Sleep Training and Getting on a Schedule
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After much thought, reading, advice, and prayer, we decided to start sleep training. Here's how it went:
Night 1-I rocked Hannah to bed at 7:30. I know-rocking her to sleep is not training, but this is much earlier than her "normal" bedtime, which averaged around 9:30. I just wanted her to get used to going to bed earlier before we started making her fall asleep on her own. She actually slept straight through until the morning, which made me think that maybe an earlier bedtime was part of the solution to our problem.
Night 2-I put her in her crib at 7:00. She didn't start crying until 7:15. I decided to reorganize a closet to distract myself. I went in a few times and gave her a kiss and told her that I loved her, but that made her even more mad. She cried until she fell asleep at 7:40. Even though that is not that long, it was hard. However, she slept perfectly, straight through until 7:00 am.
Night 3-We were nervous because the book said the second night of falling asleep on their own is the worst (the first night I put her to sleep). I put her down at 7:20 and left the room. She started SCREAMING and I started crying once I left because I was afraid that she was going to cry a long time. I began to doubt myself. So, I went the distraction route again. I had two cheesecakes to make, so I started those. Before I even had the crusts done, she was asleep-less than 5 minutes-and she slept straight through the night again!
The very next day, Hannah had her first tooth come through! I was a little surprised about this since that follows her gestational age, which is only 5 1/2 months! I know the book said to take a break from the sleep training if your child is teething and come to find out, we did the rough nights right before her first tooth came through! Also, Hannah is really trying to figure out how to crawl, which the book mentioned as another possible setback. Despite these things, I decided I would try to continue.
Night 4-Hannah started crying as soon as I set her down. I walked out of the room to the couch, and literally before I sat down, she was asleep-amazing!
I do have to say that even though it is nice to have a break in the evenings, I do really miss Hannah. It is weird to have waking hours without her and I miss her falling asleep in my arms. However, I have to remind myself that I am doing what is best for her and my marriage. She needs to have healthy sleeping habits and Josh and I need to have time together.
I appreciate that several of you mentioned that you rethought things for the second child. The learning process is not done. Next time, I think I may start this around 4 or 5 months, although each child is different, so it may be hard to say for sure. I know for Hannah, I could not have started this much earlier. Since everything was going fine, I did not want to change anything until it wasn't going well and I would not give up those hours of holding her sleeping for anything. I loved it.
I have also started to get Hannah on a day schedule this week. I was very resistant of setting a schedule for our days even though all of the experts say this is necessary. I didn't want to be one of "those moms" who can't go to lunch because that's baby's nap time, etc. I know my mom never had a schedule, and I have enjoyed flying by the seat of my pants and doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and toting Hannah right along. However, we are reaching the age where that is not as practical. She doesn't just fall asleep whenever she is tired like she did in the beginning. So, I have developed a schedule, and I actually really like it so far. I know when she will be napping and so I don't worry about when I will get certain things done-I know I can do it during her set nap time. It has been a really easy transition, and I hope it continues. I am beginning to see that Hannah was not getting the amount and quality of rest that she needed, and I think this is a really positive change.
This is such a learning process. Even though I feel like I was around babies my whole life and am very comfortable with kids, I have obviously never had the responsibility of being the primary caregiver-and there is a big difference! Talk about on-the-job training! I do wonder about days where it will not be as easy to keep our schedule and I would like feedback on that. Do you stress out if you will not be home at nap time or bedtime? How long does it take your child to adjust back to routine? Do they get really cranky? Living and learning as I go....
l
After much thought, reading, advice, and prayer, we decided to start sleep training. Here's how it went:
Night 1-I rocked Hannah to bed at 7:30. I know-rocking her to sleep is not training, but this is much earlier than her "normal" bedtime, which averaged around 9:30. I just wanted her to get used to going to bed earlier before we started making her fall asleep on her own. She actually slept straight through until the morning, which made me think that maybe an earlier bedtime was part of the solution to our problem.
Night 2-I put her in her crib at 7:00. She didn't start crying until 7:15. I decided to reorganize a closet to distract myself. I went in a few times and gave her a kiss and told her that I loved her, but that made her even more mad. She cried until she fell asleep at 7:40. Even though that is not that long, it was hard. However, she slept perfectly, straight through until 7:00 am.
