So I have to be honest and say that Charlotte has not slept longer that a 6 hour stretch since she was 6 months and started teething. For the past few months she has been waking up every hour to two hours. And what would I do to put her to sleep? I would nurse her and even though I knew she shouldn't be nursing at night, I thought it was easier for me to just feed her and then go back to sleep. But, man, I got sick of getting up every hour to two hours.
So I asked the advice of many mothers at church and in my family and remembered what I have read and what my doctor said...she needs to learn to put herself to sleep. So it was suggested to let her cry and go in every 10 minutes then every 15 minutes then every 20 minutes and so on...
Now, I am the JAN THOMAS SWIM SCHOOL TEACHER!!! I should be able to do this. But it is crazy different with your own, but I do know that she would survive crying and learn what she needed to learn. Charlotte lays down for bed and naps EASY! But, it was her waking up at night (which we all do multiple times, but we know how to go back to sleep) and thinking she needed me to go back to sleep.
So, Sunday night I decided it was time. I laid her down at 8:40pm and I did not nurse her to sleep this time, I nursed her then brushed her teeth, put on pjs, said goodnight to dad, said prayers and then I put her in her crib. One hour later she woke and Nicholas went in and rocked her back to sleep without me knowing! He came out and I asked him if her picked her up and he admitted he did, "Don't break the rules!" I said and he agreed.
11:15pm she started crying, and I stuck to every 10 minutes I would go in lay her down, tuck her in, tell her "I love you" rub her belly and bum and try to soother her a bit, then walk out and shut the door. THIS WAS SO HARD...at first! I was staring at my clock.
(which looks like this)
So I asked the advice of many mothers at church and in my family and remembered what I have read and what my doctor said...she needs to learn to put herself to sleep. So it was suggested to let her cry and go in every 10 minutes then every 15 minutes then every 20 minutes and so on...
Now, I am the JAN THOMAS SWIM SCHOOL TEACHER!!! I should be able to do this. But it is crazy different with your own, but I do know that she would survive crying and learn what she needed to learn. Charlotte lays down for bed and naps EASY! But, it was her waking up at night (which we all do multiple times, but we know how to go back to sleep) and thinking she needed me to go back to sleep.
So, Sunday night I decided it was time. I laid her down at 8:40pm and I did not nurse her to sleep this time, I nursed her then brushed her teeth, put on pjs, said goodnight to dad, said prayers and then I put her in her crib. One hour later she woke and Nicholas went in and rocked her back to sleep without me knowing! He came out and I asked him if her picked her up and he admitted he did, "Don't break the rules!" I said and he agreed.
11:15pm she started crying, and I stuck to every 10 minutes I would go in lay her down, tuck her in, tell her "I love you" rub her belly and bum and try to soother her a bit, then walk out and shut the door. THIS WAS SO HARD...at first! I was staring at my clock.
(which looks like this)
So, to distract myself I did laundry! (the laundry room below is beautiful-not mine-but ideal) She cried for 2 hours. 1:15am there was finally silence.
But, after hearing her scream for 2 hours I kept thinking I was hearing her cry. So I had the monitor turned down (no need for volume when she is screaming) and the red lights would come on if she was crying, so whenever I thought she was crying I would look for red lights and when there were none I knew I was imagining it. It was quite annoying to wake up to non-existent crying.
(those are my exact monitors)
But then 3:00am she started again and cried for 20 minutes (not screaming like the previous session), once she quieted down I waited 20 minutes before going in to check and see if she had a blanket and she stirred and cried again for 30 minutes. So Monday night I put her in her "Back to Sleep Sack" so I knew she would not get cold and I would not have to check again.
Well, here is how it went.
Sunday night : 11-1 (2 hours) 3-4 (1 hour) 6am for 15 minutes
Monday night : 3-4 (1 hour) 6am for 15 minutes
Tuesday night: 6am for 15 minutes
Sunday night : 11-1 (2 hours) 3-4 (1 hour) 6am for 15 minutes
Monday night : 3-4 (1 hour) 6am for 15 minutes
Tuesday night: 6am for 15 minutes
I have every hope that tonight will be straight through the night from 8:30pm-7:30am. She is also waking up HAPPY like she used to 6 months ago!
Hooray for sleep!!!
5 comments:
I'm so glad that she's sleeping!! Hooray for sleep!! Miss you tons.
Good for you, Holly! That can be so rough. I hated letting Reagan cry it out, but I knew it was the only way for her to sleep through the night. She's been sleeping great, so a couple nights ago when she cried for an hour (from 4 to 5), I forgot how much that takes out of a mom! Luckily her tooth is just about here, so we're almost done with this for a little bit at least!
Sounds like an episode of Super Nanny. That show cracks me up. If you haven't seen it you don't need to, sounds like you already know all about it.
Hey Holly, I am glad to hear that things are getting a little better. I will keep crossing my fingers for you. Getting children to sleep and to stay asleep seems like a never ending challenge! Especially after them being sick, it seems like you have to do go through the process all over again. Hang in there.
Whatever... if you're cryin, it's not my fault and I need my sleep. Nothing like ear-phones and an ipod:) Ha! But seriously, Kennedy was the WORST sleeper and then somewhere along the lines we figured something out. The 2nd and 3rd baby... slept through the night at least by 6-8 weeks old. I have no idea what happened to do that, but it happened and it was wonderful!
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