On day two, we did the massage routine. Then it was time for him to eat. I offered him the breast, and braced myself for teeth. To my surprise, there were no teeth. He did not bite me. Maybe he was less resistant to change. He quietly nursed. He fell asleep. I held him close and rocked for a few minutes, and then I stood and swayed and shushed and swayed and shushed (did I mention I swayed?) my way to the crib. I quietly lowered him. His whole body relaxed into the mattress. My brain screamed, "OMG!!!! He's asleep in the cr...." WAAAAHHH!!! I picked him up and tried swaying and shushing some more. It didn't work. He ended up nursing to sleep. Days 3-5 are much of the same, only without the staying asleep in the crib and with a bath or two thrown into the mix.
I'm supposed to do this for 5 more days and record my progress. If it hasn't worked by day 10, I need to revise my plan and try it for 10 more days. To be honest, I'm pretty much burnt out on the No Cry Sleep Solution already. There is cry in this solution, and I am definitely not getting more sleep. In fact, I am pretty damn exhausted still, and I feel like I'm getting less sleep. He's waking up more at night, and I'm so tired walking from one end of the house to the other to feed him when he cries over the monitor that some nights, I haven't even made it back to my bed to sleep. I end up falling asleep sitting up in the arm chair or on the couch. I see no light at the end of this tunnel.
So, I've made a decision. If in 5 days this thing is not working, we are going to try the Ferber method. I've requested the book 'Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems' from the library. I'm going to use the money my grandmother sends for his Christmas present to buy him the Rainforest Crib Soother so he has some calm sounds and a night light, and a toy he can turn on and off on his own in the crib.
Am I excited to try the controlled cry? No. Then again, I've never had to do it before. Ethan and Claire were both easy sleepers. There was a period that we lived with my MIL for awhile, and he liked to fall asleep watching Animal Planet with her or watching Winnie the Pooh with me. I was fine with it. When he fell asleep, I tucked him into his bed, and he'd be there for the rest of the night. He did go through a period though where he would wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and climb back into bed with grandma. Claire however, always loved sleeping in her own bed. She doesn't like being in bed with other people. She prefers her own space to roll around and sleep. All I've ever had to do with her was make sure she had some music, some water and that she was covered up, and she'd go to sleep quietly on her own.
So, here I am, getting ready to do it for the first time. I think I'm ready though. I'm tired, and something has to give. I think if he's full and drowsy and I lay him down awake, things will be fine. It might take awhile, but I'm sure they'll be fine.
Right?
1 comment:
You will be fine. And, more importantly ( because as a fellow mummy i know your wondering about it...), so will Grayson.
I resisted controlled crying too but in the end, thats what it came down to - and it worked for us. And the first day was tough but it got easier. Its not about leaving them to cry for hours on end... its about letting them cry for 2 mins, then going back in, then maybe 3 mins, until they learn to cry less, to settle faster, and to do it without mummy having to touch them.
Like i said, i'm behind you - i thought it would never work for Flynn and it did, i reckon it can work for you guys too...
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