7:30? Seriously?

No-Cry Sleep Solution Night Number One was a success. We haven’t read the whole book just yet. Only a small part of it. Still there are already suggestions that seemed made for Miss Frances Moon. Like an 8pm bedtime. Apparently babies’ internal clocks are preprogrammed for a 7:30-8:30pm bedtime. Apparently I missed this in every other book and website I’ve looked at. How could I have missed this? All along I thought that a baby’s bedtime was when it fell asleep – for Frances somewhere between eleven and midnight.

I was pretty sure there was no way she was going to go for this new bedtime. But last night she was fussy and hungry at 7:45 so we went to bed. Granted she woke up a few times between 8pm and 11pm but not like I expected (bright-eyed and ready to squeal like she is in the mornings). In a matter of minutes and with no protest she was back asleep. She still woke up at her regular intervals after that but this extra sleep in the beginning meant a lot more sleep for her in the end.

Other seemingly brilliant ideas we’ve glimpsed so far: a regular bedtime routine (to signal that sleep is coming), a regular daytime routine (to help regulate her internal clock), frequent and filling daytime feedings, and more and better naps. This last one is going to be a challenge but the (important) idea is that better sleep during the day means better sleep at night and vice versa. A baby her age is supposed to be sleeping sixteen hours every twenty four hours (ten at night and five to six during the day). This kid is seriously failing sleep class. On a good day, naps and night included, she’s in for eight hours.

Who knew there was so much to know about sleep? I new there was a lot to know about breast feeding. The first thing you learn about breast feeding is that there’s a lot to learn about breast feeding. The second thing you learn about breast feeding is that it takes practice, patience and determination. I guess the same can be said about baby sleep.