This parenting thing is no joke. It's not easy either. It's actually really frustrating at times. I think I'm partly to blame for this - I think that if I research enough and try hard enough, I will have this perfect baby, that sleeps through the night and takes perfect naps. Babies aren't like other things in life though that respond to all of our efforts. They're just babies, and they don't always make sense.
There are two questions that I get asked often by well-intentioned people, but they drive me crazy:
1. Is your baby sleeping through the night?
2. When are you going back to work?
The sleep question drives me crazy. Do babies actually sleep though the night? I think this is an evil myth. I imagine I will get a full night's rest again when Risden is in High School, or at least college. I thought that if I read the right books and followed the ten steps, I would be well on my way to a sleep-trained baby by now (especially when numerous people tell me how their babies have been sleeping through the night since they were like...born). The reality is though, as I am learning, babies cannot realistically be "sleep-trained" until 3-4 months at the earliest. And the people who say their babies are sleeping through the night are probably lying, or exaggerating. Judd just found this excerpt from a sleep article and I find immense comfort in knowing I am not a failure:
"An important fact for you to remember is that your baby's sleep habits are more a reflection of your baby's temperament rather than your style of nighttime parenting. And keep in mind that other parents usually exaggerate how long their baby sleeps, as if this were a badge of good parenting, which it isn't. It's not your fault baby wakes up." -8 Infant Sleep Facts
Right now Risden goes to sleep between 5-6pm, wakes around 10pm to eat and again at 2:30. After 2:30 it's somewhat of a toss-up and recently he has been crying for food after an hour. At this point I offer him the pacifier which sustains him for another hour or so when I feed him again. We're lucky if we get a 3 hour stretch after 2:30am unfortunately. I do think it is possible he is going through his 3-month growth-spurt right now and is especially hungry. Although I do not expect to be sleeping through the night anytime soon, I am hopeful we will see some improvement over the next few weeks. If you are reading this and are pregnant, seriously, get as much sleep now as you can. If you are reading this and do not have kids, enjoy a full night of rest, for me.
Now to question number two. Actually, I will get to that in another post. This writing has contained enough ranting for now. Thank you for hearing me out. And no, Risden is not sleeping through the night. :)
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