Since recovery from the upper respiratory infection we have been full steam ahead on the sleep training – meaning, teaching her how to fall asleep without all of the “props”. It had come to be that I had to do all of the following to get her to sleep for longer than 15 mins at a time: swaddle her, nurse her to sleep, quickly replace the nipple with a pacifier, and let her sleep on my chest. If the pacifier fell out (which it did every 10 mins) she would wake up crying. If I tried to put her down on the bed, she would wake up crying. My life for the past six months has pretty much consisted of me working with one free arm (right or left) and while she slept on my chest. But, there came a day when this was no longer working for either of us. First of all, she is HEAVY and HOT. She weighs 20lbs and sweats constantly during sleep – I mean, full pillow soaking. And second, I just couldn’t get anything done with one hand any more. I needed two.
So, my first course of action was ditching the pacifier – and I am proud to say she doesn’t cry for one at all anymore. Then I had to get her eating more during feedings so she would sleep longer during naps and at night. Then I had to get her to fall asleep without the swaddle. This was the toughest battle – and truth be told, sometimes I still swaddle her. I think it’s because I know it makes her feel secure and I personally have to sleep on my arms, so it might just be a genetic preference. And finally, I had to teach her to fall asleep without me right there next to her. This was the hardest – and is still a battle. For the first two days I laid next to her on the bed and let her roll around and cry while I pat her back – this went from 1.5 hours of crying to 10 mins of crying. When she had somewhat “mastered” that, I moved her to her crib and left the room so she could do it herself.
How my heart absolutely aches when I hear my baby girl crying. I went in every 5/10/15.. minutes to check on her. The first night she screamed for almost 2 hours. Tonight it was less than one hour. I really hope I’m not scarring her for life.
And this is what she looks like right this minute:
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! My only ‘experience’ with sleep training is from all my friends who have faltered, worked on, failed, tried again, & mastered it….so no real experience on my part per se. All that to say, from my vast second hand knowledge I understand that it’s tough, it’s tiring (pun intended), it’s more necessary than you know, & it’s ultimately more rewarding than you can imagine. You are a wonderful mama who is teaching both you & Avery safe, reasonable boundaries in love & discipline. You definitely are not scarring her, but truly preparing her to become a lovely lady just like you. Great job, Roxy. 😀
Watching anyone cry is heart wrenching, especially one that you Love.. Can not wait until I will be able to rock her to sleep (soon), she is so so sweet. good job Rox you are doing great and hang in there