12.03.2013

Sleep Training

It's safe to say that I haven't had uninterrupted sleep in well over three years.  I know I'm not the only mom singing the same tune, so I'll save you the sob story.

With my carpel tunnel back in full force these days, (Alas it appears that I will be scheduling surgery for the new year, sigh) Weston's waking habits are a less than welcome addition to my nightly tossing and turing rituals.  Okay,  so maybe a little sob story.

Weston started out as a sleep stud and was snoozing "through the night" very early on (which, according to the books is 5-6 hours at a time.  I mean, come on people.  Who considers that through the night?).  I thought we would be destined for ten hours of peaceful, uninterrupted nights in no time.

Fast forward nine months and I'm still waking up 1-2 times a night with him.  No bueno.

He wakes up at nearly the same times each night and doesn't always finish his bottle but instead falls asleep snuggled in my arms.  Which, I do love.  Almost as much as sleep.

So, a few nights ago I (because let's face it, there is very little we when it comes to waking up in the middle of the night) decided to start sleep training the little man.

My preferred method (only because it worked in a night with Logan is CIO (a more sophisticated way of saying "Cry it Out").  Here's how it went...

Night one: Horrific.  Sweet West cried for almost an hour.  It was a heart breaker and having Chris watch it all on the monitor was like twisting the knife in my side.  Once I set my phone on white noise and set it outside the doorway, however, Weston was back to dreamland until morning.

Night Two: Success.  A full night of sleep (for all of us).

Night Three: He began to cry during his usual 3:00am hour.  I was prepared to give it a few minutes of cry time but Logan woke up crying too (how she slept through the first night, I am still baffled).  I fed Weston as not to make more of a fuss.  He slept the rest of the night

So here we are coming up on night four and I am at a loss.  Not sure that I can do CIO to this little one again.

That would be seven teeth in case you are wondering.
Any tried and true sleep training techniques out there?

2 comments:

Leighdleblog said...

WOW, I have not seen a picture of Weston for a while! He is so big! Which makes me so sad for the months I have missed, and SO excited to see him in less than two weeks!!! ADORABLE! And good luck on the sleep thing ;)

Kate said...

Can you put a white noise machine in the nursery if that helps soothe him, or would it bug Logan? We've had white noise for naps and bedtime with L since day 1 and it has always seemed to really help (heck, we sleep with one too!).

We did Ferber with L (on two separate occasions - bedtime and then again to drop the middle of the night snack), and everything I've read about sleep training says consistency is key. I am sure that is a "challenge" (putting it lightly) with Logan also in the room, but he will eventually get it if you stick with it and don't deviate.