Photo by Chunky Monkey Photography

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Cosleeping and Nighttime Nursing... a change in parenting styles?

My first didn't get nursed for long because of a problem we were having. He also slept through the night really early in his own room without being left to "cry it out." My second nursed for a few months and was supplemented after a couple of months and wouldn't dare sleep through the night without being held by a parent while sitting up for 3 or 4 months but was definitely sleeping through the night in his own room by 6 months or so. There may have been a little crying involved there but not much. My second nursed like a champ for 13 months but was sleeping through the night in his own room by about 3 months. All 3 of them have slept in their own beds and through the night consistently once they started until #2 and #3 were at about 2 years old and started waking to get in bed with me. Both of them started this up during major life changes (moving homes for #2 and new baby in the house for #3) but it's all been smoothed back out.. mostly. Then there's Kash, #4. He is 9 months old. He slept through the night for about a month when he was 3 or 4 months old. But that was short lived and he is nursing throughout the night... at least once but usually twice and sometimes more often... every night now. He starts the night off in his bed at the foot of our bed and the first time he wakes up he gets to stay in our bed the rest of the night. If he is sleeping soundly I do sometimes move him back to his bed. I have 'wanted' to get him back to sleeping through the night but mainly because I have felt like he is 'suppose' to be since his brothers did... and since he has before. But really, I enjoy all the extra cuddling and as long as he is in bed with me his desire to nurse during the night doesn't really keep me from sleep. It's funny how your outlook on parenting styles can change (did I mention I started cloth diapering with the last two also?) I am really enjoying this last little blessing and my new parenting "style"... maybe because I know he's our last, maybe because of how traumatic his entry into this world was, or maybe I feel the need to keep him closer because of his rocky first week of life... Either way this little guy has helped me to appreciate them all more, to want to hold them all closer for longer, and keep them all little for a while longer...

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