We're currently trying to get a more regular sleeping schedule going. Actually the baby sleeps really well at night, and has since he was 6 or 7 weeks old. Most nights he is sleeping from 8pm to 7(-ish)am, with me waking him up once at 10pm for a late feeding. He usually goes right back to sleep after that. So nighttime is really great, most of the time. However, he is not a good daytime napper, which we need to work on because he gets really tired and fussy but has a hard time going down. We do all the usual tricks: swaddling, white noise, dark room, nursing, pacifier, etc., but while he will usually go to sleep, he won't stay asleep more than 20-30 minutes. That's not long enough for him to get good rest. I've read Baby Wise and The No Cry Sleep Solution, two books that are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. The no-cry book is a lot closer to my parenting style, and is pretty much how we were already doing things. I must say, however, that I did find helpful suggestions in both books, and there were also things in both that aren't for me.
The no-cry book is very supportive (encouraging?) of co-sleeping. That's something I never thought I'd do, but we did for several weeks in the beginning. It made nighttime nursing much easier, and was peace of mind for us. We had a sleeper in the middle so it wouldn't have been possible to roll onto the baby or anything like that. I felt like I slept better because I could hear him breathing and look right at him and see that he was okay. At about 7 weeks we moved him into the bassinet by the bed, and about a week or so ago, he finally graduated to his crib. We eventually moved him because he was waking us up by stirring in his sleep, and we were doing the same to him. I think we're all sleeping better now.
Baby Wise is much more strict about scheduling and letting the baby cry. I have found that I may have been rushing in too soon sometimes when he'd fuss after I put him down. Trying out a suggestion from the book, I tried to give it a little longer and see if he'd settle, and it really has worked. I only do that when he is fussing mildly. After a few minutes, I'll go back in and try to soothe him and give him the pacifier. Also, if he is really crying, I go get him. I don't have the nerve to let him scream. It makes me too sad.
The hardest part of having a baby right now is keeping up my energy. I have to be *ON* all day from the time I wake up until I put him to bed. Holding, soothing, entertaining, feeding, changing, bathing, etc., etc., etc.! You don't get a chance to just sit down for a minute, especially when he doesn't nap very well. And at night I just collapse, then wake up and do it all again. It is blindingly perpetual. I can imagine it only gets more intense with a toddler since they are walking/crawling and you have to keep them safe and keep them from getting into everything. From where I stand now, it boggles my mind that people are able to keep up with more than one! Still, it is much more enjoyable than in the beginning, because now he is smiling at us a lot, and babbling, and really interacting with us. That is the wonderful part of it, and it makes this crazy lifestyle seem more manageable.
