I'm reading a book about getting your kids to sleep, called "Healthy sleeping habits, happy child" (Thanks for the recommendation, Amberly!) and it's helped me figure out how to establish a routine with Sienna.
Unfortunately, in order to put her down to sleep at night, I have to let her cry. The first night we tried it she cried for half an hour, the second night, one full hour. Tonight was the third night and it was a half an hour again. Leaving her to cry is possibly the hardest thing I've ever dealt with emotionally because I'm fighting off a strong instinct to go 'rescue' her. It feels like torture, for both of us!
I'm glad I'm doing it, don't get me wrong! I don't want to deal with a child who won't go to bed for years to come, but it's so hard! I admit, I have gone into her room a time or two to 'soothe' her, but it only makes the crying worse if I don't pick her up.
(Is this what you went through, Amber?)
3 comments:
Oh my gosh, YES! Every baby is different, but my advice would be to do whatever you can to ignore the crying (I picked a task like washing dishes and felt guilty the whole time) because the less you attempt to "soothe" her, the quicker she'll stop crying. I know, because we tried all kinds of half-way methods with Josh, but at 18 months old I was still rocking him to sleep because he just couldn't fall asleep on his own. In fact, we went through a six month period when I had to stick him in the car and drive him around until he fell asleep because holding him was too stimulating.
Aaron is now a total champ. His first night of crying lasted 45 minutes. His second lasted 30, and then 10 for the next few nights. Now, most of the time, I can rock him and feed him a bottle and put him right down in his crib where he just falls asleep within minutes. Sometimes he still yells at me about being left alone, but he almost always gives it up in less than a minute. It's so hard to hear them cry, but it's important to remember that crying is the way babies communicate EVERYTHING. Just because she's crying doesn't mean she's in any emotional trauma, she's just a little confused at the change in sleeping arrangements. Sleep is so important for these little guys, so good job! She'll be able to fall asleep on her own in no time! And you'll be getting more sleep and time alone with your Honey, too!
I've let all my babies cry it out, and I've soothed them every time. It's okay. In the method I read and used, you just space the soothing intervals farther and farther apart. (ie. Wait 5 minutes the first time, 10 minutes the next time, etc.) And, all my soothing entailed was patting them on the back, retucking them if necessary, etc. So I was only with them 30 seconds. Trust me, it will get easier! It's such a good thing to let them cry it out. You're doing her and yourself a HUGE favor!
It is hard but so beneficial in the end. I used the same method that Nathan and Natalie used above. Two, maybe three, nights of crying and then they caught on. Sticking with a routine and helping them settle themselves to sleep is a great gift to give your kids.
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