My sister-in-law gave us a call on Sunday, to see how we were all doing. When Kristian mentioned to her that Lilian was still waking up a few times a night, she was fairly horrified (she’s a pediatrician). So, we decided to do some impromptu sleep training that night. It was pretty rough (I eventually had to go sleep in the attic with a white noise app going on my iPhone), but she’s already sleeping better. Which means that we’re all sleeping better.
I can’t believe it took us this long to get around to sleep training.
Scratch that, I can totally believe it. By the time Lilian was old enough for sleep training, I was too tired to start. At that point, I would have done anything to get her to go to sleep. Even if it meant that she’d be up crying in a few hours. I… am not exactly rational when I’m tired.
I’d read the Ferber book when I was still on maternity leave, but Lilian was too young at that point. So, I filed it away in the cobwebs of my mind. And I busted out all of that knowledge right when it counted.
Which is to say, I told Kristian to check on her every few minutes, do a little soothing, and then I ran away screaming.
She cried off and on for a couple of hours, but she eventually gave up and fell asleep. And then she slept for the rest of the night. New Years Eve, she went down without a fuss and slept for ten hours straight. Can you believe it? I know I can’t, and I got to sleep for a good chunk of it myself. Last night she fussed off and on for an hour or so and then conked out for a night. Tonight, she fell asleep after a couple of minutes.
Now that I don’t have to feed her a few times a night, we moved her out of the co-sleeper and into her room down the hall. Which means she doesn’t make little noises in her sleep and wake me up. So, I’m sleeping even better.
To say that things are looking better would be a gross understatement. Of epic proportions.
Of course, now that I’ve told all of you, she will probably never sleep through the night again. Because the universe works that way. Until then, I will leave you with a picture of my little huskies.
Glad you are getting some sleep!! I can’t even imagine…
I have never heard of sleep training…… I have soooo much to learn!!!
Thanks! We’ve had a few setbacks, but I think things are getting better.
You’ll learn fast!
The Baby Center emails are pretty cheesy, but I ended up learning quite a bit from them. They keep sending them even after you give birth and there’s some stuff in there about feeding them solid foods, sleep training, etc.