Back to the topic of getting Laurel to sleep through the night. Paul and I agree to let her cry it out. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, we won't go to her. In the past, if we did just go check on her, it would make her all the more mad, especially if I didn't nurse her. The goal is to get her to sleep through the night without nursing. She was sleeping through the night for months before she got sick, just a little retraining needed I hope. Here's how Laurel's week of nighttime sleep has gone:
Keep in mind, bedtime is around 8:00 pm and I want her to sleep at least until 6 am. Living in the desert, we are parched, so I go ahead and nurse her at that time and then put her back down for another hour or so.
Monday Night
8:00 bedtime
3:45 crying, really pissed off, back to sleep in 2 minutes
5:00 crying, really pissed off, back to sleep in 6 minutes
6:15 crying, I get her and find she managed to get her left arm out of her sleeve and the sleeper is tight up around her neck on one side and tight under her armpit on the other (I feel like a heel I didn't check on her earlier, her poor left arm is cold), I put her arm back into the sleeve of her sleeper, nurse her and she's back to sleep in 5 minutes.
7:15 Babbling, up for good
*Mental note: if she's really pissed off, go ahead and check on her, something is probably wrong.
Tuesday Night
8:00 bedtime
4:30 crying, back to sleep in 5 minutes
6:00 crying, I get her, nurse her and she's back to sleep in five minutes
7:15 babbling, up for good
Wednesday Night
7:45 bedtime
9:00 crying, really pissed off, Paul checks on her and finds her leg stuck between the crib slats. Once rescued, I go ahead and nurse her to help calm her down (probably shouldn't have done that), back to sleep in 5 minutes.
4:30 crying, back to sleep in 1 minute
6:15 crying, I nurse her and she's back to sleep in five minutes
7:30 awake and babbling
Thursday Night
8:00 bedtime
5:00 crying, back to sleep in a three minutes
6:00 crying, I nurse her and she's back to sleep in five minutes
7:15 awake and babbling
Friday Night
8:00 bedtime
5:30 crying, back to sleep in one minute
6:30 crying, I nurse her and she's back to sleep in five minutes
7:15 awake and babbling
Saturday Night
7:30 bedtime
5:50 crying, back to sleep in one minute
6:15 softly crying, falls back to sleep within seconds
7:00 awake and babbling, I finally nurse her
Sunday Night
8:00 bedtime
6:30 I'm sitting here blogging, updating this post, waiting to hear a peep out of her yet!
It seems Laurel wasn't the one who really needed the retraining, just Paul and me. We needed to remember everyone wakes at different times throughout the night. Most of us just fall back to sleep. Laurel tends to cry herself back to sleep. Her cry sounds very sad and it's hard for us not to go to her, but she falls back to sleep much faster if we let her be. Obviously, when her cries sound frantic, we will check on her, already learned that lesson. But for the occasional whimper, we will put our faith in Laurel to fall back asleep on her own.
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9 comments:
I recounted your story to my husband and we laughed in sympathy - indeed, sometimes the kiddo is just fine, it's the adults who need to adjust!
I'm glad that you are all sleeping more.
I can't imagine what it must feel like to hear your child crying and you resisting the urge to go and comfort. I hear that from other parents and struggle between being sympathetic and being stern about resisting the urge to comfort. But luckily it sounds like you know what you have to do.
That looks fantastic! Just curious how she does with naps? My little one's bedtime is 8 pm, too, but he's younger so I'm reluctant at this point to let him cry. Also, he's teething, so I figure that might be causing him to wake up too.
Sounds like her sleeping is back to almost normal. Good for you for finding what works for you as well as Laurel. Don't feel bad, we've all had times when we have ignored the cry only to find out later that something like the arm stuck outside the sleeper has happened.
It sounds like it's working, yeah!! How exciting! We seem to have experienced some set-backs with Devyn and sleep. But we're "re-training" her all over again. Fun, fun stuff!
glad to hear you have accomplished my impossible task.....Caleb sleeping through the night. But I guess it too is time for us to begin the dreaded "cry in out" Phase. But he just loves nursing in the night...although it makes mommy cranky the next day...due to lack of sleep.
Soemtimes you just have to do these things. Our youngest did the same thing. She would wake a few times a night, even when she was TWO! and now that I think about it, THREE! But since we moved her into the room with her big sis, she doesn't get up ... except for this morning at 4 when she was crying because she couldn't find Cinderella.
Hang in there! My three kids all needed "retraining" to sleep through the night after they were sick. Stick to your plan. It's working! :)
Yay for that!
And I think all babies have had one of those "leg caught in between the slats of the crib" nights, haven't they?
Carrie
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