Sleeping patterns

Sleeping peacefully for exactly thirty minutes, Bubbe's picture behind her
(we'll take that out of her crib when she starts moving around)

Eden's adorable fits upon waking

Is she sleeping through the night?  A very common inquiry - the new parent equivalent of "how's the weather?"  (Note: Here is a good article on why "is your baby sleeping through the night" isn't the most relevant question, especially for breastfed babies.)

Night sleep is (hopefully) getting more pleasant for us - as Michael said, the other day Eden had her longest sleep ever, from 8 PM to about 5:40 AM.  The two nights after that have been good too--we put her to bed around 8, and though she didn't "sleep through" she just woke up after 5-7 hours, nursed for 15 minutes, and then went right back to sleep in her pack n' play for another couple of hours.  I don't mind this and I don't think I'll push for her to "sleep through the night" as long as this is her pattern - it isn't hard for me to get back to sleep after nursing her, so I think I can generally get enough sleep as long as I make sure to go to bed early enough.  And with her being a spitter and slower weight gainer, I don't want to deprive her of calories!

Her previous pattern was rougher on us - she would go to bed for a 4-5 hour stretch (sometimes less), wake up, nurse, and then resist going back in her pack and play.  Then once she finally went down she'd wake up again every hour.  So it made the most sense to put her down for her 4-5 hour stretch at 11 PM or later, to maximize our sleep.  And sometimes I was too tired to insist that she go to sleep in her pack and play, so we'd bring her in bed with us or put her in her swing.

During the day if we're just hanging around the house she won't usually nap for longer than 30 minutes at a time.  Seriously, like clockwork - 30 minutes almost to the minute!!  I don't mind this either, as long as she's getting enough sleep - I worry that she's overtired sometimes, and her total sleep for a 24-hour cycle is usually less than what is recommended for her age.  I hope she does ok with sleep at day care!

Other sleep stuff: she sleeps best in the velcro swaddle sacks (sometimes she gets the Halo zip ones, which are better for her hips), and lately she's been taking a pacifier at some naps and bedtimes too.  She still sleeps in pack 'n play in our room, which right now we plan to continue until 6 months or until she gets too heavy for pack 'n play.