I hesitate to post this, because I think it reveals a little more of our weirdness than I would like to admit to. But here we go.
By way of background, we live in a small-ish two-bedroom apartment. Jonah's room is right across the hall from ours, literally two paces away. But we still use a monitor at night. Always have. I'm a heavy sleeper, what can I say.
At Jonah's six month check-up, the pediatrician told us that by six months most babies are physiologically capable of sleeping all night without needing to eat. She pointed out that there is no harm to continuing to feed at night, and most babies will eventually "night wean" on their own by a year. However, if a baby is only eating a little at night or mostly wanting to play when he wakes, or if a baby eats very little upon waking in the morning, it is usually a sign that the night feedings are no longer necessary - but merely a habit. Jonah definitely fit into this latter category - not too interested in eating first thing in the morning.
So we went to work at breaking Jonah of the habit of feeding at night. The process went really well and only took about three nights. It was awesome after so many months of interrupted sleep - although I have to say it took more than three nights to break me of the habit of waking in the middle of the night. We got there eventually, though.
Back to the baby monitor. The pediatrician gave the caveat that most babies can be expected to sleep at least 10 hours at this age. Jonah goes to sleep at 7...meaning he could legitimately be hungry by 5am. So, we didn't really want to hear him in the middle of the night (monitor off), but wanted to know if he woke around 5:00 (monitor on). This meant I was setting an alarm for 5:00, waking up and turning on the monitor - then going back to sleep until Jonah decided to wake up. Which was sometimes 7:00 or later! Back to interrupted sleep (although sleeping until 5:00...still not a bad deal!) - bummer.
He ordered one of these light/timer devices many people use to fool thieves into thinking someone is home when they are away - it can turn lamps on and off at certain intervals throughout the day. (Remember that scene in 'Home Alone' where the thief is pointing out what time all the lights will come on?). My mom always uses one for her Christmas tree so that she doesn't have to climb under the tree twice a day to turn the lights on and off.
Well, ours cost about eight bucks - and sometimes buys me two extra hours of sleep in the morning. I'd say the investment was worth it! We go to sleep with the monitor off...and then about 5:00 in the morning, the monitor turns itself on while we continue to slumber. Then our adorable little alarm clock lets us know when he's ready to get up (without having to scream himself hoarse in order to wake up this deep-sleeping mama).
Probably overkill for the situation, but that's how we operate sometimes - and I think as first-time parents we're entitled to some weirdness and overreaction.
By way of background, we live in a small-ish two-bedroom apartment. Jonah's room is right across the hall from ours, literally two paces away. But we still use a monitor at night. Always have. I'm a heavy sleeper, what can I say.
At Jonah's six month check-up, the pediatrician told us that by six months most babies are physiologically capable of sleeping all night without needing to eat. She pointed out that there is no harm to continuing to feed at night, and most babies will eventually "night wean" on their own by a year. However, if a baby is only eating a little at night or mostly wanting to play when he wakes, or if a baby eats very little upon waking in the morning, it is usually a sign that the night feedings are no longer necessary - but merely a habit. Jonah definitely fit into this latter category - not too interested in eating first thing in the morning.
So we went to work at breaking Jonah of the habit of feeding at night. The process went really well and only took about three nights. It was awesome after so many months of interrupted sleep - although I have to say it took more than three nights to break me of the habit of waking in the middle of the night. We got there eventually, though.
Back to the baby monitor. The pediatrician gave the caveat that most babies can be expected to sleep at least 10 hours at this age. Jonah goes to sleep at 7...meaning he could legitimately be hungry by 5am. So, we didn't really want to hear him in the middle of the night (monitor off), but wanted to know if he woke around 5:00 (monitor on). This meant I was setting an alarm for 5:00, waking up and turning on the monitor - then going back to sleep until Jonah decided to wake up. Which was sometimes 7:00 or later! Back to interrupted sleep (although sleeping until 5:00...still not a bad deal!) - bummer.
Then Brandon had an idea.
He ordered one of these light/timer devices many people use to fool thieves into thinking someone is home when they are away - it can turn lamps on and off at certain intervals throughout the day. (Remember that scene in 'Home Alone' where the thief is pointing out what time all the lights will come on?). My mom always uses one for her Christmas tree so that she doesn't have to climb under the tree twice a day to turn the lights on and off.
Well, ours cost about eight bucks - and sometimes buys me two extra hours of sleep in the morning. I'd say the investment was worth it! We go to sleep with the monitor off...and then about 5:00 in the morning, the monitor turns itself on while we continue to slumber. Then our adorable little alarm clock lets us know when he's ready to get up (without having to scream himself hoarse in order to wake up this deep-sleeping mama).
Probably overkill for the situation, but that's how we operate sometimes - and I think as first-time parents we're entitled to some weirdness and overreaction.
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