I know lots of you have been wondering how the sleep department has been going. Well I got 4 sleep books from the library, most notibly "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley and "Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Richard Ferber. If you don't know about these methods, well they are OPPOSITE AS OPPOSITE CAN BE. Night and day. One was written by a guy. One was written by a girl. One was written by a doctor. One was written by a mom. One seemed cruel. One seemed compassionate.
I still don't know which is right for my child but here's what we've been doing the last 4 days.
Attempt nursing him to sleep. This used to work even though I realized it was wrong. It still does work SOMETIMES and I want to break him of the habit so I don't have a 4 year old who needs my boob to go to sleep. If Blaine is still awake after nursing, which he has been each of the last 3 evenings and many of the last few naps, pat his back, tell him it is time for sleep and lay him in bed.
Day 1: Let him cry 5 minutes, go in for 2-3 minutes to soothe, then cry 10 minutes, then soothe, then 15 minutes subsequently. He never made it all the way through the 15 without being asleep.
Day 2: Let him cry 7 min, go in to soothe, let cry 12 min....never made it. Asleep 1 min into the 12 minute stretch.
And tonight? Asleep in 6 minutes with no going in needed :)
Who knows what the future will bring in this next week but there are DEFINITELY improvements so far!
What to work on next? Keeping him asleep
longer for naps! I guess there is a sleep stage transition from 30-45 minutes that he can't get past w/out waking up. We'll work on that!