Baby Bear is finally sleeping like a baby!!!! We took a break from the sleep training that we attempted to start last month since Baby Bear was teething and congested. It was not the right time for her. So Papa Bear and I took turns at night getting up with Baby Bear. The last few weeks were getting progressively more difficult and both Papa Bear and I were very sleep deprived and not very happy (or effective) parents. Baby Bear was waking every 1-2 hours. We knew she did not need to eat each time she woke, she just needed help getting back to sleep by being picked up. Papa Bear took the first shift getting up with her and I slept on the couch until about 2am. At that time I would nurse her and Papa Bear went to sleep on the couch. We did this for a couple of weeks.
Last week, we decided that it was time to re-start sleep training. In our previous attempts of sleep training, using the Ferber method, we were focusing on decreasing the night wakings by reducing the number of feedings. Well, we were successful in that she was only being nursed 2 times at night, but the reduced number of feedings did not decrease the number of times she woke up. She would wake up often and once we picked her up, she immediately fell back asleep. She just didn't know how to get herself back to sleep without our help. We had to teach her. It was time to go all out sleep training.
So we started last Thursday night since that was the beginning of my weekend. We went through our normal bedtime routine with bath, lotion, bedtime stories, lullabies, and nursing. However instead of nursing her to sleep, I removed her from the breast before she fell asleep. I gave her a kiss and put her in her crib. Well, Baby Bear hates being put down in her crib and was not happy, she was crying and upset. We started with 3 minutes, then I went in and followed the rest of the schedule set by Ferber. It was so hard to hear her cry, she was definitely angry. Baby Bear went to sleep in under 30 minutes. It was a long 30 minutes. Papa Bear and I slept on the couch. I woke up at about 4am and Baby Bear was still asleep! I went to check in on her to make sure she was still breathing and she was sleeping just like a baby! Baby Bear did not wake up until 6:45am. She had slept for 11 hours!!! It was amazing. I felt so rested.
We did it again the next night and she was asleep after about 10 minutes and again slept until 6:45am. She has finally learned to fall sleep on her own. She still fusses when I first put her into her crib but goes to sleep after a few minutes; tonight she was down after less than a minute of fussing. I hope that she will eventually not cry or fuss when I put her down in her crib. The last couple of nights she has gotten up once in the night and I have nursed her, but put her back in her crib before she falls asleep on the breast. My goal was to reduce the number of night wakings so I have no problem with getting up once a night to nurse her if that is what she needs. I am also noticing that she is eating more during the day, so I know she is getting enough food. I hope this all sticks!
After months of sleep deprivation, this mama bear had the most restful weekend. It feels wonderful to actually get some sleep. I feel like a different mama, a better mama for my baby.
Thanks for this great blog, Sher. I have been wanting to train Rachel to sleep in her crib. She tosses and turns, eventually ending up on her belly. She can't seem to roll back onto her back when she's half asleep, so it freaks us out. We have to find a solution. I think I will check out Ferber's book.
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