The Secret to Sleep

The last month or so has been a never ending experiment with the  sole purpose of figuring out what will get Juli to sleep through the night. It’s happened a handful of nights, but we haven’t be able to replicate the outcome two nights in a row. No matter what we try, little lady is dead set on getting her snuggles in with mom for at least half the night. You’d think that by the third kid, I’d have it figured out.

For a while, I thought her cloth diapers might be the culprit. They’re slightly bulky, so maybe the added fabric was uncomfortable to sleep with. There was one night that John got her ready for bed and used a disposable diaper. Miraculously, Juli slept throught the night. I swore by disposables for bed after that, but we never had the same results again.

For a little bit, I also thought that maybe it had to do with Juli being hungry during the night. After all, she was waking up to nurse. So before bed, I’d make sure her tummy was full. Extra helpings for dinner, plenty of milk before bed, and just to top her off, I’d sit and nurse her before putting her down. Once again, it worked once or twice, but not consistently after that.

Up until yesterday, I thought maybe she was getting too much sleep during the day. She takes two two-hourish naps everyday. In the past, there have been days where we’re just so busy, that she doesn’t get a chance to nap, and some of those nights she’d sleep through. So, being that she napped for probably only 30 minutes yesterday, I had my hopes up that she would sleep through the night.

Nope. I can’t figure out what the issue is! Maybe she needs a binkie instead of a boob?

We’ve tried crying it out, but after half an  hour of crying, it’s pretty obvious that she isn’t going back to sleep without some comforting.

So help me out, mamas.. What is the secret to getting your little ones to sleep through the night? Is it too late for us?