Update on sleep

It's been almost a month since we started working on Isaac's sleep. In comparison to how it used to be, Isaac is doing great.

We now start bedtime at about 6:30. It always starts with the bath. Now, it's not just any bath: it's bath-theater. Josh usually plays his ukulele and sings to us (typical songs are "You don't have to be a prostitute" and "Carol Brown" by Flight of the Concords and the Police song "So Loney"). I'm in the bathtub with Isaac and wash him with a washcloth but also splash his feet around and move him around in the water. Once we've had enough (it's usually Isaac who makes the decision), we get him into a disposable diaper (he wears cloth during the day) and his pajamas.

His white noise (a wave song from iTunes repeated a hundred times in a playlist) and the cold-air humidifier get turned on and I grab his lovey (a blanket with a bear head) and drape it over my shoulder. Josh says "good-night" and then I nurse Isaac alone on the guest bed. I watch him very closely while he's finishing and wait for his little jaw to stop moving. Once he's done and almost asleep (but not asleep) I pick him up and sing the first part of"Waters of Babylon". Then I place him in his crib with his lovey (now smelling of me) in his hand.

Sometimes he cries or talks to himself. Sometimes he falls right asleep.

Then a couple of hours later, he cries for a few minutes, but puts himself to sleep. I nurse him at 1 AM (I set my alarm) and then all bets are off after that. Lately, I have been nursing him when he wakes up again in the 3's and the 5's. If I nurse him at 5ish, he'll sleep until 7:20--allowing me and Josh to shower and get dressed.

I'm tired a lot lately, but recognize I am getting a lot of sleep compared to many other new parents. I recognize that if we could drop just the 3AM feeding, I'd be a lot more rested.