Sorry, but this post is going to be super long and boring. But I just want to get it down so I can look back and remember. So just skip to the end instead.
We started sleep training Eggy this past week. She's never really slept the whole night through before but it was getting worse. When we were in Maui, we let her sleep in the bed with us. So when we got back, she didn't want to sleep in the crib anymore, not even for naps. The second we tried to put her down in her crib, she'd wake up. Or we'd have to hold her the whole time. It was tiring.
We decided to try the Ferber method. When Eggy was really young, I wasn't sure if I could ever do this. It's so hard to hear your baby cry and not do anything to comfort her. We tried it a few times before but we always gave in. "She's too young.... Maybe she'll get better on her own.... This won't work because she's too stubborn...." Always some excuse. But I was determined this time. I wanted Eggy to learn how to fall asleep without the boob, without the rocking, all on her own. I mean, it was kind of nice cuddling with Eggy in our bed but what if she never wanted to leave?! We only have a queen size bed and for a little person, she still took up a lot of space. Bed hog.
So we started Monday night. We put her to bed like usual, giving her a bottle, around 7:30pm. She woke up around 9pm, crying. Every time I went in to check on her, it seemed to make things worse for Eggy so I stopped going in. Plus, it was hard for me to see her crying and reaching out for me. I almost cried too. She cried for a little over an hour(!) before she finally fell asleep. Eggy appah was not happy. He said, "This Ferber guy better know what he's talking about." She woke up again at 11pm, crying. This time, she cried for about 45 minutes and it was less intense. She slept until about 4:30am, whining a little bit. I nursed her for a little bit until she pulled off on her own. Normally, I have to make sure she's in a deep sleep before I put her in her crib but I just put her down. She cried out a little bit but went right to sleep until 7:30am. Yay!
And it continued to get better. She'd still cry but not as long. And she'd sleep for a little longer too. She even slept for 11 hours straight one night! I was worried that all that crying would affect her mood but it didn't. She seemed happier even, maybe because she was getting enough sleep.
Then, we had a setback on Thursday. I put her down in the crib for her morning nap, sleepy but not asleep, like I'd been doing the past few days. After about 10 minutes, she woke up crying. But this time, she wouldn't stop. I had to leave for work so I told my mom to get her after 30 minutes if she was still crying. I came home early enough for her second nap. Again, she just continued to cry and cry. I finally figured out that Eggy had learned that I was peeking in on her from behind the bathroom door. So as long as she thought I was nearby, she kept crying out for me. Too smart for mommy. So when we put her to bed, we left the bathroom door open so she could see that no one was there. She cried for about half an hour before falling asleep.
Since then, she's doing well again for the most part (knock on wood). We also moved her crib out of our room yesterday. We were kind of sad because she's always slept with us but we thought she'd sleep better alone. And we were getting tired of tiptoeing around while she was sleeping.
And it continued to get better. She'd still cry but not as long. And she'd sleep for a little longer too. She even slept for 11 hours straight one night! I was worried that all that crying would affect her mood but it didn't. She seemed happier even, maybe because she was getting enough sleep.
Then, we had a setback on Thursday. I put her down in the crib for her morning nap, sleepy but not asleep, like I'd been doing the past few days. After about 10 minutes, she woke up crying. But this time, she wouldn't stop. I had to leave for work so I told my mom to get her after 30 minutes if she was still crying. I came home early enough for her second nap. Again, she just continued to cry and cry. I finally figured out that Eggy had learned that I was peeking in on her from behind the bathroom door. So as long as she thought I was nearby, she kept crying out for me. Too smart for mommy. So when we put her to bed, we left the bathroom door open so she could see that no one was there. She cried for about half an hour before falling asleep.
Since then, she's doing well again for the most part (knock on wood). We also moved her crib out of our room yesterday. We were kind of sad because she's always slept with us but we thought she'd sleep better alone. And we were getting tired of tiptoeing around while she was sleeping.
I'm hoping that it continues to get easier and that Eggy will eventually not cry at all anymore. I just want to be able to put her down and have her go right to sleep. Of course, that means that Eggy will need me for one less thing so that makes me sad too. I can't win.
And if you just read this whole post, wow, you must have been really really bored. Anyway, here's a little video of my little monster. She doesn't just look like her daddy, she sleeps like him too.
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