Adventures in Sleep Training

Baby slept like a dream from day one to about three months.  He was out like a light all night long, only stirring once in a blue moon for a quick feed, then gently passing back into sleep.

And then November 22nd hit.  It was a firestorm of night feedings, relentless rocking, soothing, pacifiers flying about the room in a frenzy of panic.  Suddenly, baby was no longer a great sleeper.  He was awake. All the friggin' time.

Every hour or 90 minutes or so he would wake up and cry.  My husband and I started to get cranky.  Real mean and cranky.  It was terrible waking up knowing the long day was ahead of us.  All day with the tot.  And he had to go to work.  I was exhausted by four.  He was equally exhausted when he finally got home. It happened every single night for over a month and a half, and it was brutal.  We were sniping at each other over dust on the table, lint in the dryer.  It was madness...MADNESS, I TELL YOU.

So at four months, which is considered on the young side, we decided to try sleep training.  My husband wanted to try the CIO method (Cry It Out) which required me wearing earplugs.  The reason?  When the baby would cry for more than a second, I would start bawling.  I was not a big proponent of the CIO method.  It was meant for tough guys.  Admittedly, I was a big wimp.

I asked my friends about their experiences in sleep training, and 9 out of 10 said that CIO was better than the No-Cry Solution, which often took longer and was more sleepless nights than I wanted to endure.  One friend even said that it took just three days for her little one to get it down.  THREE.  I was sold.

So last week, we tried CIO.  He cried, we would let him cry, and then he would get soothed by a hand on his tummy or chest and a calm voice, "It's ok...daddy/mommy is here."

The next time he woke, which was usually an hour or two later, we would wait longer, and then repeat the routine.

Every time the baby would wake and cry, we would extend the time we would wait and then go in.  It was a slow torture.  I got little to no sleep, basically because I would lie awake waiting for him to call for me.

After that first week, Friday came.  We put him down for the night and went to bed in anticipation that we would soon be up again to check on him.  7 1/2 hours later, we woke up.

A fluke?  Perhaps.  Saturday, we put him down.  7 hours later, he woke up.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...like a clock.

Now that's not to say it's a perfect sleep world.  He wakes up at 4 a.m. and coos and smiles, and we have to get him to lay down again to sleep for a few more precious hours.  But unlike before, he puts himself to sleep.  We can put him down in the crib and he warbles and talks to himself until he drifts off to slumber.  No more rocking and walking around in circles, which is a miracle in itself.

Sleep training worked.  Hallelujah and thank you baby Jesus.