Latest googling has revealed the delights of the 8-10 month sleep regression. Hang on a minute! Haven't we already done the sleep regression thing? Surely it can't get any worse?
Why I think I am ever safe when it comes to sleep and babies, I will never know! After a month of consecutive colds and teething, I'll admit we have gone a bit soft. I have fed our little one to sleep quite often and my husband has veered back into rocking territory. So not only have we sabotaged ourselves somewhat, we now have this second wave of sleep regression on the horizon. Not only that, but our baby's napping schedule has started to change again and all the neat timings he had settled into have gone haywire again.
I can't imagine what another sleep regression could mean for us. Our son still wakes 3-5 times per night - I don't think I could take any more wakings! What does seem to be happening is that falling asleep in the first place is becoming more difficult again. Sh-ing and patting etc are too stimulating for him. His favourite go-to-sleep songs, Moonshadow and Three Little Birds have lost their charm. I have had a rough few days of lots of crying and have been losing my confidence when it comes to bedtimes.
Fortunately last night a little chink of light emerged. With the gods on my side, I managed to settle my little man to sleep in his cot with nothing more than a calming story and counting 'go-to-sleep 1, go-to-sleep 2' etc. He zoned into the counting and fell asleep beautifully. Unfortunately it only lasted through one sleep cycle - 40 minutes - but the same routine of counting soon settled him back down for another couple of hours.
This has given me hope but it hasn't solved anything. Sleep is an ongoing agenda in our household. It is very difficult to maintain any sort of pattern because he changes things up so frequently.
The principles I will continue to live by, however, are that he needs to have as many opportunities as possible to fall asleep whilst lying in his cot and that for the moment, until solids are better established, he needs those breastfeeds. I weighed him today and he is still on track with his weight gain, which is a relief.
So if there is another sleep regression, we will just ride it out. Like we've ridden out everything that has gone before. I don't believe that there is a one-size fits all solution to sleep or anything baby related!
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