When Eli was born we (loosely) followed Baby Wise for his sleep routine. I say loosely because I don't think there is a sleep blueprint that fits every baby's needs. But, it worked well for us and for him. He was SO scheduled by the time he was 3 months and very happy as a result. He started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks which was a big relief as I had started back to work. We are planning on trying the same schedule with Hailey and hoping for similar results!
Since Eli was probably six months old he has slept for 11 hrs. straight at night The only times he would alter his sleep habits would be when we would travel or if he was teething or sick. He was very easy to get back into a routine once those things ended. I thought this week would be just as easy, but... that was a big, fat joke!
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night we let him cry when he woke up until he could put himself back to sleep. The problem was that the crying would NOT stop so he would never go back to sleep. Last time we had to let him cry it out was when he was much younger but he didn't cry more than 15-20 minutes. This week he would cry for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. after awakening and we would eventually go in and rub his back because we couldn't stand it any more. It was SO hard to listen to him cry and everyone was quickly becoming exhausted. One morning while I was getting ready I noticed Eli had gotten really quiet in our room. I found him asleep on the floor by my bed which he has never done. Poor boy!
When the third night of sleep training wasn't any better than the 1st night I decided we needed a plan B. I had read in our Baby 411 and Toddler 411 books about the Ferber method and decided we should give it a try. It certainly couldn't get any worse!
With the Ferber method you go into the room in 5 minutes increments when your child is crying. On Wednesday night Eli started crying as soon as I put him down. After 5 minutes I went in and laid him back down (he always stands at his crib railing when he is crying). I told him it was night-night time and rubbed his back for a few seconds until he calmed down. Then, I left. He immediately started crying again. You add 5 minutes to each crying spell so I next went in after 10 min., and then 15 min. Going in the room is to check on them and reassure them that you are still there but NOT to help them fall asleep. He was asleep after 30 min. of crying that night. When he woke up at midnight I repeated the process. Last night it only took him 15 min. to go to sleep and he slept the whole night. Yay! Hopefully, that means his sleep patterns are adjusting. We are all feeling more rested today and looking forward to a great weekend. :)
