Photo by: NPA

The Bliss of Baby Sleeping--All Night Long

by Tera of "Thriving Momma"
Photo by: NPA

The first year with my babies was a litany of sleep-deprived nights, up every two hours to feed. Though I had a co-sleeper next to my bed, baby ended up by my side, my nursing breast accessible whenever baby whimpered. In the morning I’d wake up, pajama draped around my neck but baby snuggled close. I barely remember that first year. Sleep deprivation stymied my sentences and short-term memory. With my third child I vowed not to repeat this saga again.

The other night I lay my 2-month-old baby down on her mattress. She was awake and protested slightly. But she looked at herself in the mirror–a montessori-style sleeping arrangement set-up for the infant. After several minutes she drifted off to sleep. She stayed asleep for 5 hours. My heart danced with joy.

How did I manage this shift? Whether it’s sleeping habits, colic, bedwetting, or sibling rivalry, using the Law of Attraction can help shift the challenging behavior.

1. Set the intention. Journal what you would like to create. I like to write a letter to my angels. Write it in present tense as if it has already happened. Express gratitude. For example, “I am so happy and grateful my baby goes to sleep peacefully on her own and sleeps through the night. etc.”

2. Use energy work such as Emotional Freedom Technique EFT or Calyco Healing to find the emotional block and clear it. EFT is a free technique that uses tapping on acupressure points while repeating a release statement, followed by repeating the affirmation of what you want to create. For example, when I first attempted to put my baby on her crib mattress, she cried. While she cried, I comforted her and tapped lightly between the eyebrows, on her sternum, underneath her armpit, and on the crown of her head. I could see her distress lessen.

3. Use muscle-testing to pinpoint the root cause of the challenge. One method is to make an “O” with your thumb and finger on one hand. Use your other finger to try to break the O. Practice by testing the difference when you say Yes versus No. For example, the second night when my baby cried, I thought she was still resistant to sleeping on her mattress. Muscle-testing revealed that she was fine with her mattress, but was not comfortable with sleeping apart from me. We were able to clear that through Calyco Healing.

If you are not comfortable with EFT or Calyco Healing, you can always seek help from an energy work practitioner. Calyco Healing has been an amazing tool I use with my own clients because it can release emotional blocks about multiple issues in one session.

Know that when we face a challenge, this is simply the in-between space before overcoming the struggle. Keep on moving forward and the storm will pass. Remembering this will help shift the vibration faster in your favor.

Now, my breastmilk-fed baby sleeps until the morning.

Happy Parenting!

Somewhere between night-wakings, diaper-changing, and car-pooling, thriving became a conscious choice for this suburban mom, writer, and energy coach.

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36 Comments

I know about the technics you speak about, and I also feel it might be beneficial to use them to make it so you both sleep well all night near eachother. I sleep with all my kids when they are small and I find the benefits just too high and research backs up the benefits of sleeping with your kids....it is possible to sleep well all night AND nurse, I living proof.

I slept with my son all throughout infancy. We nursed exclusively for the entire first year of his life and he always slept through the night. As the above poster said, it is possible to sleep through the night (which is technically only 5 - 6 hours for a breastfed baby) and still bed-share...

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Bedsharing is a great option, but it's not the ONLY one. My husband is a violent sleeper (you should see some of my bruises), and there is NO WAY I'd put a baby in my bed. Not to mention that the author stated she used a cosleeper, which really isn't any different than a sidecar crib.

Honestly, it's a refreshing change to see to other options. In particular, I like the look of Calyco healing. I'm going to have to do some research. Thank you!

That's great that worked for you! But it also depends on the mother. I was fine with feeding every 2-3 hours and adjusted quite alright, not something every mom is up to. I didn't feel deprived of anything and enjoyed our first year despite a different sleeping schedule. To each her own I guess. :)

Your baby is 2 months old.....wow...horrible article...horrible advice.

