Although the baby has been sleeping through the night more regularly, recently he began waking up around 4am and fussing loudly before falling back asleep. I appreciated the 6 plus hours of continuous sleep (it had been months since I had enjoyed such a luxury) but was annoyed at the interruptions, especially since I read somewhere that babies are supposed to sleep upwards of 12 hours a night!
Wheres that baby and how do I get one?!
I suspected that the problem was light. Ickeys window faces the east and every morning as the sunlight crept over the top of Mauna Kea, my son would wake up to greet it. He took naps during the day without much hassle irregardless of the light situation, but I still suspected that curtains would do some good.
Im not exactly in a position to invest in the untested blackout curtain theory right now (they are about 30 bucks a panel) but I did rig up the next best thing, I hung a quilt in front of his window. It does let in some cracks of light through the top and sides, but its a whole lot darker.
Hallelujah, its 8am and the boy is still asleep! Not only has he been sleeping in longer in the morning since the quilt went up, he also has been going to bed much earlier. Long gone are the nights where we all went to bed at the same time. Now Ickey is out at 830 so Mr A and I have time to watch a movie, play cards, or do whatever before we go to sleep around 10! Its like a whole new lease on life around here.
I believe the blackout panels are a worthwhile investment (they would eliminate the light seeping in around the window and, unlike the quilt nailed to the wall, they could be opened during the day). I know that I had read this information somewhere before even giving birth so why didnt I think of this sooner? A pitch dark, quiet room is what a baby needs to get the proper amount of sleep.
Nice. I need some blackout curtains for me!
ReplyDelete