sleep transitions

We've been on quite a journey recently with Micah and his sleep issues. I knew that jet-lag and the time change might mess with Micah's internal clock, but I really had no idea! We all seemed to sleep well right away - for the most part we all slept during the night and were awake during the day. What I didn't realize was that all the sleep issues Micah was having in the first 3 weeks were probably relating to us moving around the world. It seems so obvious now. That would be why my son starting waking up as many as 8 times per night, and often would wake at 4am for 1-2 hours before settling back to sleep. Yet at the time I just couldn't figure it out. I did lots of reading about babies and sleep and just felt like it was all things we had tried or were already doing. Well apparently it wasn't so much what we were doing wrong, as it was just how messed up his little body was!

On top of Micah just generally being restless at night, he was also having a hard time falling asleep. When he was really little we got into the habit of nursing and then rocking him to sleep. In the past few months, he has simply gotten too big for rocking! We tried a few different things in our quest for a simpler way to get him to sleep. Finally we settled on a lengthy bedtime routine, and it definitely helps. Here is what we do:

-Supper
-Bath
-Brush teeth
-Get dressed in PJ's
-Read stories
-Breastfeeding
-Sleep

Micah often falls asleep as he nurses. I don't mind, and it's definitely the easiest way to get him to sleep! But when that doesn't cut it, Stew will often rock him a little bit, then we put him in his bed (very drowsy, or half-asleep). We put our hand on his little bum and jiggle it, and we sing/hum to him, and he usually falls asleep. Depending, of course, if he is teething or otherwise sick. It may seem like quite the bedtime ordeal, but for us it seems fairly simple and straightforward compared to all the rocking and crying that was going on before.

After getting over malaria and his viral infection, Micah started sleeping better again. For a few nights he was up only once to feed and then went easily back to sleep. It was wonderful! But now the past few nights he's been waking a lot more again. He seems to be teething, so I am really hoping that once that fourth tooth comes through he'll be back to sleeping well. I am very ready for it!!

Until then, I am very thankful that God supplies grace for each day. We sure need it!