A 2 month old breastfed baby needs to eat frequently. Crying is their only way for them to communicate. I feel bad for your baby that you have imposed adult standards for a helpless baby. It is normal for babies under 6 months to eat frequently. What about growth spurts are you going to ignore those too?

openmindedness. it's a wonderful thing.

thank you for sharing some new methods that i have not heard of before. my son and daughter still cosleep with me (3 and 1) and they slept through the night very early. we have had sleep issues (when teething, sick, or growth spurts) as all babies go through. i have a lot of friends who are up nursing through the night often, though. these techniques seem like they would help co-sleeping and non co-sleeping parents alike...

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I'm sorry you received such a harsh feedback from "Momma J"....Obviously not very opened minded and must think we are all robots who must follow the path MOST traveled. It's one thing to have an opinion, but to mark yours as "horrible" is just not acceptable.
I am pregnant with my second and have already started my intentions to the universe for what you have mentioned above. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find your article and I enjoyed reading your story. Thank you.

Those techniques are great but sometimes it's the baby who deserves all the credit. I turned my first child into a constant night feeder by trying to anticipate his needs. Sometimes those whimpers are just the baby trying to transition to a new sleep stage. I took them to be hunger. With my second child, I was determined to let her sleep. I only feed her when she's showing obvious signs of hunger. She's 4 months old and goes 9-11 hours between feedings at night. She wants to sleep...

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My first child was up all the time and I had to do a lot of walking around at night to get her to sleep. She was in a crib in her own room. Though, in the early months, we did a lot of sleeping together on the couch. :)

My second child is 5 months in our room in a mini crib and has been sleeping all night for almost 3 months now. I'm ever-thankful for the sleep this time around since I am working. I was able to sleep during the day with baby #1 since I did not work for the first 6 months...

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My baby is 4 months old I BF on demand he has just moved into his crib and sleeps 5-6 hours a night from 8:30pm-around 2:30am. Sometimes longer. I would gladly feed him if he woke up and cried but he rarely does. I have never had to do any of the hocus pocus you describe. I put him down sleepy, swaddle him, feed him really well and walk away. No crying. If you go to your baby at every whimper and noise YOU are waking him up. I hope you have good luck with your techniques...

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wow to the negative comment. I have three boys...all of which where breastfed and started sleeping through the night between 5-7 weeks old, co-sleeping in a co-sleeper or in bed with us. My oldest is 6.5, in the 95% for highth and 50% for weight, in the top of his class...it being first grade that means he has met or excelled all area's tested. My middle son is 85% for height and 40% for weight and had the choice to start kindergaten a year early. My baby is 3 months old and thriving...

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I'm sorry but I have to agree that this sounds like a lot of hocus-pocus! It sounds to me like you are using your "O" circle as some sort of Magic 8 Ball! You need to listen to the signs that your baby is giving you about their needs, not ask the universe with some self-important ritual!
Co-sleeping has been proven to be dangerous for the infant and those who have done it with their children took a great risk with their baby's life just because they wanted life to be easier for them...

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Momma J - all babies are different. My oldest son slept through the night (11pm-6am) the first night home from the hospital. I, of course, was up all night making sure he was still breathing! :) He ate frequently during the day and doubled his birth weight by 6 weeks so he wasn't deprived. I wasn't as lucky with the other two!

We are a co-sleeping family. I co-slept and bed-shared with both my children from newborn on up (my oldest is now almost 3 and has been in his own bed (mostly!) for a while now. I agree with previous posters that co-sleeping doesn't necessarily mean a night of terrible sleep. For me, I have actually found I sleep BETTER when I bedshare with my infants, since I never really need to fully wake up to breastfeed or check on them...

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I agree with the poster who said that the baby's personality will determine the quality of your sleep. I nursed on demand with both and one woke up every 3 hours, the other did not. All the sleep books and friends' advice, followed by the puzzled "I'm not sure why it didn't work for you" made no difference with my first.

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