I don't want to jinx anything, so I won't technically claim it, but she's sure close if she's not there yet! Today is day 9 of the sleep training. I decided 10 days ago that I need to start going into the office 1 day a week to catch up on things and then keep them up, but couldn't handle the thought of bringing Ridley to a babysitter (even if it is her Nana) with no schedule or napping skills to speak of. So, the next day I started implementing CIO (cry it out) in a sort of cry it out the way I can handle it kind of way. The routine is - swaddle her, rock her for 3-5 minutes, lay her in her crib with her paci, then let her cry for 5 minutes before replacing the paci, then replace every 10 minutes. The first 4-5 days were quite rough, but it wasn't because of her crying, it was because I had already learned that if I put her down at the right time, she would barely cry, if at all. So if she was crying, I knew it was because I had either put her down too early, or too late, and would need to determine which one! I kept a record of the times she woke, ate, and was put down, and how long she'd sleep for each nap. It was basically a week of figuring out everything that DIDN'T work. BUT, it was soo worth it, 1) because I feel like I know her so much better now and 2) because if I put her down at the right time, she falls asleep within 5 minutes without even a peep.
We also moved to a 3 hour eating schedule (yes, I was still doing 2.5, crazy I know!) It's amazing how nice an extra 30 minutes between feedings is!!! It feels heavenly! Ridley seems happy with it too. I typically am still waking her from her nap for her feeding at the 3 hour mark, but even when she's awake, she doesn't fuss at the 2.5 hour mark.
The next goals are: extended nighttime sleep (right now she's doing 7 - 8 hours) and a more consistent napping schedule. By this I mean, "She goes down for a nap at 9:35" rather than, "Watch her, and when she starts yawning and rubbing her eyes, that's when she needs to go down". I'm not pushing hard for either of these, because I feel both will come with time as we continue to be consistent with our current schedule.
3 comments:
We need help in the napping department too...maybe I will try your idea or it is just still to early...nice work :)
I'm so happy for you! Uninterrupted sleep is INCREDIBLE, isn't it? :) It only gets better from here. Good job, keep it up!
Sounds like you are doing great! Congrats! It's so true that you get to know baby more when you pay attention to every little detail (different cries and all)! You are such a good mommy!
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