So the past couple of nights have been a little more challenging than usual. Jack is 8 months today, and for the past 8 months he fell asleep almost flawlessly with his nightly feeding. He has even been sleeping through the night for many months now besides a few nights here and there where he will wake up, eat, and immediately fall back asleep. For some reason, that has all changed. At night, he cries as soon as you put him in his crib. He wakes up in the middle of the night, does not want to eat, but cries when you put him back into his crib. If you pick him up he snuggles in and falls asleep, but when you put him back down he cries. This makes for a very frustrating 3:30 a.m. wake-up. Last night, he battled to go to sleep from 8:30-9:45 p.m., then he woke up every hour to hour and a half until about 2 a.m. and did not want you to put him down. Nap time has also been challenging, and he does not want to take naps unless he is about to pass out. My stress level has increased since I have always been able to say we have such a good sleeper...this is uncharted territory for me.
So, I went to good ol' facebook for advice from friends. What it comes down to is establishing a more structured routine and more rigid sleep training. I purchased the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. by recommendation of Brie Prose and doing some background reading on it. I always thought I would try to avoid the cry-it-out method, but after doing some reading and putting some thought into it, I think it's the way to go. Today I have gotten a quick start. His morning nap and afternoon nap (which he is taking right now) have been a bit traumatic for me. He has cried about 18-20 minutes each time before falling asleep. His first nap only lasted about 40 minutes, which is short for him. I may have gone in to get him too early. I'm obviously barely into the book, so I'll have to perfect some of the techniques. I always watched Super Nanny thinking how silly it was that parents wanted to run in to get their children when they cried at night not wanting to sleep. Now I am that parent sitting on the couch with tears welling up trying not to go in since he sounds so upset.
I have given myself a few extra things to overcome in this napping thing, because I usually let him nap in his swing with the sound machine on...maybe not the best idea in hindsight. Today I have committed to having him nap in his crib like he really should be, and I'm sure that adds to his frustration.
I know sleep training is best and it's the right time, because Jack will get upset now, stop crying to look at your reaction, and when you say his name he will start crying again. So smart, but so manipulative :) I am always tempted to start things like this "tomorrow," but today is yesterday's tomorrow, right?!
Ok, so I just needed to vent a little via blog. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, words of wisdom, I'd love to hear it. Tonight I think I will be doing a workout video while Jack cries to try and distract myself. I'm doing this while Jonathan's gone over the weekend for National Guard drill, so I'm hoping we can be on the right track when he gets back.
Hang in there Sarah! Henry always nursed at bedtime and went right to sleep...until about 6 1/2 months. Then it was like trying to perform a series of acrobatic events to try to get him in the crib without waking him- and he would always wake up. Finally, one night I had tried EVERYTHING and he still was crying, but obviously exhausted. I thought to myself- he's just got to work this out. So I left the room, and after about 10 minutes he was sound asleep, and slept like a log. The next night was even easier. Now I nurse him, he's awake but super drowsy, and I lay him in his crib. He turns his little head to the side and off to sleep. Naptimes sometimes take 7 or 8 minutes for him to quit whining, but he never really cries- just fusses. It's so much better for both of us that he can put himself to sleep. Jack will be there before you know it, and it probably won't take as much crying as you think. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteHe, does, however, still wake every 4am to nurse! I think I need tips from you on how to fix that!! :)
ReplyDeleteI will chime in with a 'hang in there!!' It's hard- no question. but totally worth it because as they get older it only gets harder to start. So today is a great day, and sounds like he's doing awesome crying for around 20 min. I'm so glad you have found confidence in the book- that's exactly what it did for me. Helps to feel confident that you are doing the best thing for your kid- even if that means allowing him the chance to learn to go to sleep on his own. You will be sooo happy he does!!
ReplyDelete