Before I begin, let me make one thing clear. If you equate sleep training to a barbaric form of baby torture, please avert your eyes, read something else and come back another day.
THIS POST IS NOT FOR YOU.
I am not interested in someone telling me about the benefits of rocking my baby to sleep; I have been rocking my baby to sleep for almost nine months. I know exactly what the benefits are. The baby feels loved and attended to and cared for and blah blah blah whatever. I'll tell you what I told my own mother who said, "I WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE THAT TO YOU" when I sleep trained Mazzy. I said, "Yeah, Mom. And that's probably why I have had sleep issues MY ENTIRE LIFE."
Besides Harlow taking an hour of aggressive rocking/feeding/pacifying to go to bed, I must be actively involved every time she wakes up throughout the night, because she has no ability to soothe herself to sleep. Why would she? I have never given her the opportunity.
Yes. I am calling "sleep training" an "opportunity". How do you like me now, NAYSAYERS?
Why have I waited this long, if I am so pro-sleep-training?
For one thing, my girls share a room and I was afraid of interupting Mazzy's sleep.
Secondly, I am unsure of how to put them to bed at once since Mazzy usually sings and talks to herself for at least an hour before she passes out.
Thirdly, Harlow became mobile really early so she was always flipping herself over or crawling herself into a crib slat or trapping herself in a corner. She'd get upset and I'd feel the need to help her out. Currently, she won't even allow me to lie her down, choosing instead to flip over, stand up, and hold onto the edge of the crib while screaming her head off, like someone unjustly placed her in BABY JAIL. For some reason, it feels a lot harder to walk away from a crying baby who is standing up, than one who is lying down.
Fourthly (yes, fourthly), every time I announced "sleep training starts tomorrow!", Mazzy would get sick. And then as soon as Mazzy was better, Harlow would get sick. And as soon as Harlow would get better, I would get sick. And by the time I got better, the cycle would just repeat itself. I couldn't add to the misery.
Fifthly, when Harlow wakes up at 4am and I can't figure out how to get her to go back to sleep, I usually pull her into our bed. Then, her head conks down hard on my chest as if my proximity is a heavy dose of Ambien. It feels absolutely HEAVENLY to have a baby passed out on your chest. Part of me does not want to give it up.
Sixthly, Harlow's cry is the most gut-wrenchingly pathetic baby cry of all time. Her wails are long and piercing. She pants like she is hyperventilating. When it's really bad, she takes big gulps and might start to hiccup. Her eyes get red and her nose starts running and her mouth turns down like the cartoon version of a frown. If there was a competition for "Baby's Cry Most Likely to Keep a Parent from Sleep Training", Harlow would win it by a mile.
BUT IT IS TIME.
In addition to the massive amount of rocking needed to get Harlow to sleep and the fact that she is not yet sleeping through the night, Harlow is terrible at napping. All studies seem to indicate that lack of baby sleep will result in a horrible human being.
I don't want one of those.
Also, we have been spending far too much time trying to put Harlow down throughout the day while Mazzy is left in front of a television. Studies say too much television at an early age result in horrible people too.
That's two horrible people in my house, in case you are keeping track.
Mazzy is starting a new preschool in September and I don't want to have to sleep train Harlow when Mazzy is busy adjusting to something else, so this week is the week.
It's happening. I've got Erin, the sleep specialist from Pickles & Ice Cream who put Mazzy through Toddler Sleep Rehab, devising a specialized plan. If it works, I'll be doing a giveaway of her services to celebrate.
I'll give you the deatils of the plan, along with updates throughout the week. Follow me on facebook for real-time coverage/support.
It's going to be ugly, my friends. Like Kim Kardashian cry ugly.
Wish me luck!
(Continue to Sleep Training Day One)
Good Luck! I am a fan of sleep training- I hope it is swift and painless
I LOVE this. I too “sleep trained” but we used a sleep consultant that offered a gentle approach. But I completely understand what you mean about barbaric approach.Whenever I tell people on the forums I sleep trained, they attack me about leaving my child alone to cry for hours, like who ever said I did that??? Not all sleep training is like that! A huge shout-out to my wonderful sleep consultant who helped show me a gentle, no tears way of sleep training. http://violet-sleepbabysleep.blogspot.com/2012/01/baby-sleep-consultant.html So BOO YA haters!
y Grace doesn’t want to sleep well. The last six months have merged into one nightmare: the child wakes up every hour and a half and starts screaming.
