Sleeping Through the Night
When do babies sleep through the night? All babies are different, and all babies have different needs. Some will naturally sleep through in the early weeks, and some won't sleep through until well into the toddler years.
My baby boy is apparently one of those who takes awhile before learning to sleep through the night. I honestly haven't a clue as to when he will reach this developmental milestone; he's almost 15 months old now and I guess that he wakes an average of 4 times a night, and he usually quickly nurses back to sleep each time. I believe that my baby will sleep through the night when he is good and ready, and I'm not holding my breath that it will happen any time soon. But I am certain that it will happen.
With my first baby, I wasn't so sure, and after blissfully sleeping with her for the first couple months after her birth, I regretfully let her "cry-it-out" at 2 ½ months. I didn't want to do it, but the "experts" in books I was reading told me that I needed to do it-that it was best for my baby. The reasons they gave me were many (and many look pretty silly to me now): my baby would be better disciplined; it was so important that she learn to self-soothe; if I didn't do it, I would be spoiling her; it was wrong for me to sleep with my baby; I might not ever get her out of my bed if I didn't let her cry; I was making her too dependent on me. . . and the list goes on.
When I let her cry, I was in the next room reading one those of those books to reassure myself that what I was doing was best. I will never say that it was harder on me than it was on my baby. There I was, lying on the bed reading my book. I could've gotten up to get a drink of water any time I wanted to. I could've used the bathroom whenever I felt the need. I could've cuddled with my husband if I had so felt the desire. I was pretty self-sufficient if I do say so myself.
Now, let's take a look at my baby. She was alone in the next room expressing her needs in the only way she knew how- by crying. A baby that age has no concept of object permanence, and when I left the room, she didn't understand that I would come back; besides, she wanted and needed me now. She felt alone, abandoned, scared. And she was truly helpless.
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