Night 3-We were nervous because the book said the second night of falling asleep on their own is the worst (the first night I put her to sleep). I put her down at 7:20 and left the room. She started SCREAMING and I started crying once I left because I was afraid that she was going to cry a long time. I began to doubt myself. So, I went the distraction route again. I had two cheesecakes to make, so I started those. Before I even had the crusts done, she was asleep-less than 5 minutes-and she slept straight through the night again!
The very next day, Hannah had her first tooth come through! I was a little surprised about this since that follows her gestational age, which is only 5 1/2 months! I know the book said to take a break from the sleep training if your child is teething and come to find out, we did the rough nights right before her first tooth came through! Also, Hannah is really trying to figure out how to crawl, which the book mentioned as another possible setback. Despite these things, I decided I would try to continue.
Night 4-Hannah started crying as soon as I set her down. I walked out of the room to the couch, and literally before I sat down, she was asleep-amazing!
I do have to say that even though it is nice to have a break in the evenings, I do really miss Hannah. It is weird to have waking hours without her and I miss her falling asleep in my arms. However, I have to remind myself that I am doing what is best for her and my marriage. She needs to have healthy sleeping habits and Josh and I need to have time together.
I appreciate that several of you mentioned that you rethought things for the second child. The learning process is not done. Next time, I think I may start this around 4 or 5 months, although each child is different, so it may be hard to say for sure. I know for Hannah, I could not have started this much earlier. Since everything was going fine, I did not want to change anything until it wasn't going well and I would not give up those hours of holding her sleeping for anything. I loved it.
I have also started to get Hannah on a day schedule this week. I was very resistant of setting a schedule for our days even though all of the experts say this is necessary. I didn't want to be one of "those moms" who can't go to lunch because that's baby's nap time, etc. I know my mom never had a schedule, and I have enjoyed flying by the seat of my pants and doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and toting Hannah right along. However, we are reaching the age where that is not as practical. She doesn't just fall asleep whenever she is tired like she did in the beginning. So, I have developed a schedule, and I actually really like it so far. I know when she will be napping and so I don't worry about when I will get certain things done-I know I can do it during her set nap time. It has been a really easy transition, and I hope it continues. I am beginning to see that Hannah was not getting the amount and quality of rest that she needed, and I think this is a really positive change.
This is such a learning process. Even though I feel like I was around babies my whole life and am very comfortable with kids, I have obviously never had the responsibility of being the primary caregiver-and there is a big difference! Talk about on-the-job training! I do wonder about days where it will not be as easy to keep our schedule and I would like feedback on that. Do you stress out if you will not be home at nap time or bedtime? How long does it take your child to adjust back to routine? Do they get really cranky? Living and learning as I go....
5 comments:
Yeah, you and Emily (and the boys) can do all the "learning" for the next 10 years. I probably won't have kids 'til I'm 30! I'll know so much...
Hey girl! I'm so proud of you! That's awesome that she's doing so well. There have definitely been times when Micah is not on schedule but I want to teach him flexibility as well because life isn't always as we plan. Next week will be a weird week for us because we'll be in Florida with the High Schoolers and following their schedule while still trying to maintain a little of our own! He never takes too long to get back on schedule, at this age, he can be back on schedule the very next day(it's me that has a hard time sometimes!) I appreciate your openness and transparency in your blog!
I completely agree with Amy! She is right they do get off schedule but they fall back into it easier than the first time you put them on the schedule. What I love about schedules is that most of the time when Belle is acting up I look at a clock and I can tell what is going on. "Oh 6 oclock well duh she is cranky, she is hungry!" I am flexible and that can with time, I wouldn't budge in the learning stage, but now we can give and take.
I completely agree with Amy! She is right they do get off schedule but they fall back into it easier than the first time you put them on the schedule. What I love about schedules is that most of the time when Belle is acting up I look at a clock and I can tell what is going on. "Oh 6 oclock well duh she is cranky, she is hungry!" I am flexible and that can with time, I wouldn't budge in the learning stage, but now we can give and take.
I love the crawling picture--she looks so determined! I'm glad things are going so well. I always thought that being on a schedule helped us be more flexible--hope it works for you!
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