I have tried many things, but nothing helps.
I remembered that a month ago, our friends tried the Shema sleep tracker for their child. And after a couple of weeks, the baby began to get better sleep. We decided to try it too, after 6-7 days, the result began to appear. It turns out that we did a lot of things wrong, constantly rocking our princess in our arms. The app has cool tips for why the child is not sleeping now or when it can be put to bed. The regime began to improve , finally we started to get enough sleep 😊
Thanks for the great advice , we downloaded the tracker and really started to help us. Our son did not adhere to the regime very much , but now it has become much better .
And we tried this wonderful tracker. I really liked it, still good sleep tips.
Yes, a very good sleep tracker , we use it for about three weeks and are happy with it. The mode was adjusted .
Finally we found something that worked for us: http://sleepsense.info/
Very happy that we found this method on the internet, we all are having a good night’s rest now.
Can really recommend it!
Oh my gosh…DO NOT give up. It will be painful but SO worth it. It took years to really get it on track but now my 3&4 year old go to bed at bedtime. Took FOREVER. You can do it! Good luck.
I LOVE this. I too “sleep trained” but we used a sleep consultant that offered a gentle approach. But I completely understand what you mean about barbaric approach.Whenever I tell people on the forums I sleep trained, they attack me about leaving my child alone to cry for hours, like who ever said I did that??? Not all sleep training is like that! A huge shout-out to my wonderful sleep consultant who helped show me a gentle, no tears way of sleep training. http://violet-sleepbabysleep.blogspot.com/2012/01/baby-sleep-consultant.html So BOO YA haters!
If it works for you I need that secret, because I’m going through the same thing I have a 4 year old in pre- school and a 10 and a half month old who won’t sleep through the night and takes 20 minute naps during the day and cries the minute I put her in he crib. She wakes every 2 hours at night and ends up in bed with me and my husband , not fun at all.
Make your husband do it while you sit out of earshot and have a glass of wine! My husband basically forced me to do it because I would always cave and go in there, now we can lay our little guy down without a peep. I was also doing the rock him forever thing and then try to lay him down asleep, of course he would wake up as soon as I did this and then stand jumping in the crib angry, and the cycle would repeat, I was being held hostage, and yes, kidding aside, its not fair to leave our older guy in front of the tv to rock the baby forever, especially when it doesn’t work anyways. After 3-4 days everyone will be happier! GL
We are considering this for the same reasons with our first (terrible napping, I have to be there every time she wakes, and the accidental co-sleeping). Please keep us updated, as I never thought I would sleep train but I do need my baby to get more sleep!
Good luck.
Good luck. Our second was a terrible sleeper and napper (God forbid she miss anything her brother was doing), but we sleep trained her at nine months or thereabouts for pretty much the exact same reasons you listed. I would still be rocking her otherwise and she’s nearly three. I always think it is 100x harder on the parents as we hear the screams and have memory of it all. It took a little longer with her than her brother, but now they both sleep well and settle themselves if they wake. It is life transforming when you go so long without more than three hrs in a row. Parents with kids who sleep through at 10wks just don’t get it! But you gotta wait til the whole family is ready so hope now all is good for you nothing gets in the way this time!!
I’ve been reading all of your past posts but for some reason when I checked in today the page was on your current blog post.. you have a SECOND child? I need to get caught up.. quickly!
It is virtually impossible for someone who is a terrific, wonderful, loving, sweet parent to end up with one let alone two horrible beings … no matter how much TV, rocking, sleeptraining, lack of sleep training, etc. they do. Your kids will end up awesome because they have awesome parents. In the meantime do whatever it is you need to do to stay sane. Good luck!!
Good luck! It is absolutely the best thing we ever did for our twins. They are both well-rested kids. Makes a huge difference.
Good luck. I hope this works for you. I have tried a few different versions of sleep trainging. They all worked for about a week:( My now 19mth old refuses to sleep the whole night through:( It isnt easy being a working mama who’s husband works out of town. I tend to give up and bring him into my bed just so I can get some sleep. Hoping this technique wiorks for you and will be something I can try too.
Sleep for baby & sleep for mommy are SO important! Everything else seems to fall into place once those two things are handled.
