Let the Sleep Training Begin!

Will's new thing is that he won't fall asleep at the drop of a hat like he used to.  Now he's too aware and wants to play instead of take a nap or go to bed.  Luckily, I had read Dr. Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and I was totally prepared for this challenge.  He recommends right around 4 months getting babies on a sleep schedule.  The idea is to notice when they are tired, soothe them to sleep with a consistent routine, and then put them down to sleep.  He says they should be getting 2-3 good naps a day (an hour or two) and they should be going to bed between 6-8:00pm.

Armed with this knowledge, I began....

Day 1: I put Will in his crib to nap and he wailed.  I gave up.  He continued with his normal pattern of sleeping in the Baby Bjorn or the bouncy seat for about 20 minutes before waking up.  At bed time, with new resolve and Alex's help, I put Will in his crib after he fell asleep nursing around 7:15.  He cried and cried...and cried.  Alex went up to the crib to soothe him, then I did.  Just as I was about to give up and go get him, he stopped crying and fell asleep.  In total he cried about 45 minutes.  45 awful, torturous minutes.  Ugh.

That night, Will was up at 2:15am.  He has NEVER been up that early before!  I was so tired as I was up feeding him, and so frustrated.  The book says that babies are supposed to sleep LONGER if they go to bed earlier.  What was I doing wrong?  I was ready to quit.  Try sleep training again later--if at all.  Go back to what's easy!! 

Day 2: Back to the book.  I picked up where I left off yesterday re-reading the chapter on sleep habits for months 5-9.  That very page stated that now that babies are going to bed earlier, they will likely wake to be fed around 2-3:00am, then go back to sleep until 6-7:00am.  This was exactly what happened with Will.  And that was just the encouragement I needed to keep at it.

However, I was still unsuccessful with the morning nap.  He actually didn't take one at all.  Just cried.  And cried.  For the afternoon nap, I tried again to soothe him and put him in his crib.  After about 30 minutes of crying, he fell asleep and slept for about 25 minutes.

He went to bed around 8:30--later than I'd like but we were out and he had a long nap in the car.  No trouble going to sleep.  He was up at 4:15, then slept again from 5-8:00am.

Day 3: Breakthrough.  I finally had the resolve to try the morning nap and insist on it.  I knew Will wa getting overtired because he wasn't getting the hour nap Dr. W. says is crucial to be restorative sleep.  I soothed him to sleep again by bouncing him and singing to him.  He fell asleep and I was so enjoying cuddling him that I thought about not putting him down at all...but I did.  And he cried.  Ugh.

I hopped in the shower and prayed.  By the time I was done, Will was sound asleep!  He slept for an hour and a half.  And when he woke up, he had a huge smile on his face.  While I changed his diaper and his clothes, he smiled and cooed, even though I knew he was hungry.  Hoorah!  I consider this a success.

I was worried that having to be home for naps would be frustrating and confining, but I loved my hour and a half of alone time.

For the afternoon nap, I again soothed him when I noticed him getting sleepy and then put him in his crib.  He cried for about 2 seconds, I put a pacifier in his mouth and he immediately went to sleep.

36 hours ago I was ready to toss Dr. Weissbluth's book right out the window and I was mentally composing a nasty letter in my head claiming all the reasons why his method is cruel and ineffective.  Now, I'm praising his name!

I'm cautious, though, as this was a little too easy.  But maybe it's like potty training--when they are ready, they are ready.  Only time will tell!  For now, I'm going to enjoy my hour of peace!