Bridger has never learned to put himself to sleep. Ever since he was a new baby, we have held him, rocked him, bounced him, etc., etc. to get him to fall asleep. I know, I know, we did it to ourselves. I've been getting really tired of the extremely long bedtime process. I had been warned many times about the problems with never letting your kid cry it out...but I could just never bring myself to do it (either could Brent).
The past couple of weeks, or months, actually, he has laid in our bed and then fallen asleep on his own. I thought he might be getting the hang of sleeping on his own. Maybe not. The past couple of days he just wants to play. So I've rocked him, because I know he is tired. Last night I decided he needed to just cry it out. I put him in his crib and he instantly started screaming. I just walked away. I went and sat in the chair and was really still (so maybe he wouldn't notice I was there...yeah right). I was super strong and didn't go get him when he was screaming the loudest and hardest. Finally, finally, he just laid down and the screaming turned to loud whimpers. I sat there for a while more until the loud whimpers turned to the occasional whimper. He finally fell asleep. I couldn't believe it. The kid has never done this...ever. It actually works, to let them cry it out. I waited for a couple of minutes until I could hear him breathing deeply and small noises weren't making him jump. I put his blanket on him and walked out of the room. Success!!
I walked down stairs to find that only about 25 minutes had passed since originally taking him up to bed. Not too bad for the first time. We went to bed at about 10:30 and the screaming started again. Great. I went and put his bink in (I'll deal with that later). He was still screaming, but I just walked out and went to bed. I turned the monitor way down and let him cry. Brent kept wanting to get him, but then the whimpering started, and then the sleep. It was beautiful. He slept the rest of the night (which he usually does anyway. That has never been the problem). So I will try it again tonight. Maybe it will only be 15 minutes of crying...maybe??!! He woke up his usual happy self this morning, so I know there were no serious emotional scars from the night before!
We now know that the "experts" are serious when they say to put your baby to bed a little bit awake so they can learn to put themselves to sleep. So much to learn in this whole parenting thing. We'll get it...maybe!
3 comments:
This post was just like looking into a "mommy mirror." I was the same way with both my kids. Don't feel bad. Rohne is almost 2, and just barely sleeping through the night. I mean, like in the last month! I could never let my kids cry. In fact, when Rohne was born, I was still getting up with Tay. That's why there are two of you. Bridger will be Brent's responsibilty, because you have to be the one to feed the baby. My philosophy is, that they will do it when they are ready. It takes some kids longer than others. But, good for you for trying! It will probably work out great, if you can stick to it. Good Luck! Just know, that when you are awake at night, I probably am too. I still haven't taught myself to sleep through the night. I haven't done it in 3 years!
Stay strong! Bed time is too sacred for mommies to be up all night with the rocking, etc. When you feel your weakest, remember how wonderful you felt last night and know YOU CAN DO IT!
Congratulations! It's so hard to do, but it's the only way. We did the exact same thing with Kurt. He was over 1 when we were finally on the verge of insanity (we were driving him to get him to sleep). My friend convinced me to let him cry. The first day he cried for 30 minutes. It was heart-breaking. After that, he almost never cried more than 2 minutes. I hope it works that way for you too.
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