I look forward to hearing how this goes for you. I have an 8 1/2 month old who sleeps amazingly through the night after 1 – 2 hours of hell from about 7 – 9. He hates being held, being in his pack n play, being on the couch with us, being in his crib, crawling around, being ANYWHERE. He hates earth between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., and I cannot wait for him to figure out it is the same exact place he is pretty content 22/7…why those 2 hours suck so much is beyond me!
Put him to bed at 8:30 and see what happens, my son does that when he is not tired, when he is tired it should be easier
Pro-sleep-training here. And I too share several of the same reasons for why I haven’t sleep-trained my 11 month old. I just can’t figure out how to sleep-train without completely disrupting my 2 1/2 year old who sleeps on the other side of a paper-thin wall. I know from training my first that it is worth the week of crying and torture for much better rest for the whole family though.
PLEASE share your secrets if this works, because my now two-year-old behaves the same way. Seriously…this sounds exACTLy why we haven’t done this with him yet. Do it! And then come to my house, and do it again!
Good luck!!!! It’s so much harder with the 2nd one, cause you don’t want her to wake the first one, and then deal with two screaming children at 2am (that really sucked in my opinion….which is why baby #2 slept in my room until after 6 months, unlike the first who got kicked out at 2 months)….so not fun. You can do it!
We had the same problem at about 10 months with our son. We always rocked and soothed him to sleep because of the whole attachment parenting thing, but then that stopped working. When we reached the 2 hour mark of unsuccessful rocking and such, we finally just put him in the bed and walked away. Xander cried for 10 minutes, then passed out. The next night he cried for 2 minutes. The third night he passed out when his head hit the pillow, obviously he was more than ready for the change. He is 14 months now and nap time is kind of impossible, so that’s next on the agenda, but we are waiting until we reach a similar place to start with the baby torture. Like Harlow, he can cry piteously forever if he just isn’t ready for the transition. The longest I managed to hold out on him was 2 hours. I will never be able to do THAT again. Sheesh.
Anyway, good luck!
Go bravely where I have failed! I believe in it and hope to make it work for me someday too!
“Kim Kardashian cry ugly”????
Holy cow. I will pray for you guys this week! That’s pretty ugly!!!
I’m having the same issues with my daughter. I really need to sleep train too.
STOP IT. I started sleep training last night. My boy was fine – it was me, up at 4 a.m. watching Orange is the New Black, who had issues with it. Your #5 is my life. I’d rather be holding him. But when he’s 14 and still wanting to sleep in our bed, I’ll be kicking myself, which will probably be difficult with three normal-sized people in a queen-size bed.
Awesome.
Please please share your plan when you start. My daughter is 8.5 months and her sleep habits mimick Harlows exactly. The crying, hiccuping, terrible napping, ect. This week she figured out she can jump up and down holding the crib rail. Then she usually falls backwards and hits her head on the crib, which requires us to go get her and completely voids any effort we put forth that night. We started sleep training last week and she slept 9pm-530am 3/7 nights. I’m soooooooo sleepy. I’m usually not a fan of sleep training either but I figure the trauma of sleep training is much easier on a baby than having her mother die of exhaustion before her first birthday. Godspeed!
Thanks for this. I have been contemplating doing this for months now. Feeling inspired.
Good luck!! My first child was terrible at it. He would cry for three hours – THREE hours!! And everyone said oh, it’ll get better. Give it a week or two. Ha! It did NOT get better. My second child is much different and just turned 6 months – we may be sleep training soon too. I hope Harlow cooperates!! The payoff is huge. You can do it!!
We just started this week too with my 11 month old. We had the EXACT same bedtime and nighttime routine you detailed above and I finally said ENOUGH. Last night was night one and it was relatively miserable. Lots of crying. But this morning he was still asleep at 8 a.m. I think that’s a very small win. Hopefully more to come…
I do miss that baby on my chest at 4 a.m. But I know we will ALL be happier and healthier human beings in our own beds.
My daughter refused to sleep thru the night and required me to rock her every time she woke up in the middle of the night too until she was 13months. Finally I had to resort to sleep training, my own version. Worst. Two. Weeks. Ev-er. The logic and research and parenting books are no help when staring at my daughter screaming at me from her crib like I was breaking her heart as much as it was breaking mine. But I somehow kept on – I needed to be able to sleep more than three hours at a time! After many long nights, my super stubborn toddler has miraculously been sleeping for twelve hours each night on her own after our five minute rocking and singing bedtime routine. It took me several more weeks for my own body to adjust sleeping thru the night but it’s o so nice now!
