect this reaction. I find myself just laying in bed, waiting to hear him cry for me...then I start having conversations with myself like,
"shhhh! your thoughts will wake him up and you don't want that, right? right. oh man...I wonder if he knows i'm thinking about him? no, that's crazy!....this is crazy, I should be asleep right now...*hears Liam start to cry*...crap! I knew he could hear my thoughts"
Yeah it's been weird, but not to worry because we have a new game plan for next week! We have decided that in order to help Liam sleep through the night I am going to begin night weaning. He really doesn't need to nurse at night and if I stick to my guns he'll eventually just pass out once I lay down with him. I think he's giving me the signal that all he really wants is to be comforted, not necessarily nursed, so I figured now is the perfect time to try night weaning. Plus now he's actually asking for water at night! That seems promising ^___^!
Of course this will be difficult since he's getting over yet another stupid cold. This one is particularly awful because his nose is all stuffed up and yet constantly running!? Okay so what's the plan? This is!:
Get Liam into his PJS and read a story (or 7). Talk to him about how he can nurse for bedtime but then "Ni" (as Liam calls it) will be going to bed also and that he can have "Ni" in the morning. Then hopefully Liam will be asleep soon after! David and I will continue taking turns comforting Liam back down to sleep when he wakes up and then return to bed. We expect this to be rough and know that Liam isn't going to be too jazzed about the whole "no ni" situation, but I think once he realizes that he can still nurse during the day, and that he is still getting all the cuddles and love he needs at night, things will start to turn around and he'll start sleeping longer on his own.
From what I've read, night weaning can really help kiddos at this age (around 21-22 months) get more sleep, not to mention allow parents to get the sleep they need also! Here's hoping next week goes well!
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