Sleeping Like a Baby

We've been working with Naomi, trying to get her to sleep better, and I think we're finally succeeding. We were so lucky with Hope, although we didn't know it at the time. But we also made some mistakes with her sleeping habits that we're trying to avoid making with Naomi.

When Hope was a baby, one of us would lay down with her and snuggle her until she fell asleep. Then when she was a little older, I'd rock her and sing to her until she fell asleep and then put her in her crib. She finally got to where we could put her in her crib and she'd go to sleep at night, but we still had to lay down with her at naptime. But when she had pneumonia, we made the mistake of letting her sleep with us, and that started alot of sleep problems. I figured I'd be up checking on her anyway, so might as well have her in bed with me, right? Well, she never would go back to her bed. She had pneumonia in October, and in January she was still in our bed. She was a very active sleeper, and neither of us got decent sleep with her in bed with us, so finally I decided enough was enough. The problem was she didn't think enough was enough. She'd cry so hard when we put her in her crib that she'd make herself throw up. So I'd go in, clean her up, and put her in our bed, where she'd promptly go to sleep. I even put Zach's bed in our room thinking she'd sleep ok if she was right next to us. No luck- she had to be IN OUR BED. Finally one night, I laid there for forty-five minutes and listened to her scream and vomit, determined that that little girl was going to relearn to sleep by herself. That one night was horrible, but the next night she cried some but fell asleep fairly quickly, and that was the end of her sleeping issues. After that, we could just put her in her crib and she'd go to sleep. Even at nap time when she slept on our bed or Zach's bed, she'd stay put. We'd cover her up and tell her to go to sleep, and for the most part she would. Now I can just tell her to go upstairs and take a nap; I don't even have to supervise.

We haven't let Naomi sleep with us and have purposely tried to not snuggle her at bedtime and have her be dependent on us holding her to get to sleep. We'd put her pacifier in her mouth and turn on her music, and as long as the pacifier was in, she'd go to sleep. The problems came when the binky fell out- she could not get back to sleep unless we went back in and put the pacifier back in for her. Well, now, five months later, we have another little girl who needs our help to sleep. At this age, she should not be waking up three or four times a night to eat, so I decided it was time to do something about her too. I hate the "cry it out" idea, but I know it does work better than just about anything else.

Right now, Naomi is learning to sit up. Based on previous experience, I have no doubt that in learning to sit, she'll fall alot. Lord knows Hope did- there was the infamous fall off the counter, and she toppled over on cement floor a few times. There will be some hurt body parts and lots of tears. Does that mean I never give her the chance to sit by herself until I'm sure she won't fall? No. Do I hold her whenever she wants to sit up so she doesn't risk toppling over and shedding some tears? No. So why would I not let her practice sleeping on her own, knowing she'll cry some? I hate the sound of her crying, knowing it would be so easy for me to comfort her, but at some point she has to learn to sleep. Might as well be now.

For the past week, when it's nap time (and she now has scheduled naptimes) I take her up to her crib, turn on her music, and close the door. If she cries, then I go fold laundry so I can't hear her. At first she was rolling onto her stomach and squirming around, getting her legs stuck in the slats of the crib. So we put the bumper back in and put in a firm pillow, and lay her against the side of the crib so she can't go anywhere. The past few days, I've put her in there, and not heard a sound until she wakes up two hours later. Bedtime is now at six or seven, depending on when she woke up from her afternoon nap. I'll get up and feed her once a night, and otherwise she has to figure out how to get back to sleep by herself, and she is. In fact, last night she didn't even wake up except when her diaper leaked and her jammies were wet. I'm amazed at how well she's doing, and even though it's hard to listen when she cries, it feels so good to be consistent with her and know it's paying off.