I am a BIG fan of sleep training! It worked for my daughter is three days (she’s now 4.5 and a marathon sleeper). My son was a little more difficult, but he is 11 months old and has slept through the night two nights in a row after sleep training for about 6 weeks. Hopefully Harlow catches on quick. Good luck!! And don’t let any naysayers bring you down. This is a good thing that we do for our children, not torture, not selfish (which I was told by a “friend”) And will NOT tarnish your relationship with your daughter. I was sleep trained and I am closer to my mother than a lot of women I know. So you go girl!!
Good luck. It will all work out be but hard in the meantime. I just recently had to do this with my twins and one of them, Eddie, had the same most pathetic heart breaking cry and face. Seeing as these were my last babies, I too put it off a little too long. I miss cuddling with them in turn all night..but it had to be done. Momma needed some sleep too. 🙂
Never had to do it with our first but we did with our second and we are PRO SLEEP training and swear by it! We have a glorious sleeper which means we all wake up rested for the most part! Good luck! Stay strong! No crying allowed…from you! 🙂
This is my life. Except my 3.5 year old is still a crappy sleeper too.
We held firm with Babywise with both boys: the first, a sleeping DREAM baby. The second, good but not as good and required some screaming when it was time to go through the night. However, my 85 year old grandmother SWORE by her method which, I guarantee is probably super effective (and possibly the fastest way to get DSS officials to your house): She said that she tied one of her sons to the bars of his crib, shut his door, and then went out to the fire escape where she turned the radio up as loud as it would go, smoke a cigarette and drink a glass of wine. GOOD LUCK!
Good luck to all of you. We have always been proponents of sleep-training and it’s worked wonders for all three of my kids. They have been good sleepers from very early on and we never had any major issues. I do believe that the earlier you start the better off you’ll be. But that’s just my humble opinion and everyone has to do what feels right to them!
My baby is 2 1/2 months old and I’m wondering when a good time to start sleep training? Is it too early. He already wakes up in the middle of the night and pacifies himself by sucking on his fingers and fall back to sleep in a few minutes or less. Can I start now?
Good luck. It is essential for a baby to be able to soothe their self back to sleep. To hell with the naysayers.
Good luck!!! I need to do that with my 10 month old but, llike you, every time I’m going to start “something comes up.” And I can’t bear to hear her scream bloody murder when I put her down. Hope it works! Maybe it will give me the courage to start it here so I can get some sleep!
Sleep training is the greatest gift you can give your child! I waited til my kiddo was 8.5 months. He shared a room with his older bro and sis, who were only there every other weekend and yet I was so desperate I chose to sleep train while they were with us. I put them in my bed, put my kid in the crib and slept on the bottom bunk. And forever after, it’s been awesome.
Good luck!
Erin is a fantastic sleep consultant. We worked with her also around the 9month mark. Hope it works out quickly!!
You can do it! I’m in the same boat (sick kids, moving, not moving, vacation, big brother’s nap schedule) and have also put it off for too long. I’ll make you a deal– I’ll suck it up and sleep train this week also. When you shut the door and Harlow’s scream escalates to that trapped-animal-meets-a screaming-banshee pitch, you’ll know that another mama is hearing the same thing.
I don’t know if what we did is considered sleep training, but from day 1 I put but our boys in their beds while they were sleepy but still awake so they’d learn to fall asleep on their own. At first they’d cry a bit, 10-20 minutes maybe, but soon they were falling asleep with no problem. My toddler was using a pacifier at nap and nighttime, but last month we decided it needed to go. In one week he went from crying 45 minutes at bedtime to not crying at all. Stay strong and remind yourself that she’s not losing trust in you or becoming a psychopath because you’re letting her cry.
btw…how are you handling them being in the same room. our boys are 23 months apart and will be in the same room soon.
