Well since Cooper is almost 10 months old (tear) and not sleeping through the night I decided it was time to sleep train him. I had contemplated doing it around 6 months because that is when I hear most people start, but I didn't because of him still spitting up. Cooper was still spitting up constantly all day long. It didn't matter if he had eaten more or less solids, or nursed less and more frequently. I tried everything and nothing made a difference. And since spitting up didn't bother him there really wasn't anything we could do about it. I felt like he was waking up because he was starving because he hadn't kept much down all day long. Well 4 months later and him still waking up usually twice a night I was ready. He went through a long period where he only woke up once and it was early morning (3:00-5:00 am) so I thought he would just slowly start sleeping longer until he woke up for the morning. I was wrong! It turned into him waking up twice a night. He has stopped spitting up as much (still happens daily but less often). Naps and bedtime aren't a problem it is just the waking in the middle of the night. I have always been big on self soothing. So he has learned how to put himself to bed and down for naps. He always goes to bed around 8:00 pm and is up anywhere between 7-8:30 am. He will sleep that whole time, just gets up to eat then is right back asleep. I had read about all these different methods and asked a bunch of moms what work for them. The majority of people said to just LET HIM CRY IT OUT. Cooper has got stamina and can scream for as long as you will let him. So I decided on the Ferber Method. It stills involves crying. But you don't leave the baby all alone for the whole time they are crying. There are times when you try to soothe.
The Ferber Method in a nutshell. Where to start.....umm the main thing is not picking them up to soothe them. The first night when he woke up I went and laid him back down (he is always standing in his crib), gave him his binky and rubbed his head for a few seconds and tried to calm him down a little (didn't ever really calm down even when I was in there). Then I let him cry for 5 min, repeated the routine, cried for 10 min, repeated routine, cried for 15 minutes, repeated the routine, cried for 20 min (longest interval for crying), repeated routine, then finally fell asleep after crying for a few minutes. The first night was by far the hardest. When it was all said and done he had been crying for about an hour and half. Each night you up the first time increment by 5 minutes. So I would start at 10 minutes the next night but never go longer than 20 min of him crying before I go in to calm him a little bit. But remember NO PICKING HIM UP!!!! Here is how the rest of the week went:
Night One: as I mentioned above he cried for about an hour and a half, but only woke up once that night (12:00-1:30 am).
Night two: slept through the night (8 pm-8 am)
Night three: woke up once (1:00 am), repeated the sequence from the first night. But started at 10 min. He cried for almost as long but would calm down when I went in there.
Night four: woke up at 1 am, I went in laid him down and he made one whimper and then went right back to sleep. Didn't wake up until morning.
Night five: slept through the night
Night six: slept through the night
Night seven: slept through the night
I have been in heaven getting 3 NIGHTS UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP in a row!!!!! Now that I know he can go all night without eating I don't feel so bad making him cry. Don't get me wrong, I HATE hearing him scream bloody murder. Especially when I know if going in and feeding him will make it stop. But I know we both need to be sleeping through the night. When he wakes up in the morning he is ready to nurse. But isn't screaming because of hunger. He is still his happy morning self. I know that the Ferber Method doesn't work for everyone. But I can honestly say it has been a success for me and Cooper. As you can see it only took 3 days and we were skipping the middle of the night crying! If I would have known how quick he would catch on I would have tried doing this months ago. Now I know for my next baby that I don't have to go 10 months of middle of the night feedings.
Side Note: I even checked out "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber, M.D. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet but I probably still will. Now that I know his method worked. I want to know what else he has to say.
I'll have to try that. Eli has had probably 5 nights that he's slept through the night but that's it. Lately he wakes up twice, probably because a new tooth is growing in, but still. I want more sleep! Glad it worked for you!
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