STTN & Noodles

If you're an internet mommy, then you already know from the title that we SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! Although this wasn't the first time, it was the first time without a family event to wear our boys out and make them extra sleepy. Last night, at 10 weeks old, and with absolutely no special circumstances, our babies went to bed at 8:30 and we didn't hear a peep out of them until 6:00 this morning.

In the past week or so, they've dropped a feeding at night so I had hopes that this might be on the horizon but up until last night they've still been waking around 3:00 AM for a meal. Nate and Seth must have me pretty well trained since I woke up at 3:00 anyway and laid there for awhile waiting for the monitor to alert me to waking babies, but it remained silent.

Of course, I spent the next 30 minutes worrying until I fell back asleep – but since I didn't want to wake my babies up by checking on them, I let them be. I'm looking forward to getting used to all this quiet at night and want to encourage it, not sabotage things, after all. Besides, I'm a mommy now – I'm supposed to worry. It's (one of) my (many) job(s)*.

As for those noodles I mentioned, if you have babies and don't already own Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block – run, don't walk, and pick up a copy straight away. It's available in book form or DVD – we ordered both! – and it's a godsend if you have a fussy baby. If you already have fairly calm babies like we were lucky enough to be blessed with, Dr. Karp's techniques will turn your wee ones into noodles. Fully cooked, limp, noodly noodles. Trust me.

We bought the series (including the Soothing Sounds CD) because I'd read the techniques also encourage babies to sleep longer without the need for "sleep training" – both a term and a style I'm not comfortable using. HBOTB techniques center around the 5 S's: Swaddling, Side/Stomach laying, Shhh-ing, Swinging and Sucking – all of which are very adaptable. Parents can use one, some, or all of the tools to help soothe their little ones – at the core, it's really about whatever works best for your baby.

We were already swaddling, using pacifiers (sucking) and doing our own versions of shhh-ing (although we've adopted the Dr. Karp style – it works better!), but side/stomach laying and swinging were somewhat new to us. Swinging means anything from swinging in a baby swing, to rocking, to gently jiggling your baby. I usually rock them in their bouncy seats, but M. has a wonderful style (that I can't seem to master) of jiggling a baby in a side-laying position on his knee. It turns both our babies into noodles every time, and especially at bedtime.

M. had Seth on his knee last night when I said, "That looks like a noodle baby there – should I put him to bed?". M. considered it for a second and replied, "Nah – he's still al dente – better give him another minute." Of course, after the awesome sleep we all had last night, I'm glad I did. : )

- L.

*All of which are easier to do when one is properly rested. Thank you my sweet, noodly, sleepy babies! : )