My first child was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, and our second was sleeping through the night somewhere around 10 weeks, so I cannot imagine what you’re going through at 9 months! I will say, though, while we have never officially “trained” our children to sleep, once they hit about a month old, we started waiting about 15 minutes to see if they’d calm themselves down before we went in. Both of my boys were also big babies at birth (9 lbs 1 oz and 8 lbs 4 oz), so I think that has a lot to do with it, and they were both early thumb-suckers. I think sleep training is perfectly acceptable. Mommies are the best mommies they can be after a good night’s rest.
LOL – I have twins. With two kids, it’s not a matter of WHETHER to sleep train but HOW FAST CAN I START? It was hell with my daughter – I cried as much as she did (if somewhat quieter). I think we moved her into her own room first, which didn’t bother her as long as one of us came to her whenever she made her first peep. Actually, they’re about to turn 4 – and she’s still sort of liable to lose it if her wishes aren’t granted within 0.5 seconds of voicing them. Anyway, hell for 2 or 3 days and then – bliss. Until one gets sick and you have to start over since of course you go in for a sick crying baby. Good luck! Mommies can’t be sleep deprived forever and still look after their little ones!
Good luck! I am totally with you on sleep training, it is totally worth it for everyone involved! We were going to have my kids share a bedroom but decided it wouldn’t work when sleep training came around (plus we have a boy and girl so at SOME point they were going to need their own room anyway). Luckily we had the option of a third bedroom.
Love this and so sympathize! Wrote this, recently, as we sleep trained our 4th. He was a great sleeper, spent 3 nights in the hospital with me (after he turned 2) and forgot how to sleep. So, I guess we’ve done this 5 times, not 4! http://amysreallife.com/2013/06/05/the-cry-it-out-diaries/
Good luck!! I am a fan of sleep training too and its the reason my 11 month old can sleep 10-12 hours a night! Thinking about future number 2 I have always been really scared and interested to know how it goes with a second baby I had the same thoughts as you about waking up the older one as your trying to get the sleep training going. Keep us updated!
You can do this!! I am a huge fan of sleep training!! Sending positive vibes your way…
Ill be following this and doing the same as you so please post details!!!:) My little man is almost 9 months too and sounds like the boy version of Harlow! Thanks a bunch!
Good luck! I’m interested in the plan you and Erin come up with because I am curious how I’m going to get our 2nd to sleep in the same room as our first, considering both have different bed times and routines.
Oh gosh. Walking away from a standing up baby is definitely worse than a laying down one.
Good luck! May the sleeping gods ever be in your favor.
” For some reason, it feels a lot harder to walk away from a crying baby who is standing up, than one who is lying down.”
This. It was easier to ignore him if he was still laying down. But the second he stood up, there were elbow jabs with “it’s your turn” to soothe him.
Big fan of sleep training over here, too. It’s not fun but it sure has to be done, and everyone’s so much better off for it once they’re through it. Good luck!!!
Best of luck to everyone! I need to start with my 2nd but I am hesistant b/c my older son sleeps so well and their rooms are right next to each other. I am considering a noise machine might help (both to distract him and to block out the cries) but wasn’t sure how effective it would be. He is 3 months old and is starting to self sooth with his hand, but still prefers a paci and to be held. And although I love, love, love the cuddle time he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own. Could you let us know the routine for both kids? With staggered bed times I wondered what routine would work best.
I used to be anti sleep training, but after my daughter hit 10 months I knew it was time. She’s doing great during the night, but we still have struggles at nap time. I was happy that after laying her down today and listening to her scream through the baby monitor that I was able to open my iPad up and read this. It made me feel a lot better, and as I am writing this, I’ve realized she has stopped crying and gone to sleep :o)
I’m going to start tonight and I’ll publish my plan tomorrow- maybe we could do it together??
You can do it. Guess what? I was sleep trained and yesterday, during nap time, I chewed off the bobo off of Murray (he’s a zebra pacimal, if you’re wondering). So, Mama made me go to bed without him and I still slept from 7:30-7:00 last night. I guess what I’m saying is it works. And also, WHERE’S MURRAY?!
Ha! With Mazzy, I had to wait for my husband to go away to sleep train her. He was worse than I was!
Sleep training Mazzy was the best thing I ever did. It’s a few days of hell but after it’s over, you can just put them down and they go right to bed. Plus, once babies know how to put themselves asleep, they can exercise their newfound ability for middle of the night wake-ups too.
HA! Yep, had a new baby last November. Read two posts a day and you’ll be caught up soon!
