First off I want to start by asking people who are "anti-sleep training" (and anti-crying) to please be nice and not leave me mean comments. I'm having a rough time as it is!
So, after having the WORST NIGHT EVER on Tuesday we decided to start sleep training Alexandra on Wednesday night. On Tuesday she woke up every 45 minutes from 11:15 until 7am! I was going insane! Each wake up required either eating, picking up and rocking/bouncing. It was HELL!
So, last night we did our usual bedtime routine of a bath, story, feeding, swaddling and then my husband laid her in her crib awake. I usually would rub her tummy and put the stupid soother in her mouth until she fell asleep. But last night NO SOOTHER and he left the room.
She cried.
He went in after 3 minutes. Kissed her, rubbed her tummy and said "nighty night". She was still crying.
He waited 5 minutes. Then repeated the above.
Still crying.
He waited 10 minutes. Repeat above.
Crying was slowing but persisting.
He waited 10 more minutes and before going in she stopped crying! And FELL ASLEEP!
It took 28 minutes and she was asleep WITHOUT THE SOOTHER!
I was "on-duty" for the night time shift since hubs has to go to work and so he set up the pull out couch in case he needed to go there.
She slept until 12:30. I fed her. And put her back down awake. She fussed for about 7 minutes. Then fell asleep.
She woke up at 3:30. Not yet time to eat (she eats normally at 4:30). I let her cry. Hubs went to the couch. After 3 min of crying I rubbed her and kissed her. Then repeated after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and repeated at 15 minute intervals. Unfortunately, she cried until 4:20 when I fed her. Then I put her down and she fell right to sleep and slept until 7:30.
All in all I am calling night one of sleep training a success. I am so proud of my baby and I am loving her and kissing her and hugging her extra today to make up for the sucky crying we had to endure! I think she had a better sleep last night than she has in weeks, and so did I.
Nap time today was also a success! I put her in the crib awake, no soother and she fell asleep with mild fussing after 12 minutes! She slept for 40 minutes which is standard for her. (we will work on nap length eventually!).
So, day 1 down. We survived. I am loving my little princess like crazy and hoping that tonight is not a shit show!
Wish us luck and check back for day 2 tomorrow!!!
LTB
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How funny that we posted about the same thing! Great job! Isn't it wonderful that we have such involved husbands?!! It sure does make coping with sleep training easier!
ReplyDeleteYay! It sounds like sleep training is going to be really good for you guys. Isa had a similar first night and after four nights she was sleeping like a dream! You really will feel like a different person, I swear to you.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a mom's listserve in my area and I read so many comments where mom's mention that their 14 month is just sleeping through the night. I CANNOT IMAGINE not getting a full night's sleep for that long! Isa started sleeping through the night (like for realsies) at 4 months when we slept trained her and then she just kept doing it (not counting some regressions here and there). For her to wake up is definitely out of the ordinary and signals that she is sick or teething or something. It's been great. I hope you have similar success!
Keep up the good work!
Don't you feel on top of the world when you do something that works?!?!
ReplyDeleteWe did sleep training last night too and she fussed and cried off and on for 3 hours! She would cry then sleep, cry, sleep etc. for 3 hours straight. Finally I just got up and fed her...I think she would have done that all night. I'm not sure how long you're suppose to let them go. Ugh...now I don't know what to do. Maybe her ears are still bothering her. We'll see what happens tonight.
Wonderful! That gives me so much hope-- P is only 2 months, so still too young. But it's great to read about what works, for when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteGood job mama! Sleep training is tough, but sleep is essential for everyone. I hate to let my baby cry, but it's sometimes necessary, and it's just important to remember that it's for their own good. I hope each night continues to get easier :) Keep us updated!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! My baby wasn't so good the first night :)
ReplyDeleteI think of her crying as "She's just decompressing" and one of my mommy friends said to think of it as her blowing off any extra energy before sleeping. It helps me!
Good job, LTB! I know it's tough to let her cry, but it is SO WORTH IT. for you and for her. no one is getting the sleep they need if she needs to be rocked every hour. We have been sleep scheduling since Miss A was 3 weeks old and now at 7 weeks she is sleeping 6-8 hours in a stretch at night, without us having to rock her to get to sleep. It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a success to me!!! Good luck tonight. I'll be thinking of you when I'm up in the middle of the night, hoping that you aren't!!!
ReplyDeletewell done! I hope each night gets better!
ReplyDeleteGood job mama! I think sleep training sounds like a success so far. I hope the subsequent nights get better and better ((hugs)) this too shall pass and will not last forever even though I know it feels like it will.
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