Well first let me start out by saying AR is now officially in her room! YAY! We started last week slowly transitioning her to her crib in her room. Last night we left her in there all night (Riley didnt even bring her to me when he left.) I felt it was time to start "sleep training" and get her used to falling asleep on her own. I had read Baby Wise which is a very controversial book about parent direct feeding and sticking to a schedule. It also talks about you setting the nap times each day rather than the child. We have chosen to still feed her on demand rather than just every 3 hours (which usually is pretty close to that anyway). I am using more the E.A.S.Y method which is Eat, Activity, Sleep, You time and to me its basically the same but you dont stress out about the clock as much. It is just getting her on a routine that is the same everyday. I have started putting her down for a nap in her crib (while she is still awake). Yes, sometimes she cries and other times she just lays there until she falls asleep. Yesterday was the first day I did this all day and I have to say it worked well. I am not a fan of crying it out but I do feel that it is better if a child can learn to soothe herself and fall asleep on her own. Usually she will cry for 5 minutes max and then she is either asleep or she just lays there. If she cries longer it is usually because she is still hungry or needs a diaper change. If we have to soothe her we just go in there and do the "shh--pat" for a few mintues but try not to pick her up (which is hard!). I am also trying to not use the pacy as a way to get her to sleep. If she needs it then I give it to her but I am trying not to use it as a prop. We have been doing a night time routine for a while...bath, bottle, book, song, bed. However, we would rock her for sometimes an hour trying to get her asleep. Last night we just layed her down after we did the nightly routine and she was asleep within 30 minutes. She had received the
Soothe and Glow seahourse from her little cousins at Christmas and we started using it and she loved it! I know its not always going to be this easy but its the consistency that I am working toward. My goal of sleep training right now is not for her to sleep the whole night...although that will be great when the time comes. It is more about getting her to know that nightime is sleeptime and how to fall asleep without us. I feel that when this is established, sleeping through the night will come (hopefully!) :)