It’s true. My friends who have kids who are good sleepers from really early on without sleep training didn’t do anything special. They just got lucky. All babies are different.
Holy moly I can’t believe it. I started sleep training my lil Emily last night! Funny how similar we are. Your daughter and sleep situation is Identical. It like you are me and I am you. I feel a certain closeness with you. My daughter is soo exactly the same as Harlow as how she rolls over hangs on to edge lol. Cries hard core as if I am never returning lol.I also feel not sure if I was wanting to give her up sleeping with me because Sometimes I like it. Mostly I don’t though lol. So yea we did it last night and took an hour of crying/checking/crying then she conked out didn’t wake til 5 I went in and checked her changed her diaper and left cried another hour and conked out til I had to wake her up! She also went to sleep for her nap like a champ today!. Day one has gone great I must say. Tonight may be another story but hopefully not. Wish me luck.
Yep, I am a human pacifier who keeps saying I am going to sleep train…. I can handle the crying (and mine cries like yours and flips herself and stands up), its the husband and other kids who think I am the meanest person alive. (however I don’t hear them offering to help) UGH… I wish you luck and I think I will do this with you! 🙂
Good luck! We did one night of sleep training and it worked. My daughter at 9 months learned how to self soothe and we never looked back. She also used to self soothe with a binky. Sleep Sheep also helped. You’ll be so happy you did it.
Estelle
Good luck, girl! Stay strong! The best gift you can give your daughter (and yourself!) is peaceful sleep. You need it, parenting toddlers & preschoolers isn’t for the faint of heart! (or the sleep deprived, ha ha). I did it will all 4 of my boys & they’re all excellent sleepers. You’re going to feel brand new when it’s all over 🙂
Best of luck to you. I hope that it surprises you and isn’t as bad as you expect. We had a rough few months with our now 7 month old but the best thing I ever did was find the strength to let him learn to go to sleep on his own. Thankfully, it only involved a couple of rough nights with about 10 (long) minutes of heartbreaking crying but he picked it up so quickly and it really did change my life.
You are too kind to assume all those things but I will take it! By the way, I did try to contact your friend Filing Jointly at Blogher via twitter but no response. I namedropped you and everything!
I’ll be posting all the details tomorrow. I think the trick is consistency and sticking with the routine even when it seems like it isn’t working. THAT’S THE HARD PART!
We actually tried to sleep train Mazzy a few times before we found a method that worked which ultimately was just letting her cry it out herself. I think Harlow’s needs are different though and the plan is to check on her at ten minute intervals.
My guess is those hours suck because he is over tired and should be sleeping by that time. Have you tried looking for sleepy cues and putting him down earlier than 7pm? The sleep specialist actually recommended that I get Harlow in bed by 6:30pm.
Yeah, I feel the same about Mazzy. Sleep training her was the best thing we did. Tomorrow’s post is going to be all about how to sleep train with both kids in one room and putting everyone to bed at once. I’m hoping that Mazzy’s sleep is interrupted for a week and then everything goes much smoother. That’s why I want it to happen before she goes to back to school.
Really? I never even thought to try that because 7 pm seemed early to me. I am going to try that tonight! Thanks for replying. Good luck tonight!
You should try toddler sleep training, maybe? We had to train Mazzy again when we switched her to a big girl bed at about 2 1/2.
Here’s the link: https://www.mommyshorts.com/2013/02/toddler-sleep-rehab.html
Your experience is very encouraging! I hope Harlow learns just as quickly.
I’m in the same boat with my 8-month-old. I don’t want to give up the snuggles with my baby but something needs to change. I’m definitely following you on this…
I’m opening up a thread on facebook tonight after I put Harlow down for anybody who wants to sleep train along with me. Method of your choice. Wanna join?
I’m opening up a thread tonight on facebook for anyone who wants to sleep train along with me. I’m hoping for a supportive group where we can all hold hands:)
Come join me on facebook tonight. I’m going to open a sleep training thread after I put Harlow down for anyone in the same boat to commiserate.
I’ll be sharing the whole plan tomorrow. One thing we did with Harlow who repeatedly stands up when we lie her down, was work on getting her to learn how to go from standing to sitting herself. That way I know she can lie down herself now. Before we did that, she would always get stuck in a standing position.
