Sleep Snuggler

The sleep saga continues...

A few weeks ago I went to a La Leche (breastfeeding) meeting and they were aghast at the fact that I nurse sitting up at night. I tried nursing lying down when Blaise was just home from the hospital, but I could never get it to work comfortably for both of us. At night when he wakes up, I pick him up and go into the next room and sit on the couch. In the early months, I needed around 60 minutes to get him nursed on both sides, burped and changed. Now I need approximately 10 minutes, so it isn't such an ordeal. Anyway, I was willing to try nursing lying down again, thinking this would make my night more restful. They were proponents of co-sleeping, which I am not actually opposed to, but I don't want Blaise to get into the habit of sleeping in our bed and then NOT sleeping in his. But, I did try it for one of the feedings at night and it seemed to work well and then the next time he was hungry, I just rolled him over. Here's the breakdown:

Our routine looks something like this:

Go to Sleep: Somewhere between 6 and 7 in crib

Wake up for first feeding: Somewhere between 9:30-10:20, back to crib

Wake up for second feeding: Somewhere between 1-2:something
After this feeding Blaise is SUPER cuddly! I put him back into bed and he reaches up for me. Yes, I am a major sucker. I pick him up and cuddle. We even started lying in bed after nursing or on the couch and cuddling until the next feeding. I know this is a bad habit, but I LOVE IT! He is so sweet, he plays with my hair and gives me hugs! Major Mommy Joy! I blame the La Leche people for suggesting co-sleeping :)

Wake for third feeding sometime after 5am and go back to sleep in crib until 6-6:30.

Okay, so after a few nights of the sleep snuggling, I decided as much as I was loving the cuddles, both of us weren't getting the best sleep. I also didn't want him to become accustomed to always having me there in the middle of the night. We're back to only sleeping in crib, but after nursing lying down. I miss the snuggles, but I'm enjoying the better sleep!

It is also worth mentioning that Blaise had an almost 6 hour stretch last night - from 9:40ish to 3:20! I went to bed at 10, so I really capitalized on that one! I don't really feel much different though, not that I feel bad, I think my body has actually adjusted quite well.

Also, I have gotten the question more than once about letting him fuss at night before I go get him. I do let him fuss, but only to a certain extent. Once he starts crying (he makes this "Mommy, come get me now" sound after awhile), I go get him. I mentioned before that he scratches a lot and he does this while nursing and at night. So, I don't really want to leave him there to scratch his eyes out. I have some pictures, he really did a number on his ear about a week ago and his forehead also hasn't made it through unscathed either. I mentioned it to the doctor and he wasn't concerned. I think it's something like a tick - I've read about babies pulling their hair out while nursing - at least it isn't that bad.