Sleeping through the night at two and a half

Is it time to box up the monitor?

I didn’t want to jinx it, but it seems Mr. Go is now sleeping through the night at least half the time since last week. He is just shy of two and a half and not weaned. I am happy and relieved that he’s doing it all by himself, but I confess I haven’t been able to enjoy it yet!

I still wake up at the times he was likely to cry for me to get him and bring him into bed with us. He’s in a toddler bed now, but I always promptly ran in when he cried because he was capable of climbing out of his crib and I didn’t want him to try. I did tell him just to come into our room if he woke up when he made the switch, but he never got it. I guess that would require a level of wakefulness that we don’t really want at 2:30 a.m. It wasn’t a problem since I sleep very lightly after the initial 2 hours.

A couple of nights, he cried once or called out in his sleep but didn’t wake up. I know this because we still use a baby monitor! Just for the reasons listed above. When he does wake, Hugo will just sit up and call “I want Mommy,” until I grab him. That also worked out because I could bring him with me to relieve myself before nursing him back to sleep in my bed. Not having the opportunity to answer the call of nature and not being able to shower are two of my biggest mommy pet peeves.

Oh, the indignity!

One night last week, I heard him call out around 2 or 3:00 a.m. I just listened for a minute, because it wasn’t “I want Mommy.” Then it came again – “I want Gordon!” I almost burst out laughing. Hugo’s been identifying with one or another of the Thomas and Friends® trains lately, and giving me and his dad train names as well. I was Gordon that day, and he remembered even in the middle of the night!

He has stayed in his bed for two nights in a row now. Yesterday he woke at 5:10 and called for me but today slept until almost 7:00 a.m. and just came out of his room to look for me. That meant missing two usual breastfeeding sessions, which is happening more frequently lately. He only makes sure not to miss nursing when it’s time to go to sleep, which is fine with me. My boobs are kind of sore this morning, though. It’s another milestone on our weaning journey.

I was worried that I would have to sleep in Hugo’s tiny bed to get him to stay overnight, or try night weaning before he was on board with it. This is working out perfectly. The space and privacy are unfamiliar but lovely!

Hugo is loving the praise he gets for staying in his bed like a big boy, and I never say anything negative when he does come into our bed. It was so hard those first couple of nights not to tell Hugo that I really missed snuggling with him. I’m making up for it by really taking the time to enjoy his long bedtime routine of watching YouTube videos in my lap before lying down with him until he falls asleep.

When did your child transition from co-sleeping or sleep sharing? Did you have to wean first?