Sleep Tight

Sleep deprivation is the reality for most parents.  After labor and delivery - which is sometimes 12 to 24 hours - your new baby needs to eat every 2-3 hours - I know I'm not the only mother who was certain she would never sleep again!

I remember there was a period of time with my first born that I was convinced I would NEVER sleep more than 3 consecutive hours for the rest of my life! 

Looking back at that period of new motherhood - it was such a short time and flew by quickly!  Before both of my children were 8 weeks old, they were consistently sleeping through the night.

Experts will tell you that it takes longer for breast fed babies to sleep through the night than formula fed babies.  I exclusively breast fed both of my children - they slept through the night before many formula fed babies I know!

I knew I wanted to breastfeed my children - the health benefits to babies and cost savings was enough to convince me.  I also knew I had to work full-time too. 

On-demand feeding, according to an article on Baby Center, is feeding your baby when he or she shows cues that they are hungry.  Schedule feeding is how it sounds, you feed your baby at determined intervals.  There are pros and cons to each of the methods - when I was becoming a mom both methods made sense to me for differing reasons.

What is the connection between feeding methods and sleeping?  How did I get my children to sleep through the night so quickly?  Have they continued to sleep through the night?

I chose the Baby Wise method of feeding my children - it appeared to me to be a great hybrid between on-demand and scheduled feedings - the Baby Wise method includes Parent Directed Feedings (PDF).

The basics of PDF for a new born are this:

• Feed your baby at intervals of 2-3 hours during the day (as they provide hunger cues)
• After day time feedings, keep your baby awake for 30-60 minutes after the feeding
• Before bed, feed the baby in a dark, quiet room and put them to bed immediately following the feeding
• When the baby wakes to eat during the night, feed the baby in the dark and put them back in bed after eating

As the baby grows, the length of time between feedings increases. 

Utilizing the PDF method worked for both of my children and we are living proof of the Baby Wise claims that your child will sleep through the night sooner and develop good sleeping habits for life.  While I cannot predict the future, for the time being my 2 1/2 year old and 9 month old both sleep all night every night - and if I had it to do again, I would definitely use the PDF method again!