Contradictory Parenting Advice: The Sleep Edition

I avoided talked too much about Thomas' sleep online because... well... advice. I didn't need anymore than I was already being given because I was already so overwhelmed. It was also the one topic where I was kind of worried that I was screwing Thomas up forever and that he really would sleep with me until he was 14.

I understand that most advice is given with the best of intentions. Heck, I give advice to other parents as well when they ask for it. The problem wasn't that I was getting advice because I love parents helping parents. It takes a village! It was just that the advice about sleep was usually something I had heard/read before, something I really didn't feel would work with Thomas' personality or it was something I just wasn't willing to try. Or, and this was the most common concern, it contradicted other advice I had heard which just confused me.

Even though we had never intended to, we ended up co-sleeping for 16 months. It was for a variety of reasons which I won't get into just yet but it was what worked best for us. Thomas woke up every 30 mins to an hour for the first year (I would sometimes get a 2 hour stretch) and then for the next 6 months woke up every 2-4 hours. I honestly wasn't too concerned about our sleep (or lack there of) because I knew it would be temporary and honestly, I was functioning and wasn't overly tired. After a while I started to get concerned about Thomas' quality of sleep because any time I moved he would wake up. I was also wanting to wean him (another post for another time) and night weaning felt impossible when he wanted to nurse every time he woke up and the supply was right beside him.

 At 16 months, when Thomas seemed ready, we moved him to his crib and as far as transitions to the crib go, I think it was pretty seamless. He's now 18 months and sleeps from 6/7pm until 6am. Luckily my gut instincts were correct and Thomas just needed to go at his own pace with sleep... and everything else haha.

Every parent will have their own sleep journey with their little ones and hopefully this video will make you smile along the way at the ridiculousness that is contradictory parenting advice.

Happy Parenting!