Do it with me tonight! I am going to open a thread on facebook after I put Harlow down for anyone who wants to sleep train at the same time.
Best of luck! Don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad for sleep training!!!!!! Or not doing it, for that matter. To each, her own!
Come join me on facebook tonight. We will all sleep train together!
Also, I tried to have my last good snuggle with Harlow this morning when she woke up at 4:30am and of course, she picks this morning to refuse to go back to bed. 🙁
Please join me tonight on facebook! I am going to open a (hopefully supportive) thread for anyone who wants to sleep train along with me.
Yep. This is EXACTLY what I will be discussing tomorrow. Glad I’m not the only one!
If you want to do it together, I’m going to open a thread on facebook tonight for all of us in the same boat. Hopefully, I won’t be doing this alone!
I’m opening a thread on facebook tonight so we can all do it together in a hopefully supportive environment. Want to join?
Soooo… I need to sleep train a 10 week old and a 13 month old that eventually need to be in the same room. I feel like it’s IMPOSSIBLE!
Same here. The first night of my husband’s 3 week work trip was the first night our daughter slept through. And he always acts like this was a coincidence. It was not.
She isn’t my friend unless you count a stranger I have never met IRL about whom I know way mor than she does about me (as I do not blog) a friend 🙂 But too bad you didn’t meet up, as you are both super cool IIL (in internet life).
And now for the sad truth? It is virtually impossible to break your kids. Whether you sleep train or not. The sad part is some kids are broken, because they have, quite frankly, evil parents. Or at least a parent with evil tendencies. But for the rest of us non-sociopaths? We will all make different parenting choices, and at the end of the day, we will all have well adjusted kds. So train away – not that you need the beauty sleep, but maybe Mike does? 😉 lol!
Wow, I feel like I could write this, except that the baby sleeps in our room. He doesn’t nap well, has the worst cry known to man (sounds like he’s being dismembered!), and we cosleep, except when we try to put him in the cosleeper next to us, and then we put him in our bed after he cries.
And he watches a lot of television, either because of his brother or because I need a break and he happens to be awake with me. Fewer books than his brother, too, but we’re working on that.
Somehow, I think he’ll manage to not hurt or maim people as a hobby.
Can’t wait to read about the sleep training!
I started with the sleep training at 4 months with the already waking-as-soon-as-i-moved baby. And considering that NO ONE from my family lives in the same country I do. I was left ALONE with this task.
I had to do it.
It took some time, it was hard at first, but then it became my salvation.
Hi Tonya, I’m a certified sleep trainer, friend and colleague of Erin, the sleep trainer hired to help Mommy Shorts. 2 1/2 months is too early, hon. Wait till your baby has developed more of her circadian rhythm to start. 4 months is earliest most of us start. That is, if she was not born more than a week before her due date.
Hang in there and contact Erin then! 😉
I did Ferber with my 1 year old when she was almost 7 months. It was the best thing I ever did! She would wake every 40 min-hour all night. It took about a week, but now she sleeps around 12 hours straight at night and I’ve got my sanity back! Good luck to you!
Now, when you figure out how to get the baby to nap in her crib, please share. We haven’t figured out that one yet. 🙂
Good luck! I was blessed with a baby who was an awful sleeper for te first 8 weeks, never slept more than 2 hours at a time except in the afternoon. But the night after his first day at daycare he slept almost the entire night. Wokeup once at 4am to eat after going to be at 8pm. I read Healthy Sleep Habits Happy baby. It along with the book I read on breastfeeding were the two best books I read. I followed his advice and looked for the ‘signs’ of being tired and put my baby to sleep then. He has been a great sleeper and always a great napper for me. I thank god everyday but I also pat myself on the back for reading before I had the baby and following the advice of the doctor. Sleep is so important not just for the parents but so important for babies and children. Good Luck!
been following your FB posts today – shocking how despite politely asking on every post that people who disagree with you should refrain from commenting, the naysayers still feel the need to give their two cents and not even nicely. seems a few people have missed some essential training in how not to be a rude buttinsky. I really feel for you having to read through all those comments and delete the nasty ones.
from a non-mom who follows your blog because your writing is hilarious and your kids are adorable, way to go! sounds like you are doing a great job and both your girls will be just fine. 🙂
I have one year old twins and finally did the sleep training thing when they were eight or nine months old, too. It was SO HARD. Absolutely heart wrenching to hear them cry and not pick them up for a snuggle but I was losing my mind with little to no sleep every night.. But now at (almost) 14 months, they are going to bed at 7:30 every night, and sleeping all the way through until 8 :30-9:30am. They are so much happier and I am too! Good luck! IT WILL BE SO WORTH IT! Eye on the prize, mama!
