8.13.2009

I've made a huge mistake...


Can someone tell me if this is the reason that George is a party animal at night when he used to be such a good sleeper? I fear I have untrained my baby to sleep because he now wants nothing less than being sung to sleep in our bed! Anyone have any ideas?

15 comments:

David said...

i have an idea.
what's the going rate for babies at the gypsy market?

when i was little i was always threatened that my misbehavior would be punished by being sold to the gypsies. i think i straightened right up.

Johnny said...

I would get that kid out of my bed quick or I would get a nice futon. My sister made that mistake and she ended up on the futon for a few years while her daughter slept with dad. Eventually they had to put her bed in their room. I think by the time she was 5 or 6 they got her into her own room. A lot more people than you realize have a "family bed" because they started off innocently with a baby in their bed like you are now.

George will get used to whatever routine you do but he will get much more upset about changing it when he is 2 or 3 than he will now.

Lemonzest said...

Go back in time?

Matt and Jennae Porter said...

Eek! No suggestions! Good luck Ashley and let us know what you decide to do!

Blythe said...

The younger three kids all slept in our bed for a couple of years. Abigail and Duncan both had to be sung to sleep for awhile.

Those years are shorter than you know, and in the scheme of things it's nothing.

PS: All the kids sleep in their own beds, and none of them needs to be sung to sleep anymore. And it was actually relatively easy to make a transition at 2-3. Naturally, your mileage may vary, but I'm nothing if not the voice of experience on this one.

Unknown said...

ha, ha! I think the gypsy threat will work just about as well as me offering Lane one MILLION dollars if she would just go to sleep. I still am holding on to those millions. Great photo! We just had to do a sleep training extravaganza for a few rough weeks and then it got better. Good luck! I said a prayer for you guys last night!

Dawn D. Lion said...

We do family bed too. I never believed in the "its a rough world, baby, buck up!" school, when people talk about sleep training that's what I picture. Sorry! There's different schools and I guess I am in a different one.
Maxine moved to her own bed around age two. The first few months her bad was next to ours as a transition, then it moved to her own room. Every once in awhile needing to be back in my bed. (For example, the only time this year was a couple of weeks ago, when I thought reading Coraline was a good idea. She was so scared come bedtime that she slept with me that night.)
I agree with Blythe, it goes by fast. I think its sweet that he wants to be sung to sleep. That's not such a bad (or unusual) bedtime routine.

Dawn D. Lion said...

I also want to add that while I think family bed is good for baby's security, I also get MUCH more sleep this way. I personally don't have to wake up to breastfeed, and I like that. I have friends who are different sleepers and got no sleep with babies in their beds. So it depends on your needs, too.

David said...

i think it should be clarified... george isn't sleeping in our bed.

rather, the routine kind of goes like this:

6:30-8:00 pm - george to his own bed

12-2:00 pm - george wakes up, ashley gets up, feeds him and then transitions into his bedroom (where he has his own bed and a double) and ashley spends the next torturous 8 hours sleeping/feeding/going insane.

of course there are variations of this and all nights aren't bad. but that's more or less how it goes.

we did an interesting social experiment last night that worked incredibly well.

maybe i'll blog about it tomorrow if we can recreate the results.

Fee_dizzle said...

Well we dont have problems ever sorry david maybe you could be perfect like our family? Ok Leeaira sleeps in our bed as well somtimes i say cares. This is the time where they really need you but if all goes wrong then yes sell him to the gypsies

Mik'L said...

we let myler cry it out for three nights early on and he has slept awesome almost every night since. as long as his tummy is full when we put him down, he goes to sleep on his own and sleeps for usually 8-9 hours. it was hard those few nights, but i think a baby needs their sleep just as much as an adult. he is such a happy baby all day. it's worth it!

ashley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ashley said...

I should also clarify that I don't mind singing George to sleep-- in fact I love to do it! I just get anxious that he might not be able to sleep if others try and get him to sleep-- in the event that David and I want to go out -- which actually isn't often, but occasionally really nice.

Fee_dizzle said...

PS. that's a nice bed you got there no wonder he loves sleeping in it

Karolyn said...

I think singing is fine. Maybe you could tape record your voice. Would that be creepy to play when the babysitter comes? I do love the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. It changed my life.