Baby Sleeping, Sleeping Baby

Last week I decided to purposefully stop getting up in the middle of the night to feed Ruthie while she was asleep and see what would happen. The result? Ruthie slept through the night from 9pm to 7am. Since Ruthie was over five months old and possessed enough fat on her, I resisted the urge to get up and let the girl sleep. I had been nursing Ruthie at least one or more times at night since she was two weeks old. People would look at me crazy when I would tell them I fed Ruthie while she was asleep. "Doesn't she wake up?" people would ask. Quite the contrary. All I would do is gently lift sleeping Ruth up, get her into position and she would contentedly "dream feed." After nursing was over, I would gently lay her down and watch her smack her lips a couple of times and sigh before breathing rhythmically in a continued state of deep sleep.

Due to research, I've learned that young babies can get dehydrated if they sleep through the night without eating. This comes to light when the first diaper change in the morning yields no "presents."

Feeding Ruthie throughout the night had kept me from "hurting" and also was an effective way to prevent my cycles from resuming, therefore remaining infertile, which was a plus for Lawson and I. Since we were not using birth control, shots or devices to keep from getting pregnant, maintaining my nursing relationship with Ruthie was essential to hold fertility at bay. I had a personal goal of maintaining infertility for up to a year. Unfortunately, due to missing some feedings with Ruth, my fertility was trying to come back five months post baby. After discussing this with my mother, I learned that her cycles resumed at about five months also. Perhaps genetics has something to do with it.

Don't get me wrong, keeping a record of my body's physical signs on a daily basis is still essential to see what is going on with my body and work with it to continue preventing pregnancy even after cycles have resumed post baby.

Now that little Ruthie is sleeping for longer periods at night, I am a bit sad knowing my girlie is growing up and not so little anymore but I'm also beginning to recall what it is like to have uninterrupted sleep with very little need to nap during the day! Ruthie, on the other hand, needs at least four hours of napping daily in order to have restful sleep at night and not turn into a monster. During my little girl's sleeping breaks (one in the mornings and one during the afternoons), I have learned to make the most of the time by getting things accomplished on my "to do list."

My child's sleeping schedule has helped me be more organized which has been a very good thing!