Sleep Or Lack Thereof

I have finally reached the end of my rope.

My rope has turned into a thread and I'm hanging by it. :)

It is time for Griffin to learn to sleep and I am bound and determined that we start this week on it. You see, I have yet to be blessed with a child that has ever really slept through the night with out some very firm persuasion on my part. Oh yes, maybe once or twice they all did it, sleep though the night I mean. But, looking back now, I'm fairly certain those were accidents :). My children would never mean to fall asleep and sleep until 4 or 5 am. That would just be wrong! To go soo many hours with out filling their little tummies and then socializing with Momma until the wee hours of the morning... the HORROR! :)

So, last night was the first night that I got serious. I realized that I was providing tons of little things that I thought would help Griffin sleep better. He slept in a Halo sleep sack swaddler, he had a positioner (because he liked to sleep just a little on his side), and of course he liked nourishment every hour.and.a.half. I was wrong.

Last night, we went cold turkey on all of it.

By providing so many crutches all I was really doing was hurting him and neither of us was getting good quality sleep. He is now old enough (gah! he's getting soo close to being 5 months old!), weighs enough, and is socially aware enough to sleep train.

Last night I layed him down as usual. I did put his sleep sack on him but I didn't use the swaddling portion. Those little "wing" things I just velcroed around his waist. He fell asleep after his night night bottle and surprisingly stayed asleep until 11 pm! Usually once he senses that his arms are free he starts to have a little baby panic attack. :/.

I had pre-planned my attack on this situation and had gone to bed at 8 pm (thanks Bobby!). When  I went upstairs to Griffin's room I took 2 blankets, 1 pillow, and a travel alarm clock. I briefly went into Griffin's room and soothed him for a moment and then left.

Cue hysterics.

I felt really bad. You could hear how mad and confused he was after I had left the room. I was prepared though and litterally camped outside him room and timed out 10 minutes and then went in there again (and again and again and again and again).

Griffin said that he had his doubts this would work...

Around 12:40 am I could tell that he was getting more sleepy and less agitated. I finally stopped going in there because he was less upset when I didn't go in there than the times that I would go in there to comfort him and then leave. By 1 am, he was out!

He woke up again at 4 am but I let him cry for the required 10 minutes before I went in and replaced his paci and he fell right back asleep with out crying again and slept until 5:30! 

I did it!!

I know that this "cry it out" or "Ferber" method isn't for everyone. I'm not even sure I could completely define what I did last night as either of those because frankly I have not read Dr. Ferber's book on the subject. I merely took some of his main ideals and added in what felt comfortable to me. 

I'm ready to try it again tonight!

I know that nap times will still be rough for us and I'm sure that Griffin and I still have a while to go before he is comfortably sleeping through the night with out any aid from me. But, I'm committed to his sleeping success. It can only make him a happier, healthier baby and in turn that makes me a better Momma!