waking not sleeping

high up on the list of small talk questions everyone asks new parents because they don’t know what else to talk about is, “is your baby sleeping through the night?”

for a while, the answer was unequivocally, YES!

well, mostly. at the behest of our sleep-training-obsessed pediatrician, we had started some rudimentary steps at sleep training even before snapper had hit three months. most of which we didn’t think would actually work, and when it did, we were AMAZED. things like putting her down when she’s a little drowsy but not actually sleeping so she could fall asleep on her own. and moving her to her own room and crib and out of the bed. through gentle persistence, we had got it down so that she would sleep for at least 6-7 hours every night, between midnight and 6am, which coincidentally are hmc’s favorite sleeping hours. man, i tell you, once you stop having to get up at 3am, your life becomes SO much better.

alas.

at our 3 month doctor’s appointment, our sleep-training-obsessed pediatrician warned us that 1. it was going to get worse again before it got better, and 2. we should stop swaddling her, as it’s a crutch that will be easier to break now than at 6 months.

dutifully (naively) we stopped the swaddles, and started establishing a 7:30ish bed time. [although really: how are we supposed to all go out to the movies?! none of this is very activity-conducive.] suddenly we were back her her waking up at 3 or 4, flailing her arms about, and we were dragging ourselves in there to repacify, repacify, repacify.

after a week of that, she actually seemed to be ok with it, so maybe we’re in the clear?

then comes XMAS.

i don’t know if it’s because we’ve all been out more during her new bedtime during the holidays, that we’re sleeping away from home, or if it’s just too cold here where we’re staying, but suddenly it’s like we’re back to square one: constant fussing, short short sleeps, and waking up to cry or feed every three hours. it’s like the first couple of weeks again.

at least we haven’t resorted to the zacky infant pillow yet.

You know the drill. You’re putting your little one in his crib. He’s asleep - or ALMOST asleep - and you’re gently stroking his stomach or patting his bottom. You slowly stroke his tummy with your hand and rest your hand gently on his body until you feel the gentle breathing of him sleeping…Then…you move your hand ever so slightly, trying to move as slowly as possible so that you don’t wake your sleeping angel, and suddenly - no matter how slowly or carefully you move — wail!!! He wakes up…

If you’ve ever wished for a “hand” to leave behind so that your baby would feel as if you’ve never left the room, your prayers have been answered with the Zaky.

The Zaky is an ergonomic infant pillow designed by a mom to mimic the size, weight, touch, and feel of her hand and forearm to help her baby with comfort, support, protection, and development. The Zaky can help calm your baby and help your baby sleep better through the night.