I was thinking about the sleep we've had (or rather not had) since Jacob was born. He's a terrible sleeper who wakes often & even fidgets like crazy while he sleeps.We've been given lots of advice, but the only thing that we thought may work was when we moved him from his cot to a bed, he slept through the 1st night, then the 2nd & indeed for a full week we thought we'd cracked it. But 1 week was it & then back to normal.
Here's some of the advice others wisely shared yet failed to work:
~ "Keep him up later"
We used to put him to bed at 7pm, which was a bit early, so following this advice we keep him up later. For the first few weeks of this you'd go to the kitchen, walk back to the sitting room & he'd be flat out on the floor, but if you lifted him he woke as though it were midday & he wanted to play.
~ "Don't let him sleep late in the day"
We didn't need to follow this because generally Jacob sleeps for 40-60 mins in the morning & then is bombing around the rest of the day.
~"When he goes to sleep put a large teddy beside him to make him think it's you."
Plainly, & I'm not sure why, but the intellect of this little dude excelled this deceit & it doesn't work.
~ "Leave him crying" (controlled crying method)
Again, we tried this but there's only so many hours of the yelling getting louder that one can take.
~ "Pray"
Honestly, a wise friend told me that I needed to pray about this & that Jacob would start sleeping. Well, without being too rude, (because I do believe in the power of prayer,) I have been praying for Jacob to sleep every night since he was born, but it seems that God has something else in mind as our sleep continues to get broken!
(My Charismatic friend probably reckons I just don't have the faith)
~ "Chloroform"
Though a good idea & I would seriously consider it. It is unfortunately unavailable in the chemist & against the law (but thanks for the suggestion Tim, I know you have the same problem, multiplied by 3).
~ "Lavender"
We put this in his bath for a while & I've even been guilty of putting it in his room, but it doesn't work. He still wakes every few hours!
~ "A herbal mix developed by a Dr. in South of Ireland"
Though I was unconscious for about 10 hours after taking this it had no affect on Jacob. (& yes it is purely herbal & OK to give to children).
~ "Feed him more & make sure he's full"
Yep, another idea that we tried, but one that failed miserably as he squirmed all night because his belly probably felt like exploding.
~ "Feed him less, perhaps he's too full."
Again this failed with the result that he woke more often with hunger, wanting food.
~ "Make sure his rooms warm, the heat'll knock him out."
He kept waking with the sweat.
~"Open his window & turn radiator down, the fresh air'll knock him out."
He kept waking with the exclaimation 'Oh Ssoo Col'!
Have you any ideas you can add, they don't have to be serious, as they probably won't work anyway. Maybe Barbara will remember a few i've forgotten
