Sleeping Through The Night

This calls for celebration! *doing cartwheels*

 

Bean has been "doing his nights", "il fait ses nuits", STTN, sleeping well, doing his 6 hours. Call it what you wish. The fact that he started doing it at 2 months old now debunks the myth that fully breastfed babies do not sleep for long hours. 

I wish I could say this in my MIL's face outright (I can't because it would be deemed rude/uncouth/tactless).

 

He started with 3 hours. Then 4. It gradually moved to 5. He would sleep as long as his diapers stays dry. Lately, 6 hours. Well, his little tummy can only contain so much milk before it is all digested and he starts to feel hungry.

 

If you chance upon this entry because you need that slight encouragement, mere statistics or true conviction that young babies CAN and WILL STTN...here, print this and show it to your nay-sayers non-believers (confinement ladies, MILs, etc.) I would urge you to shut out the negativity/sleep-myth and just keep breastfeeding.

 

Breastfeeding has nothing to do with sleep. Formula does not make babies sleep for longer (my MIL's strongest arsenal against me when I was nursing The Little Girl every 2 hours for 30 months was that I should have given her formula so that everyone will benefit from some sleep. Ma, I love you but I don't subscribe to formula is better than breastmilk argument so yes, I did rather suffer the sleep deprivation).

 

How do I know?

 

Because The Little Girl breastfed for 35 months and she only did her STTN at 30 months. For me, the numbers don't lie.

 

It boils down to the individual child, I kid you not. The Little Girl is super-glued to me, until today. She feels insecure when her mummy-radar beams a low signal (even way before I was pregnant with Bean). By low signal I mean being in the same house but different room.

 

Bean, on the other hand, is happy to play with me, feeds then sleeps. I love how he has his own "life", he knows when to play, how to tell the difference between night and day and enjoys his daily routine.

 

So, good luck with your bundle of joy and happy breastfeeding!