If I told you that I suffering from exhaustion, would you believe me? Somedays I honestly think that I am....
Calvin has never really been a good sleeper at night. It use to be (about three or four weeks ago) that he woke up 4-5 time during the night, when I would normally be sleeping. Now, he wakes up 2-4 times at night, but he still doesn't sleep very well. I have tried everything I can think...yet he still thinks that he needs to be fed, and comforted at all hours of the night...did you notice what time this is posted?
About a week ago, I decided I was going to start working on the "Cry it out, sooth yourself" method. So, everytime he cried at night, I would wait a few minutes before going down to his nursery to give him his binky or a little milk then leave. If he continued to cry after i left, I would wait a little longer and go back down. I didn't really notice a huge difference in his sleeping, I just felt like a mean mommy for letting my baby cry. I have the hardest time not going to comfort him when he cries.....really, it is tough....but everything I have read and things I have heard from friends is that it is okay. The other night I was soooo tired, that when he woke up crying (after only being in bed for maybe 2 hours) I just went back to sleep....a few hours later I woke up to his crying again and thought "oh no, did I let him cry? I wonder how long he cried for?" I hastily went down to check on him and found that he was perfectly fine. Relief! I didn't feel bad, that was when I started feeling okay with the whole crying concept. Tonight, I gave him one chance....one time I would go down there and comfort him, but after that one time (whenever it might be) I would let him cry it out. This is the one time...hopefully! I will have to tell you how I did. I just went down, fed him a little (although he wasn't hungry much), rocked him until he was calm, laid him down and left the room) Not too soon after I left, he started crying....which is when I came up here to the computer, checked my facebook, the news, and started writing this post. He cried about ten minutes, and then stopped. I went down to check on him, just to make sure he was actually asleep, and realized...maybe I can handle the cry it out now. I am stronger, he will survive and I need sleep! Seriously, because of his lack of sleeping at night, we usually don't get our day going until 11-12 (on a good day) and by then, I have no motivation to do anything through the whole day.
Now I know that many of you have ideas, thoughts and opinions on this, and I am begging for your advice. Am i doing the right thing? Is he too young to start this method? Should I try something different?
Just to let you know, before bed, he gets a 6-7oz bottle w/cereal, usually a bath to sooth, and is rocked lovingly by his daddy or myself. Diaper is always clean, heat is on, as well as his Primary songs.
Should I let him cry it out during the day when it is nap time as well??
*************************************************
Here is what happened:
After I posted this, I tried to go back to bed. I couldn't, however, fall back asleep for the life of me. So back to the computer i went....I played a few games on Yahoo! during which time Calvin woke up crying again. Since I was distracted by the games, I just listened closely to make sure he wasn't choking or something...after about 30 minutes of crying, he went right to sleep. I went to check on him, and he was there, laying on his side making sweet little baby noises.
I finally fell asleep around 3:30am and woke up to crying at 4:30. I laid there for about 20 minutes to see if he would put himself to sleep, then nudged Joel and told him to go calm Calvin. I don't really wake Joel up that much, but if I am too tired to even think, he comes into play. He went down, fed him, and binkied him, and then back to bed for all of us. Calvin woke up at 7:30am....he stayed awake for about a 45minutes, and is now sleeping. I wish I could be sleeping too, but I have to get ready to go to work, which means I will have to wake him up, get him dressed, and make him mad! LOVE IT!!
Calvin has never really been a good sleeper at night. It use to be (about three or four weeks ago) that he woke up 4-5 time during the night, when I would normally be sleeping. Now, he wakes up 2-4 times at night, but he still doesn't sleep very well. I have tried everything I can think...yet he still thinks that he needs to be fed, and comforted at all hours of the night...did you notice what time this is posted?
About a week ago, I decided I was going to start working on the "Cry it out, sooth yourself" method. So, everytime he cried at night, I would wait a few minutes before going down to his nursery to give him his binky or a little milk then leave. If he continued to cry after i left, I would wait a little longer and go back down. I didn't really notice a huge difference in his sleeping, I just felt like a mean mommy for letting my baby cry. I have the hardest time not going to comfort him when he cries.....really, it is tough....but everything I have read and things I have heard from friends is that it is okay. The other night I was soooo tired, that when he woke up crying (after only being in bed for maybe 2 hours) I just went back to sleep....a few hours later I woke up to his crying again and thought "oh no, did I let him cry? I wonder how long he cried for?" I hastily went down to check on him and found that he was perfectly fine. Relief! I didn't feel bad, that was when I started feeling okay with the whole crying concept. Tonight, I gave him one chance....one time I would go down there and comfort him, but after that one time (whenever it might be) I would let him cry it out. This is the one time...hopefully! I will have to tell you how I did. I just went down, fed him a little (although he wasn't hungry much), rocked him until he was calm, laid him down and left the room) Not too soon after I left, he started crying....which is when I came up here to the computer, checked my facebook, the news, and started writing this post. He cried about ten minutes, and then stopped. I went down to check on him, just to make sure he was actually asleep, and realized...maybe I can handle the cry it out now. I am stronger, he will survive and I need sleep! Seriously, because of his lack of sleeping at night, we usually don't get our day going until 11-12 (on a good day) and by then, I have no motivation to do anything through the whole day.
Now I know that many of you have ideas, thoughts and opinions on this, and I am begging for your advice. Am i doing the right thing? Is he too young to start this method? Should I try something different?
Just to let you know, before bed, he gets a 6-7oz bottle w/cereal, usually a bath to sooth, and is rocked lovingly by his daddy or myself. Diaper is always clean, heat is on, as well as his Primary songs.
Should I let him cry it out during the day when it is nap time as well??
*************************************************
Here is what happened:
After I posted this, I tried to go back to bed. I couldn't, however, fall back asleep for the life of me. So back to the computer i went....I played a few games on Yahoo! during which time Calvin woke up crying again. Since I was distracted by the games, I just listened closely to make sure he wasn't choking or something...after about 30 minutes of crying, he went right to sleep. I went to check on him, and he was there, laying on his side making sweet little baby noises.
I finally fell asleep around 3:30am and woke up to crying at 4:30. I laid there for about 20 minutes to see if he would put himself to sleep, then nudged Joel and told him to go calm Calvin. I don't really wake Joel up that much, but if I am too tired to even think, he comes into play. He went down, fed him, and binkied him, and then back to bed for all of us. Calvin woke up at 7:30am....he stayed awake for about a 45minutes, and is now sleeping. I wish I could be sleeping too, but I have to get ready to go to work, which means I will have to wake him up, get him dressed, and make him mad! LOVE IT!!
