Darkest before dawn

Last week was the worst I've had with Campbell, sleep-wise, since he was a newborn. He went from waking up once a night to waking up every hour to hour-and-a-half. It was awful. The worst part was that he was really hungry each time he woke up. It didn't work to have Brandon walk him for a few minutes to put him back to sleep - I had to nurse him each time.

By Wednesday night I was so tired I was close to delusional. I put Campbell to bed at 7:30 while Brandon wrangled the girls, then I collapsed in bed, barely aware of what was going on. Brandon claims he came in and talked to me at a little after 8:00, but I have no memory of it. Thursday morning I ignored work that needed to be done and tucked Campbell into bed with me for a nap. He always sleeps better, and longer, in our bed. I managed to get about 90 minutes of sleep before I had to pick Lily up from school.

But now things are so much better. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing about it. Over the past few days Campbell is showing signs of having a little schedule. He wakes up only once during the night - last night it was 2:00 am - and then sleeps until morning, usually between 6:00 and 7:00. After he eats, he goes right back to sleep and sleeps until about 8:30. Having him sleep in the morning makes such a difference in my mornings. It's so much easier to get the girls up and ready for school without Campbell slowing me down. Campbell usually naps again at about 10:00 for an hour and then again in the afternoons at 1:00, usually for at least two hours. In the evenings he demands his cereal at 6:15 and then goes to bed by 7:30.

The best part is that he now goes to sleep all on his own. I can put him in his crib wide awake without a problem. He'll scooch around for a while and then conk out without any fuss. It makes bedtime so stress-free these days. The girls are in bed by 7:30 most nights - it's like Brandon and I have gotten our evenings back.

The only hitch in all of this is Campbell's continued refusal to take a bottle. I've tried different bottles, we've had lots of different people try to give them to him, and I've even tried giving him formula. We've tried when he's hungry, when he's full, when he's wide awake, and when he's tired. All without any luck. Now that Campbell's on a bit of a schedule, it will be easier to leave him with Brandon for an hour or two without worrying that I'll come home to a starving baby and a frantic husband. My test case will be going for a massage later this week.

Now that I'm on my third baby, I'm well aware that babies usually change completely just as you think you have them figured out. I'm prepare for Campbell to throw me for a loop again, but I'm enjoying how well things are going now - and the extra sleep I'm getting.