After boy's night at home didn't go so well a couple weeks ago, and having a strong desire to get out of the house to see a new movie in a real theater, I knew the days were numbered of playing out our exhausting routine and crossing our fingers that it would work each time. I just needed someone to push me. Luckily, Craig made the call last Tuesday that it was time and we had Dr. Ferber as our guide. Yep, we "Ferberized" Park.
The first night was bad: almost two hours of screaming and Craig and I going in at least every 10 minutes just for Park to get louder and more worked up every time. Nights two and three: 45 minutes of screaming. Nights four, five and six: 20 minutes of screaming/crying/whimpers of defeat. And I'm thrilled to report that tonight, our seventh night of putting the little guy down awake after telling all his little animals goodnight, resulted in less than one minute of crying/whimpering. One minute. And I'm pretty sure the whimpers had more to do with the new sleeping device we surprised him with (see below) than going to bed.
To add to our excitement that bedtime is getting easier around here, when I went in to get Park this morning, the little stinker was laying on his tummy -- his first time to rollover from back to stomach and I missed it. While proud, I was also nervous. We all survived sleeping on our stomachs as infants, but today you can't get away from hearing that "back is best." Panicked about the risk of SIDS, I went out and bought this sleep positioner today. I had always thought these looked pointless (do you really need to buy a contraption to make your kid sleep straight?), but tonight it's giving me peace of mind.
Peace of mind. Peace and quiet. That's how life is around the Lindeman house for now ... until it's time for teething. Until then, Dr. Ferber is my hero. And I owe a big thanks to Craig for gently "pushing" me out of Park's bedroom and letting him learn to self-soothe.
Sweet dreams.
Carrie
5 comments:
Congratulations!!! And, enjoy your new found freedom...evenings for "me/us" time:) Mimi
Great, you made it.
Many give up, but you stuck it out.
Give yourself a big pat on the back.
Each stage gets easier.
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The wedge is one thing you can't live without... Erin, if you are reading this... take note. I prefer the one with the built-in tempurpedic pillow.
Congrats Carrie. Soon he will be sleeping 6pm-6am.
So proud of you guys. It's one of the hardest things you'll have to do, but it is so worth it. And not just for you guys, but for him, too. I still hear parents of Clara's classmates (babies who are older than 1) complaining that their kid STILL wakes up at night. It's cause they're not strong enough to let their baby cry.
I did Ferber, and Clara has slept through the night (minus teething and sickness) since 6 months.
Wahoo! What a relief! Congrats on letting him cry and sticking it out. It is so worth it and he'll never remember those nights of crying.......
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