So we started sleep training with Riley one week ago. Overall, I would consider it a HUGE success. She went from only sleeping in my arms, and waking every couple hours, to sleeping from 7pm to 6am, waking once in between to nurse (most nights). The goal of sleep training, for me, was not to get Riley to sleep through the night, but to get her to learn to sleep without me there to help her all night long. If I wasn't holding her, she used to wake every 45 minutes screaming. Now she falls asleep on her own, and wakes one or two times in an eleven hour period!
Now, the crying: On average, before going to bed for the night, she cries for about 5 minutes. One night she cried for 30 seconds, another she cried for about 10 minutes on and off. So far she ALWAYS cries when I put her in her crib for the night, which is not ideal (because it's sad to hear her cry), but I know it won't last long and she will fall into a good deep sleep. When she wakes in the middle of the night, after I nurse her and put her back in her crib, she usually only cries for 30 seconds, if at all. Half the times she goes right back to sleep without protest. We did have one night that I would consider a step in the wrong direction (night 6), but I think Riley had a stomach virus or something and that was probably the cause. On this night she woke up at 12:45 and I fed her, and then she just kept crying after I put her in her crib. So instead of letting her cry it out, I went in, got her, and sure enough, she had a dirty diaper. She was quite upset so I changed her, fed her some more, and then just held her for about 10 minutes. She was getting really sleepy so I put her back in bed, and she went to sleep without protest. But then she woke again at 4. Because i wasn't sure if her tummy was bothering her, I went and held her for a few minutes before putting her back in bed. Finally she woke up for the morning at 5:30. She did pretty much the same thing last night as well. We'll see what happens tonight.
Naps: Getting better and better each day. Today she went down for all 3 naps without crying. This is not usual though, she normally cries for 1-5 minutes before each nap, but not usually longer than that. For a while her naps were only lasting 40 minutes on the dot, but today she took an hour and 40 minute nap and a 90 minute nap, so things are looking up! We also have totally eliminated the need for the pacifier for sleep, so she only gets it for car/stroller rides, or if she's getting extra fussy. She actually prefers to not have it in because then she can shove everything in her mouth.
Overall we've had great success, and I think there are a few things that have helped. (1) We do pretty much the same exact routine before bed, although I want to tweak it because she's been too tired to want to read any stories lately, so we've been skipping them. So we might do stories before bath time then. Anyway, we do bath, diaper and PJs, a little lotion, sit in her rocking chair in the dark and feed her, kisses and say goodnight and i love you, then bed. For naps we do stories if she's not too tired, then feed (more to relax her and signal sleep time than to really feed her) and then in to bed.
A couple things I have noticed since sleep training... (1) she's getting more night time sleep, but less day time sleep, so she's been crankier during the day. I'm hoping she will adjust and get back to her happy little self. (2) She is more able to soothe herself when she's tired (obviously). But I mean, when she's tired in the car seat or in the stroller, she is much more likely to fall asleep rather than cry. She also puts her head down to "rest" as one of her tired signs now.
Now, the crying: On average, before going to bed for the night, she cries for about 5 minutes. One night she cried for 30 seconds, another she cried for about 10 minutes on and off. So far she ALWAYS cries when I put her in her crib for the night, which is not ideal (because it's sad to hear her cry), but I know it won't last long and she will fall into a good deep sleep. When she wakes in the middle of the night, after I nurse her and put her back in her crib, she usually only cries for 30 seconds, if at all. Half the times she goes right back to sleep without protest. We did have one night that I would consider a step in the wrong direction (night 6), but I think Riley had a stomach virus or something and that was probably the cause. On this night she woke up at 12:45 and I fed her, and then she just kept crying after I put her in her crib. So instead of letting her cry it out, I went in, got her, and sure enough, she had a dirty diaper. She was quite upset so I changed her, fed her some more, and then just held her for about 10 minutes. She was getting really sleepy so I put her back in bed, and she went to sleep without protest. But then she woke again at 4. Because i wasn't sure if her tummy was bothering her, I went and held her for a few minutes before putting her back in bed. Finally she woke up for the morning at 5:30. She did pretty much the same thing last night as well. We'll see what happens tonight.
Naps: Getting better and better each day. Today she went down for all 3 naps without crying. This is not usual though, she normally cries for 1-5 minutes before each nap, but not usually longer than that. For a while her naps were only lasting 40 minutes on the dot, but today she took an hour and 40 minute nap and a 90 minute nap, so things are looking up! We also have totally eliminated the need for the pacifier for sleep, so she only gets it for car/stroller rides, or if she's getting extra fussy. She actually prefers to not have it in because then she can shove everything in her mouth.
Overall we've had great success, and I think there are a few things that have helped. (1) We do pretty much the same exact routine before bed, although I want to tweak it because she's been too tired to want to read any stories lately, so we've been skipping them. So we might do stories before bath time then. Anyway, we do bath, diaper and PJs, a little lotion, sit in her rocking chair in the dark and feed her, kisses and say goodnight and i love you, then bed. For naps we do stories if she's not too tired, then feed (more to relax her and signal sleep time than to really feed her) and then in to bed.
A couple things I have noticed since sleep training... (1) she's getting more night time sleep, but less day time sleep, so she's been crankier during the day. I'm hoping she will adjust and get back to her happy little self. (2) She is more able to soothe herself when she's tired (obviously). But I mean, when she's tired in the car seat or in the stroller, she is much more likely to fall asleep rather than cry. She also puts her head down to "rest" as one of her tired signs now.
We still have a little ways to go before sleeping through the night happens, but I'm not worried about that. I just wanted her to be able to sleep without me by her side, for both of our sakes, and that has been successful! Sleeping through the night would be an added bonus at this point. :)
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