J was a great sleeper from early on. He started sleeping through the night (as in, all night long. Not just 6 hours in a stretch) at 2 months old. He still sleeps wonderfully, and will sleep through a thunderstorm that wakes up everyone else in the house, he'll sleep through me coming in to check on him or say goodbye in the morning, and he'll sleep through his sister's night wakings.
Which brings us to L. She wakes up at least twice every night. Usually at around 11 or 12, and again at around 3 or 4. She likes to nurse at these times. If she wakes up more than twice, it will be between 7:30 and 10pm. *That* one I can usually get her back down without nursing. The others? *shudder* Not so much.
I am tired of being tired all day because I was kept awake for 2 intervals in the night. I am tired of not being able to sleep the whole night through (which, at this point, I haven't done for 2 years). I think L would be a happier kid if she was better rested, too. I got some advice from a friend (whose own L was an equally bad sleeper!) and I'm trying her ideas (including telling the little one that the milk has gone night-night, though L totally didn't buy that one last night) and telling myself that persistence is key.
We have two issues going on. One is that she wants to eat twice at night, which she could easily make up the calories for during the day, so that's (theoretically) easy enough. The other is that she is very deeply conditioned to come to bed with me at 3 or 4 am, and sleep with me, and nurse off and on until I get up in the morning. Oy. That one is the more difficult thing to change. It also means that when she wakes up, she's full, and won't eat breakfast, so then she wants a big snack mid morning, and won't eat lunch, and so on.
I am pretty good at just feeding her and putting her back down at 11/12 (I just sit in the rocking chair in the kids' room). Last night I tried doing the same for her second waking. Heh. I sat down, nursed her, soothed her, put her in her crib. She popped right back up, crying. I gave her a pacifier, wrapped a blanket around her, and we cuddled a while while I rocked. I put her back in her bed. She cried. I went to the bathroom and let her alone for a few minutes, to see if she'd soothe herself and go back to sleep. No dice.
C suggested that trying this while she's cutting her canines may not be the best time, so I went and got her and brought her to bed with me. *sigh*
We'll try again tonight. If I could just eliminate one of the wakings...
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