Saturday, January 30, 2010

How do I get my baby to sleep through the night?


Well we finally did it!
We got Fenix to sleep through the night.
We put her to bed at eight and she
sleeps until about seven AM.
Sometimes she
sleeps even later than that :D
Now after a few days of having a good nights
sleep, I think I have caught up.
I am no longer groaning when my boys wake-up because I have been waking up before them :D
Sleep, its a wonderful blessing :D
I can't seem to stop smiling because I am so well rested ;D

So how did we do it? Some may wonder, well:
I am a huge believer in the "just let em cry it out" method.
It worked with Bear, it worked with Lyon, and now it has worked with Fenix :D

If you aren't familiar with how to use this method, well I'll tell you :D
First you must decide that tonight is the night.
Get yourself mentaly prepared because if you are anything like me you will run through fire to get to your crying baby. So prepare yourself to be going against all the motherly instincs that tell you to go get your poor crying baby.
Second it really helps to have someone with you to support you through this "ordeal" And to go in to comfort the baby when it comes time to do so. I will not go in to comfort my baby when she has been crying for a long time because:
A- I will not be able to resist the urge to pick her up
and
B- She will smell food nearby (my boobs=milk) and go into a frenzy wanting it.
So I send in my dearest Phil (husband) to pat her back and let her know that she is not alone, she is loved, but needs to go to sleep.

So this is how the night should go:
First baby should be awake, then-
Go through a getting ready for bed routine whatever it might be. Bath, diaper, jammies, snuggles, kisses, hugs, goodnights.
Then put your baby in their bed.(Baby should still be awake when they are put in their bed)
Say good night and leave the room, close the door.
Baby may cry, let him/her.
Baby may also go right to sleep if so great.
Now you have two options, you can either go to sleep yourself or put in a movie to help distract you from the crying that may carry on for hours. Yes hours. That first night count on 4 hours of crying, I'm serious, well sort of, if you count on it being that long you will be pleasantly relieved when it only lasts an hour or so. (letting baby cry it out helps the baby learn to self soothe) If your baby is still crying after say 2 hours send your support person in, (in my case my husband) That person may pat baby's back and speak calmly that the baby is loved and not alone then leave the room, without picking up the baby. (It is very important that whoever goes into the baby's room does not turn on the light!!!)
It is also important that you not be in the same room as the baby, so if you cohabit the same room you should plan to sleep on the couch for a few nights till the baby is sleeping through the night.
Once the baby falls asleep you can go in and make sure he/she is in a good position, for breathing, and for comfort, (you know make sure His/her legs aren't sticking out of crib bars at odd angles [if there is a possibility of this happening you may want to peek in at the baby to be sure that is not the case]. But try not to move baby unless absolutely necessary. Also make sure baby is covered with blanket, if necessary, for baby not to be cold)
Now that the baby is asleep you have two options, you can go to sleep or watch another movie. Baby will probably start to cry again in not to long or baby may sleep the rest of the night, be prepared for either scenario. If the baby wakes again and starts to cry again, let her/him! Only go in after an hour or even two and if sending in support person remind them not to pick up the baby, if going in yourself remember not to pick up the baby. Just speak calm soft words of love and then leave. (do not turn on the light!!!)
You may have to repeat this process several times, especially the first night.
The next night could be just as hard or slightly easier.
The night after that should be better as long as you have staid strong in not getting baby out of their bed.
This process could take a week, don't be discouraged just keep at it. If after a week baby is still screaming for hours, well I don't know what to tell you. My babies were sleeping through the night after 3-4 nights.
Sometimes there can be a setback like if baby gets sick or if you travel and then you will sometimes need to go through this again. Do not attempt this while on vacation or while baby is sick.
I waited to do this until my baby could sit up on her own and crawl around a bit, it made me feel like if she were uncomfortable she would be able to move around enough to get comfortable. But I also know that some people choose to do this with very young babies, that just wasn't for me. Its up to you just be sure that your baby can breath at all times.
Should you choose to follow my example that is great, let me know if you have any questions. Should you succeed I would love to hear about it. If you have another method that works or worked for you I'd also like to hear about it :D
Happy sleeping!

*Please also note that I am not a pediatrician, nor do I have any other degrees as far as child development goes I simply am an experienced mother who has had great success with this method. And no its not abusive. Its parent abuse to have to wake-up to a crying baby every hour. I'm just sayin...

6 comments:

Shannon and Doug said...

Haha great post Rose. I agree, it IS parent abuse! lol I did the same thing with my babies and it totally works! It is hard at first but it really is worth it! having a baby monitor put my mind at ease sometimes when I didn't want to open the door. I would just turn it on to check on the babe and when I heard them softly snoring I knew all was well. ;) Sweet dreams!

DEAN FAMILY said...

Thanks, we kinda did this when Hayden was younger but after the move and daddy leaving it's been chaotic and we just need to re-train. In fact we just started it all again 2 nights ago.

Emily said...

congrats on getting some sleep! Oh man I've been through this method several times. Morgan is a funny one. Seems like every few months I have to re-teach her. It's been good for a while now though. AHHH I love sleep!

Liz Mays said...

I did the exact same thing with my kids. My first one cried a lot the first night but on the second night, she didn't really even bother. It's totally worth it because there are NO sleep problems after that!! :)

Sarah at The Stroller Ballet said...

That's great! I believe in this method too. It's hard, but it works!

The Mommyologist said...

WHERE was your blog when I had my son?? I really could've used this advice. I will definitely back back to read this again if I ever get preggo with #2!