Well, our visit to the doctor proved to be successful. Armed with some great information about how to feed Hayes as well as the best ways to get him to sleep for longer periods for the night, we set about getting our boy ready for a long night’s sleep. And… it worked… for four straight hours. Yes, from the hours of 8-12 the wife and I enjoyed uninterupted sleep! Tre-mendous!
So, you might be asking, how did you do it? Easy, our doctor told us of this new technique that is all the rage in Europe. Apparently, they’ve been doing it for years. It’s called the Chloroform Technique. I had not heard of it either. She gave us a prescription for this stuff called chloroform that you spread on the towel and then place over the… ok… right.
In the not-cruel-to-Hayes-or-any-baby world, you know, the one that’s not make believe? Yah, that one. Our doctor told us that we needed to try to keep Hayes more stimulated during the day and make night time not so fun. We remembered reading of this technique in one of the many parenting books on loan to us, but for use on an older baby.
Armed with this new information, we turned on the 24 episode we had recorded on the DVR and watched it. We then played Vivaldi’s Four Seasons which Hayes loved. He stayed awake and alert through the whole thing. We kept his naps to about an hour and a half. When eight o’clock rolled around, we knew he was ready to sleep. We rushed to our bed with him and, voila, 4 hours of sleep. Hooray Sleep!
Lauren Goldberg says:
January 29th, 2005 at 1:29 pm
Hey guys!
Seems like things are looking up for everyone. I’ve been thinking a lot about your struggles with feeding. Fortunately, the little guy is proving to be a serious eater, which will be good for him when he can start enjoying his daddy’s great food. In the meantime, formula is quite a tasty start. As you are all getting settled into your new routines together, you may want to consider the “Top Ten Reasons Not to Despair Over Being Milksour:” With all apologies to Eric, these are primarily directed at Jennifer:
10) When Hayes wakes up in the middle of the night, you can make Eric get out of bed to feed him.
9) You will lose the baby weight faster by not breast feeding.
8) No need to wear those goofy bras with the flaps.
7) Speaking of bras, remember the beginning of the alphabet? You won’t need to by those DD, E, EE or larger bras that breastfeeding mamas need.
6) You can eat whatever you want without worrying if it will disagree with the baby (typical offenders are garlic, dairy, citrus, and chocolate)
5) In this freezing weather, you can be glad not to have to lift your shirt in public.
4) You don’t have to worry about taking medications and passing them along to Hayes.
3) When you go back to work, you won’t have to deal with pumping. No need to use the WGBH lactation room!
2) No worries about those embarrassing leakage spots on your clothes.
1) One word: Beer.
Cheers!
Lauren
Meredith says:
January 30th, 2005 at 4:30 pm
I’m without milk as well. And sleep. And a sense of the world around me. Must. get. Eli. to. eat. and. sleep. and. poop. and. pee. and. changed. I feel for the both of you. And why did I refuse the Percoset to the Ibuprofen? Coughing, sneezing, laughing all are worse than the sleeplessness. At least the boy is healthy and came out knowing how to suck!
Here’s to hoping the milk fall, drops, lets down and comes in tongith.
Sweet short dreams,
Meredith
June and Geoff says:
January 30th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
May I add another item to Lauren’s list? I found that I could cuddle, hug, touch and look more closely at Eleanor’s lovely face when I fed her with a bottle than I could while breastfeeding. It actually felt more intimate and loving than nursing, surprisingly enough. I cried, cried, cried when I had to give up nursing after a few months. But once our struggles with it were over we were all much happier, less anxious, and able to enjoy each other more. And Eleanor is a complete joy. Enjoy your extra hours of sleep!