Good for you! I stopped rocking/nursing my baby to sleep at around 7 months. He’s nine months now and a lot like yours: incredibly mobile. He crawls, he semi-walks, and he definitely stands up the SECOND I put him in his crib and screams his little baby face off. It has been a challenge but after much crying on everyone’s part (mostly mine and his- my husband just sits on the couch playing on his phone and sending e-mails and giving me incredulous looks) we have finally gotten our little monster to (90% of the time) lay down and go to sleep after his nightly bottle. There is the occasional fluke where -like last night- we give him his bottle, kisses and hugs, and put him down only for him to bounce back up and scream for 45 minutes, but I’ve found going back in a few times and then letting him CIO is the process that works best for us. Otherwsie we have been enjoying drama-free evenings where baby is in bed by 8:30-9 and my husband and I can actually enjoy silence (oh and each other’s company) for a few minutes before bed.
Good luck! We are re-sleep training (is that even a word) our 5, yes I said 5, YEAR old who needs Grandma to lie next to her to sleep at 8 pm, but then she is up like a clock at midnight, 2 am, and 4 am, wanting to kick me out of bed and sleep with Daddy. Our pediatrician basically told us we were nuts and that Grandma can no longer lie with her at night. She can, however, sit in a chair next to her bed, but decreasing the time gradually until it is only 2 minutes with her. And, I am not allowed to let her kick me out of bed, but rather take her back to bed and sit with her for the allotted two minutes. We are a week into it and so far, so good! I actually got to stay in my bed last night! WOO HOO! Good luck with Harlow!!
Soon here you will have this entirely new world call life after the kids go to bed. They will actually go to bed, not cry, and STAY in their beds. It is MAGICAL. Our boys now will talk to each other a little and then just fall asleep on their own. It is so freeing!
Im currently in sleep re-training for school vs. summer bed times/wake times. School starts on Monday and though my kids are 14, 8, & 9, we have to start getting on a better schedule well before the first week. It’s great to know Moms across the country are dealing with uncooperative sleepy heads. Even at older ages they need guidance for healthy habits.
How do I find it? I am an avid follower on FB but not sure where to join the… put your kids to sleep so you can stay sane thread? 😉
I want to sleep train my 8 month old daughter but every time I say next time we will do it. I been saying that since she was 6 months old. haha
I love having her in our room and don’t want to be apart from her.
I can’t wait to read more about your sleep training journey. Good luck!
When are you giving away the sleep consult? I neeeeed it!!!
I was looking at sleep training my 7 month old. I’ve read a number of blogs about it, but then I found this http://www.alternative-mama.com/a-letter-from-a-sleep-training-baby/
It really broke my heart, I literally cried when I read it. I have decided to avoid sleep training, I just don’t think I can bring myself to do it.
I saw this article too, but it’s talking about cry it out and leaving your child alone, not all sleep training is like that. I used the sleep sense program and I sleep trained without leaving my baby’s side. Here’s the program if you are interested http://www.sleepsense.net/share.html?p=sleepbabysleep&w=buynow
I came across your blog two nights ago researching sleep training while my 6-month-old daughter (first child) was crying in the other room. I had walked out (only the second time I’ve had to do that) to gather myself and recover from some of the sleeping frustration we’ve had. My daughter slept through the night at only a week old, then just before 3 months she started waking up multiple times a night….Anyway, as I read, I decided to really commit and give it a go. My sister (with 3 kids) highly recommends sleep training, and I’ve seen first hand how amazing it’s been for her kids (not to mention for her and her husband). But I thought, “I’m not sure if this is for me. I’m not even sure if this would work with my baby.” Let me just tell you, with determination (and moral support from my sisters), we’re only on day two with FANTASTIC results. I just put my little one down with ZERO crying…!!…and last night, she slept through the night for the first time since I can’t even remember when. Loved your blog. Loved your pics. Thanks for sharing.