My good little sleeper has reverted back to wanting to sleep with Mommy every night. He was being so good for so long and sleeping anywhere from 3-6 hours at a time which I was not inclined to complain about. When he started getting pain from his teeth coming in, I got up with him during the night and let him sleep with me sometimes too because I felt bad for him. Big mistake! Now he doesn't want to sleep in his crib at night at all. It has recently gotten so bad that one night he would sleep for 15 minutes before waking up and did that all throughout the night. With the long weekend, Scott and I decided to play a little tough love and get him back to sleeping on his own. I researched sleeping methods and found besides all sorts of different opinions, most people were saying to have a bed time and a routine such as bedtime stories or a bath.
Night One:
I fed Bradley at 9:00 and we put him down in his crib at 9:30 while he was pretty awake. By 10:00, he was still crying and fussing. I went into his room and without speaking, picked him up and he stopped crying. I held him for a couple minutes and he went to sleep and I put him back down. Not too long after, he woke back up crying. We left him for some time and after awhile went to comfort him. We were trying to let him comfort himself and understand that every time he cries we will not come running. Finally after the same thing repeatedly, around 12:00 he slept good until around 2:30. I fed him again and put him back down. We battled with him for another hour and a half and he fell back asleep for a couple more hours. The night was much easier with Scott and I taking turns to get up with him but it was no picnic either.
Night Two:
I decided to try an earlier bedtime and put him in his swing for a bit and then when he is good and tired move him to his crib. I put him in his swing at 8:30 and left him in there until 9:30. I woke him up and since it had been three hours since he had eaten I fed him in my room with the lights dimmed. He didn't eat a ton but I felt he did pretty good considering his sleepy state. I put him down in his crib and he slept good until around 12. I fed him again but he didn't want to eat a lot and I couldnt wake him up at all. I put him down in his crib and that woke him up! After a bit, I went in to comfort him and as soon as I picked him up he let out a huge burp. That always makes me feel bad but it is hard to tell if he is crying for a reason or just because he is lonely. Either way, he slept after that. He did really well all night until around 5:00 and then he just wanted to get up for the day. It took a little coaxing but I got him back down for a bit even though he was restless. He finally got me up for good at 7:30 but overall it was an OK night.
We have one more night of the weekend and hopefully he will be back to sleeping good again. I plan on trying the swing again as it seemed to put him to sleep better than going right to the crib wide awake. I will admit it is really hard to do this because I love cuddling with him as much as he loves sleeping with me but I know that it is better for everyone this way. I don't like the "cry it out" method personally, but it seems the most effective for the way that Bradley is. I am pretty sure that he has me all figured out and knows if he is lonely all he has to do is cry and I will show up. He is playing me like a fiddle!
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Evie and I have been playing this game for a couple of months now. I swear, as soon as you think you have it figured out, they decide to throw a curve ball. I tried letting her cry it out a few times but it really felt wrong to me. She's very strong willed. We finally figured out a solution about a week ago: tummy sleeping. I know it's totally against "the rules", but she rolls both ways very easily now and usually ends up on her tummy anyway. I tried it a few times during the day so I could keep a really close eye on her and she didnt seem to sleep any deeper than usual, but she did go down without crying. Just a couple minutes of fussing. I moved her crib right next to our bed so I can check on her throughout the night. I'm not suggesting doing anything you're uncomfortable with, but I've read that once they can roll both ways and hold their head up well they are usually past the high risk period for SIDS. I'm not surprised that she prefers her tummy though, my husband always sleeps on his stomach. Anyway, I know what it's like when everyone else knows how you should raise your kid, so I'm just letting you know what worked for us. In any case, I hope you both start getting some more sleep! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI have wondered whether he will be a stomach sleeper too. He sometimes hates tummy time but other times he seems so comfortable. He hasnt been able to roll from back to front yet but that is definitely something I will try if he has another series of bad nights. Thanks for the tip! Keep them coming!
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