Last night was, really, what has become par for the course. Bedtime was easy, while the middle of the night wasn’t so much. She isn’t crying when we lay her down anymore, which is w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l. It’s still taking her a long time to fall asleep, though, which is frustrating. She isn’t crying when she’s laying there, but she’s wide awake, looking around. Periodically, too, she pops up just to make sure we’re still there. It’s those frequent “just checking” moments that keep me from going ahead and going back to bed; I don’t know how she’ll react if she looks up and she’s alone. It’s slow going, but I know we’re making progress. When I look at where we were just a week ago, I know we’re making progress. It just takes patience, and patience is at a premium in the wee hours of the morning.
The wrap-up:
Shuffle position: DOORWAY
To bed on her own: YES! It took 3o minutes. Only 30 minutes.
Back to sleep on her own: She woke up at 2:23 and I was back in bed at 3:30. Seemed like a lot longer than that, but at least it was one hour, not two. Also, she woke up crying at about 7:00 this morning, and I knew she needed more sleep. I laid her back in her bed, and she just looked around for awhile. After about 45 minutes, I decided I wanted to see what she would do if I left the room while she was still awake; I snuck out and didn’t hear a peep from her until I went back to get her up for the day.
Cry-time: None. Can you believe it?
Rocking: YES, during storytime.
Bottle: YES, prior to her bath.
Music: YES.
Success: YES. (If you were wondering, I’m considering any night a success as long as we don’t cave and rock her to sleep. Regardless of how long it takes, it’s a success if she puts herself to sleep.)
3 of your thoughts:
I guess this sounds like progress but it's got to be exhausting for all of you with those long periods during the night. When will you be able to put her down and not stay there in sight of her? I admire your patience(?) with this.
i also admire your patience...it sure sounds like it is paying off for you :)
guess what? i figured out why Olivia's sleep patterns have completely done a 180 in that past week or two...she is getting her one year molars!!!!! poor baby...i don't know why this didn't dawn on me before. she has been clingy, irritable, chewing on her hands, drooling, not sleeping...all the signs. i read that when those molars start moving around in the gum they have a hard time sleeping because laying down flat causes pressure in their poor, little ears. i gave her some tylenol last night and it seemed to help!
anyway...so glad you are succeeding with this :)
I don't know where you are located when she is awake during the night, but you might want to be positioned farther away, like in the doorway and then you can sh, sh her. As long as she is not crying and is content to lay there, you shouldn't need to be in the room. This might be a good test for you instead of you going all the way back down.
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