Good night sweet pea

As many parents know, getting your child to sleep through the night can be a challenge.  We’ve been pretty lucky in that, other than issues related to teething and reflux, Erin has pretty much slept through the night since she was just a few weeks old.

However, what I didn’t realize until Erin was months past this apparently magical cut-off of six months is that, according to all the sleep gurus, she was supposed to learn how to put herself to sleep without needing a bottle, to be held, or to be rocked. 

Well,  since I’m normally the one who puts Erin to bed, you can imagine my surprise and concern when I found this out at about 11 months.  Nobody had told me that before, and it sure as heck wasn’t in the manual.  (Come to think of it, I’m not even sure I got the manual.)  I mean, after all, what’s more natural than holding your baby until she slowly drifts off to sleep? 

However, apparently I was doing her some kind of disservice by not allowing her to figure out how to soothe herself and  fall asleep.  Even worse, by letting her have milk before bed, I was setting her up for more cavities.   However, at her one year visit Erin’s pediatrician assured us it was fine for Erin to use a bottle until she was 18 months. 

So, over the course of the next month, Erin and I gradually figured it out together along with the transition from bottle to cup.  It actually went quite smoothly. 

Erin had no problem switching from formula to milk and loved the taste right away, but wasn’t so sure about the whole cup thing.  It took her a few weeks to master sippy cups, and she definitely has her favorites, but now she’s a pro.  However, at night, she still refused her cup and cried for her bottle.  So, we took Dr. Grier’s advice and would brush her teeth after dinner, and then give her a bottle of water right before bed.  Although it was supposed to help wean her, it didn’t seem to work that well.  Erin loved the water and would often drink 9-12 ounces right before bed! 

However,  at the beginning of the week, I decided to give Erin milk and a snack  before bed, then brush her teeth, and then offer her water.  The first night, she seemed much less interested in the bottle of water.  So, the next night, I decided to try the sippy cup.  She literally read her book, took a few sips of water, pushed the cup away, and tried to lie down across me.  So, I put her in her crib and she was asleep within minutes.  I’ve repeated this same process for the entire week and it works.  Today, I packed up all of Erin’s bottles. 

While I am glad that Erin is able to put herself to sleep without her bottle, there are a few drawbacks.  First of all, I don’t get to hold her and rock her as long as I used to, which is a little tough.  More concerning however is that in order to self-soothe, Erin has started sucking her fingers.  While I hope this is only temporary since Erin is currently cutting three or four teeth, it is in her genetics to be a thumb-sucker.