Our Perfect Sleeper

Joel has been a near perfect sleeper since we brought him home from the hospital. It took a few days of adjusting to life outside the womb at the hospital but once home he slept beautifully. I think he must know that his mommy likes her sleep and is NOT a night owl.

The first night we were home with him we got ready for bed while he snuggled with grandma Debbie. Then I did one last feeding in the rocking chair and we laid him down in his adorable bassinet next to Phil's side of the bed. He fussed for a few minutes and then drifted off to sleep as did Phil and I. We woke a half hour later to Joel fussing (or screaming) again. After several hours of waking up each time we laid him down or shortly their after I took him in to the nursery to rock him. There was no use in both of us being up. Once he was in a deep sleep I decided to lay him down in his crib and he stayed there for almost 3 hours, fast asleep. It was perfect. From that moment on he slept in his own room, in his own crib!

His "routine" for the first month and a half of his life has gone like this:
10-11pm - last feeding, to bed
1am-3am - awake, change diaper, feed, back to sleep
5am - 6am - awake, change diaper, feed, back to sleep
7:30 am - 9am - awake for the day

Aside from 2 to 3 rare nights (mostly when he was sick) I have never had to feed him more than twice in a night. I am not sure what I did to deserve such a wonderfully happy sleepy baby but I am forever grateful.

Last night we had a first, Joel slept through the night!!!! We have started moving his bed time up sooner, between 7pm and 9pm, depending on how the day goes. An earlier night time is said to help babies sleep longer. I thought that was always a load of crapola, until I read the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. Now though I think they are right. An earlier bed time allows your baby to drift to sleep peacefully and not get upset or overtired. It is hard to do when they are little. We enjoyed having Joel sleep in our arms or on his daddy's chest each night while we watched TV together or chatted as a family. But once 6 weeks hit I felt it was important to start having Joel nap and sleep in his crib and start to establish somewhat of a bedtime routine. Because of our busy evening schedule, due to church activities, we don't always have Joel in bed at the same time, but we strive to get him in to bed by 9pm at the latest.

Last night he napped outside in the stroller from 7pm-7:30pm while we worked planting our onions and leeks in the garden. Once we were inside I was sure that his early bedtime would be foiled since he took such a late nap but I decided to try for it anyway. I washed his hands and face, changed his diaper and put his pajamas on. After a quick story and a feeding he was in bed by 9pm. He fussed about 10 minutes later, and Phil ran up and put his pacifier back in his mouth and that was the last time we heard him until 5:45 this morning.

It was a glorious 7 hours of straight sleep for this mommy and I hope that it continues. I am however not keeping my fingers crossed but even if it only happens once a month for a bit I will be happy!

Here are some pictures of our sweet boy doing his favorite thing :: SLEEPING