Sleep Like a Baby

Let me remind you that the phrase "Sleep Like a Baby" is totally misrepresented. Babies, while they may sleep a lot, actually have a significant amount of trouble sleeping. Their poor little nervous systems are just trying to keep up with all of the input they are receiving. Babies actually spend about 50% of their sleep in active sleep, which is REM, where they are easily roused, make noises, and move around. Many babies have a hard time falling and staying asleep. It's not like it was in the good old days...when they were snuggled in your womb, with muffled noises, being rocked to sleep by all of your movements throughout the day.

What made me spout on about this is that my wild thing is 3 months old now and we are constantly barraged with questions about his sleep habits. Here's an example of how the conversation goes.

Them: "Is he a good sleeper?"

Me: "He sleeps."

Them: "Does he sleep through the night?"

Me: "Well, no. He sleeps with us, so I usually feed/check him each time he wakes up. He might sleep for one 3-4 hour stretch each night."

Them: "Oh, that's too bad." (CUE disapproving look regarding the co-sleeping.)

I always feel the need to explain myself and say that he only wakes to fidget or eat. He doesn't stay awake for long periods. Blah! Blah! What I really want to say is, "WTF people...he's three-months-old for goodness sake. He's only little for a very short period of time. He'll sleep through the night when he's ready. My cowboy did not sleep through the night until almost a year. After about 6 months he woke once each night to eat. Why do we need to rush toward milestones (like sleeping through the night)? Why do I need to force my infant to be an independent person?"

I was recently asked to fill out a form for when he begins child care (on a very part-time basis) in September. What is his sleep schedule? Well, he doesn't have one. What is his feeding schedule? Well, he doesn't have one. I know this sounds crazy to some people, but it is how I choose to parent.

As you can probably tell, I'm a little into the attachment parenting thing. I do everything I can to meet my wild thing's needs as they come along. If he's hungry, I feed him. If he's tired, he sleeps. Not everyone agrees with my parenting style. Aside from changing his diaper, I don't think we put my wild thing down for the first few weeks of life. I also believe in letting my baby be a baby for as long as he needs to. Mind you, I'm not saying he should still be wearing diapers when he enters kindergarten. I am saying that he will do things as he's ready to do them. He is becoming more independent as he is ready. He, in his own infant way, asks for the things he needs: food, changing, sleep, alone time, interaction, and chances to explore.