Finally...SLEEP!

It has been a long nine months, Luke Fork. For you and for us. We thought sleep would come easier with baby #3 because we had things figured out by now (nope), because we used no sleeping crutches for you (like the paci), and because you are supposed to be the easy third baby (you are in other ways but not in the sleeping way).

Last week (a few days before he turned 10 months old) for the first time since he was born, he slept 11 straight hours. It felt like a miracle. Maybe it was a miracle because he didn't do it again the next night. Sigh. But he is consistently sleeping 7 or 8 hours stretches at a time now which is a huge improvement. He is also putting himself back to sleep (sometimes) which is a new and wonderful thing.

After almost a year of sleepless nights and tired days, I think we might finally have this thing figured out.

Brian and Dr. Gessner actually figured it out...get rid of that 9 p.m. feeding. I had been putting Luke to sleep around 6:30 p.m. every night and then about three hours later he would wake up to eat. I would feed him because I was still awake and because I thought I was filling his tummy so he would sleep longer at night. Wrong! Apparently, this feeding set up the expectation to be fed later in the night when he woke up and stirred naturally.

So after trying to sleep train Luke on and off for about a month by letting him cry it out, we realized that things were not getting any better and called the doctor. Turns out I was probably just confusing him instead of training him to be a good sleeper. I am so hopeful that those painful nights of him crying (for HOURS) are past us with this new plan.

One of these days you will see me, and I will look well rested and bright-eyed and you will know that the new sleep strategy worked. I am praying that day comes very soon!