Thanks to everyone that gave me advice about how to get Benjamin to sleep through the night. (I have already read The Happiest Baby on the Block and Baby Wise which are both excellent books, they just didn't get Ben to sleep through the night on his own.)
We finally decided to just let him cry it out when he woke up in the middle of the night.
Some people call it CIO~ I think it stands for Cry It Out. Let me know if I am wrong.
We waited for the weekend so it wouldn't interfere too much with Tom's needed sleep for work. Here is how it went:
The first night he cried for an hour and fifteen minutes, from 12:45 to 2:00. (I'm not talking little whimpers here, he was screaming) I cried for forty-five minutes. I went in to check on him after about 15 min. but I broke down and picked him up. I decided that I wasn't strong enough and so Tom did all of the checking after that. He only woke up the one time, whereas before he was waking up at least two times a night if not three or four.
The next night he cried for an hour from 3:30 to 4:30. I didn't even attempt to check on him, I just made Tom do it. I was a big girl and didn't cry at all. Once again, he only woke up the one time.
LAST NIGHT HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! He slept through the whole night! I am so proud of him. He soothes himself by sucking on his arm or his sleeve; I wish he would take a pacifier but we will take whatever works. As you can see he doesn't stay swaddled anymore. He loves being swaddled when we put him down but he always seems to bust out of it now.
The first night he cried for an hour and fifteen minutes, from 12:45 to 2:00. (I'm not talking little whimpers here, he was screaming) I cried for forty-five minutes. I went in to check on him after about 15 min. but I broke down and picked him up. I decided that I wasn't strong enough and so Tom did all of the checking after that. He only woke up the one time, whereas before he was waking up at least two times a night if not three or four.
The next night he cried for an hour from 3:30 to 4:30. I didn't even attempt to check on him, I just made Tom do it. I was a big girl and didn't cry at all. Once again, he only woke up the one time.
LAST NIGHT HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! He slept through the whole night! I am so proud of him. He soothes himself by sucking on his arm or his sleeve; I wish he would take a pacifier but we will take whatever works. As you can see he doesn't stay swaddled anymore. He loves being swaddled when we put him down but he always seems to bust out of it now.
Way to go Benjamin!!!!
12 comments:
Congrats Violet! I am a big fan of the CIO method. My boys are GREAT sleepers because of it. They both sleep 12 hours straight everynight. Bedtimes and naptimes are a breeze.
That is awesome!!! I would cry too! That is tough!
Yay Benjamin!! I believe in CIO also. It's hard at first, but as you experienced, it is worth it.
What's the CIO method??? Sounds like a rough little time!!! Yay for Ben for getting through it!! Yay for you for being strong enough to let him cry...that's the absolute hardest!!!
I am so happy for you! Hopefully it is just smooth sailing now! Isn't a full night sleep the best!!! And so neccessary! I bet Camille gave him a pep talk:)
Yeah for baby & yeah for mommy and daddy! I'm sure I'll be going through the same thing soon. Is Baby Wise working for you in other ways? I just read the book and it appears to have practical advice.
Way to go! Motherhood only gets better from here. A full nights sleep makes even good things better.
Good for you! I wish I was strong enough to do it, now you can get some good sleep!
To me that was the toughest part of being a mom. I cried also a lot. It's easier though now that she's older. Jocelynn never took a pacifier either but loves her blankets.
Oh Violet, I'm so glad he finally did it!! I know it's probably the hardest thing a mom can do--just laying there letting your baby cry. But sometimes it's all that works. I'm glad things are better. :o)
Oh happy day! That is awesome! Yea, I usually cry too the first time I have them cry it out, but it feel great to sleep again doesn't it! You all deserve stars!
CIO works it sucks for the parents but it works for the bambinos! Two other great books are
Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Ferber and
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weissbluth.
Both offer great advice if anything happens again in the future!
Post a Comment