Comments on Hobo Mama: Flexibility and finding sleep

This is an older post I see, but I just found it t...

2011-01-13T14:30:34.265-08:00

This is an older post I see, but I just found it through todays post. ;) Anyway, I love it. I am going through the exact same situation with my 7 month old right now, and even though I'm not following what all the "books" say, I know that my daughter is just fine. She sleeps 11-12 hours a night and is a happy, bouncy baby in the morning. :) I'm glad to see I'm not the only one not "following the rules"!

I want to quote your post in my blog. It can? And ...

2009-12-25T16:51:43.294-08:00

I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?

I agree with Cave Mother: incredibly comforting. ...

2009-12-09T18:41:36.605-08:00

I agree with Cave Mother: incredibly comforting. I wish I'd read it when I was sleep deprived and suffering. Now, 2 years later, I've come to the same conclusions, but boy, it would have been nice to find something like this when I Googled "get baby to sleep" haha.

Awesome post, Amber :) Thanks for hosting, Lauren!

I just wanted to check in and say thanks, Lauren, ...

2009-12-09T12:56:39.986-08:00

I just wanted to check in and say thanks, Lauren, for having me. I'm really very tickled! I'm also glad to read all of your comments and kind words. We're all just doing the best we can for our kids and our families, and I don't think anyone else is in a position to judge us for it.

So nice to see this in print! I have been asked...

2009-12-09T12:16:55.605-08:00

So nice to see this in print!

I have been asked on several occasions if my new little guy, now 9 months, sleeps through the night, and I can honestly say I don't really know -- because I am asleep. He is in the bed right next to me, so I know if he's upset (very rare), but I could not tell you if or how many times he nurses, as I sleep right through it.

I do sometimes feel frustrated by my six year-old's need to have me lie down with him to go to sleep, but there are days when that's the only 20 minutes that are totally devoted to him and I don't blame him for claiming them. I remind myself that I'll miss it when he doesn't need to be snuggled to sleep anymore.

Although there's been difficult moments, on the whole, I've really enjoyed nighttime parenting and I think it's because I've been able to roll with the punches. I've never had a very traditional sleep schedule myself, and I haven't required it of my littles. Actually, now that my older son is in school, we are all so much more normal about sleeping than I ever was before kids and somehow things have really fallen into place -- even though I never tried to force them there when my big guy was little. Hmmmm....

I have a 12 year old who was a champion sleeper fr...

2009-12-07T20:20:49.285-08:00

I have a 12 year old who was a champion sleeper from the start, a 10 year old who absolutely needed to scream herself to sleep and then started crawling into bed with me as a toddler, and now an almost 3 year old who has slept right next to me every single night of her life. She is not ready. There is no way on earth I could leave her in her room, no matter what any parenting book or Supernanny says. She will not, and can not, do it yet. I think that her being my third and not my first gives me a lot more confidence in our choices to allow her to cosleep, and a lot more patience with her needs.

Absolutely. So comforting and so true! Thanks fo...

2009-12-07T20:09:26.495-08:00

Absolutely. So comforting and so true! Thanks for sharing this bit of perspective. I think it's a message we all need to gain confidence in voicing!

I resolved in the beginning of parenthood not to l...

2009-12-07T11:50:31.033-08:00

I resolved in the beginning of parenthood not to listen to those other "voices" who try to tell you that you are doing it wrong, that they'll develop permanently bad habits, etc. I also decided not to listen to my own fears, but to trust my child and follow his lead. Although it is a very gradually process, he is starting to sleep longer and go to sleep with more effort on his part, and less on mine. I trust that one day he won't need to nurse or be walked to sleep. One day he won't even need us to be in the same room with him to fall asleep. I'm in no hurry. (My husband is a bit impatient, though!)

What a reassuring post to read! I'm on my 3rd ...

2009-12-07T11:12:48.603-08:00

What a reassuring post to read! I'm on my 3rd child (with a big gap), a 3-month-old adorable little girl. She will occasionally sleep for 6+ hours at a time, but rarely at a time of day convenient to me. I get down sometimes, missing sleeping with my husband.

At 3 months old, her sleep schedule and needs change on a week-to-week or even a day-to-day basis! I guess I appreciate the suggestions I get from my mom at times, but other times I just want to say, "Shush, we're doing what works for us TODAY."

Thanks for saying it so eloquently and reminding us moms that we're not alone. :-)

I so needed this post Amber! I'm being inundat...

2009-12-07T10:58:54.790-08:00

I so needed this post Amber! I'm being inundated with suggestions that I'm doing it wrong or that Little Miss should be sleeping more and while I'm getting desperate for more sleep I keep thinking that it will ebb and flow of its own accord. Thanks for making me want to stick to my guns more!

Hear hear! That's just what I was trying to sa...

2009-12-07T09:31:30.004-08:00

Hear hear! That's just what I was trying to say, though from a new parent of a single four month old baby's optimistic point of view. Thanks for sharing. I like the strategy you've taken with Hannah on getting her a big bed - I've been thinking we might do the same thing when the BP is a good bit bigger...

Lovely post. I think many parents who subscribe to...

2009-12-07T08:58:42.646-08:00

Lovely post. I think many parents who subscribe to CIO and similar techniques forget that each stage only lasts for a small amount of time in the grand scheme. Baby wants to be held all the time? Well, she'll outgrow that when she gains mobility. Baby will only go to sleep with mom or dad? He'll want to go to his "big boy" bed someday.

I apply this thinking to everything. I don't have time to crochet, but I will someday. I can't just pick up and go to a movie, but I will someday. And so on....

This is an extremely comforting post for those of ...

2009-12-07T08:09:03.147-08:00

This is an extremely comforting post for those of us still stuck in the stage of parenting where you fantasise that one day you might get four hours' sleep in a row.

It can be so hard to keep the faith that they will figure it out for themselves, especially when everyone around is already sleep training and weaning (my daughter is 15 months old). But it is wonderful to hear first hand from someone who has been through it, that they DO figure it out.

PS I will still do a guest post if that's OK. I'll try and do it this week.