I am not sure if it is more training for myself or for Wiggle Bean but we are working on our sleep training.
I decided while writing my last post, about how we (by we I mean Wiggle and I because Hubby does not seem to be having a problem sleeping) are not sleeping through the night yet and how much trouble we have had lately, that I was going to start "sleep training" or rather re-training.
According to many articles that I have read lately, I am doing just about everything wrong so I am going to correct all my "mistakes" and try to get her sleeping through the night.
It will be a learning process but I am hopeful that we will survive and I will soon be able to sleep longer than 2-3 hours at a time.
This process may not work for everyone (heck, it may not even work for us) but this is what I am going with
Step 1: Set a routine and stick to it!
Here is our new routine:
7:30 PM Nighttime bottle while sitting on the couch with mommy (or daddy!)
7:50 PM Bedtime story in her bedroom
8:00 PM Lights out and mommy will sing (or what she calls singing) you one of your favorite songs. Right now these include Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Could You Be Loved, Three Little Birds and One Love all by Bob Marley.
8:05 PM In bed
Step 2: Do not run in there every time she makes the slightest peep. Let her self sooth for a bit before going to check on her. When checking on her DO NOT pick her up, unless she needs a diaper change. (this is for me)
Step 3: Cut out night time feedings to break the habit of waking for a snack and using milk as a soother to get back to sleep.
Night 1 Results:
Overall I think it went fairly well and we both made good progress. Here is the schedule for the night:
8:05 completed our routine
8:30 small whimper and little cry, lasted only a minute or two
9:10 Awake in the crib and crying
9:14 Daddy checked on her and thought she was cold so he gave her another blanket
9:15 Still crying fairly loud so mommy checked in and reassured her that we were still here and she was OK
9:18 Quieted down
9:22 Crying again
9:34 Mom checked in and reassured again
9:45 Daddy checked in, patted her back and reassured her
9:55 Fell back asleep!!!!
1:15 Small whimper that grew to a loud cry when I did not go it to feed her
1:25 Daddy checked in on her
1:30 Mommy checked in (then went back to bed and fell asleep while daddy stayed up to reassure baby)
2:00 Fell asleep!
4:30 Loud "I'M HUNGRY" cry. This is a different cry than her usual cry so I went in and gave her a small snack then put her back in bed by 4:45
6:10 Up for the day
It might look like there was a bunch of crying but this is a huge improvement from where we were at before our new plan.
I'll let you know how night 2 goes tomorrow! Wish us luck!
3 comments:
That is great for the first night!!! Good job Mommy!!
That didn't go too bad at all. We had a couple nights like that at first too. My suggestion would be to wait a little longer before going in to check on her. Like 15 minutes as opposed to 5-10. And only have one person go in. Not both within 5 minutes of each other. She will learn that the louder she cries, the faster you will come in. I'm only saying this from my experience I just went through last month. We have a lot in common, my Little One (LO) is 18 months, I'm over 30 (36), and I too get up at 5 for work. So I know exactly how you feel.
But after about a week of doing the same things you are doing now, you will definitely notice a difference. LO actually ASKS to go to bed now without a fight or nothing.
Just stick to your guns.
Kim....Erie, PA
krussell@welka.com
Good luck with your sleep training! Both of my kids had trouble. My older ds didn't sleep through the night until he was about 3. Work on dd now. :-)
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