Oh the dreaded sleep training!
For four months Scott and I bounced, walked, rocked, and held Cash each time he went down for a nap or bedtime. Every time gambling the chance of waking him up when we set him down to sleep. 5 out of 10 times he would wake immediately and we would end up doing the whole ordeal over again. Then once he was down we would tip toe around and whisper just to ensure he stayed asleep.
When Cash was two months old Scott and I attempted to sleep train him one day and it turned out awful, I think it ended with me taking Cash out of his bassinet crying (both of us) and telling Scott we are NOT going to sleep train! Ever since then I have dreaded the day of having to sleep train him, I knew it had to be done eventually and that it'd be impossible to do without some tears. As the weeks went on Cash's sleep didn't improve much, however, the thought of sleep training scared me so I just went along with Cash's sleep schedule. Whenever Cash woke up I'd hurry to his side to pick him up to bounce and rock him for however long he needed. In several books and articles it says, "don't rock your baby to sleep." "Sleep train young." "Don't pick them up with every single cry." "Don't let your baby sleep on you." Though all these statements are beneficial while sleep training, I'm so glad I had the first four months to rock, bounce, and hold Cash to sleep. Some of my favorite memories since Cash has been born are of him fast asleep on my chest with his mouth wide open, hearing his sweet little snores, and smelling his milky breath. This was our daily routine for his first month, he'd sleep on me all day long while I watched Grey's Anatomy. Some nights were long and tiring with countless bouncing and rocking but I wouldn't trade those hard nights of me holding him for anything. I loved being the one to soothe him and help him fall into a peaceful sleep. That being said sleep training has changed our lives!
Once Cash turned 4 months I decided it was time, time to sleep train. Cash had been waking up almost every hour the week before we started to sleep train, and was difficult to put back down without him waking up and crying. It was, without a doubt, 4 month regression. He had never been this bad at night, I knew I wouldn't be able to go through many more nights of this. The day I decided I wanted to start sleep training was the night we started. Mostly because I knew if I waited another day I would change my mind, drag my feet, and postpone it even longer!
I tried to gather as much information as I could about progressive CIO. This is the method where you go into the room at intervals of 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes. lengthening the time each night. I was so NERVOUS and anxious up until our bedtime routine, my heart ached thinking about having Cash cry himself to sleep. I just kept reminding myself that I am helping him by letting him learn how to self soothe and gain the ability to put himself to sleep. I knew in the long run we would ALL be much happier. We put him in his pajamas, read him books, cuddled and kissed him, said our prayers, and off to the crib he went. The crying started immediately. Scott and I tried to stay busy in between me going in and comforting him by watching TV and playing a game. It took me everything not to just go in and just pick him up. I knew if I didn't go through with sleep training now it would just get harder and I would have to do a night just like this all over again. I cried right along with Cash. Let me just say that Cash is one stubborn baby, at one point I thought what if he NEVER falls asleep??? But thankfully almost 4 hours later he finally fell asleep. Yes, 4 hours. That night he only woke up twice and went right back down easily. Compared to his 4-6 wakings he had been doing this was an improvement. It was tough! There were times I was about to quit sleep training, but I knew we had to stick to it, because we didn't want to ever have to go through 'the first night' again!
Each night he cried less and less! I'm happy to report that last night, one week from starting sleep training, he went to bed without a sound! It's amazing how much he has improved. I am so proud of our little sleeper who can now self soothe and put himself to sleep. It's crazy for me to think about how easy it is to put him to bed now, it's like night and day. I set him down, sing him a little song, and then leave the room. He now goes to bed by 7:00pm which gives Scott and I more time to relax together in the evenings. Cash even does amazing in the car now too, which used to be somewhat of a nightmare. Everyone was right, sleep training IS so worth it even though it's one of hardest things to go through.
My sister has a little boy that is only a month older than Cash and we started sleep training the EXACT same night. I was so glad to have someone to talk to who was going through the exact same things as I was. It was so helpful to get advice and hear the progress from each other.
All I can say is yay for sleep training!
Side note: Cash transitioned out of his swaddle successfully and is now wearing a Zipadeezip to sleep in!
I tried to gather as much information as I could about progressive CIO. This is the method where you go into the room at intervals of 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes. lengthening the time each night. I was so NERVOUS and anxious up until our bedtime routine, my heart ached thinking about having Cash cry himself to sleep. I just kept reminding myself that I am helping him by letting him learn how to self soothe and gain the ability to put himself to sleep. I knew in the long run we would ALL be much happier. We put him in his pajamas, read him books, cuddled and kissed him, said our prayers, and off to the crib he went. The crying started immediately. Scott and I tried to stay busy in between me going in and comforting him by watching TV and playing a game. It took me everything not to just go in and just pick him up. I knew if I didn't go through with sleep training now it would just get harder and I would have to do a night just like this all over again. I cried right along with Cash. Let me just say that Cash is one stubborn baby, at one point I thought what if he NEVER falls asleep??? But thankfully almost 4 hours later he finally fell asleep. Yes, 4 hours. That night he only woke up twice and went right back down easily. Compared to his 4-6 wakings he had been doing this was an improvement. It was tough! There were times I was about to quit sleep training, but I knew we had to stick to it, because we didn't want to ever have to go through 'the first night' again!
Each night he cried less and less! I'm happy to report that last night, one week from starting sleep training, he went to bed without a sound! It's amazing how much he has improved. I am so proud of our little sleeper who can now self soothe and put himself to sleep. It's crazy for me to think about how easy it is to put him to bed now, it's like night and day. I set him down, sing him a little song, and then leave the room. He now goes to bed by 7:00pm which gives Scott and I more time to relax together in the evenings. Cash even does amazing in the car now too, which used to be somewhat of a nightmare. Everyone was right, sleep training IS so worth it even though it's one of hardest things to go through.
My sister has a little boy that is only a month older than Cash and we started sleep training the EXACT same night. I was so glad to have someone to talk to who was going through the exact same things as I was. It was so helpful to get advice and hear the progress from each other.
All I can say is yay for sleep training!
Side note: Cash transitioned out of his swaddle successfully and is now wearing a Zipadeezip to sleep in!
It's so hard to hear when friends are struggling with something like this... as new parents, we were clueless with Haylie but by Winnie, we had it down. We still had to sleep train, in a way, but it was so much easier. And it's one of those things that you can't really tell fellow parents what to do... you sorta have to learn. Glad Cash is getting good sleep and you are getting more alone time with your hub!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We were definitely clueless and didn't actually know what to expect when we had Cash. I didn't know how much actually went into sleep training and schedules! I'm just glad we have the sleeping situation under control :). FOR NOW, I guess I should say, because I'm sure I'll lose sleep once again once he is teething, sickness, or any milestones.
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