Let me back up first...so last Friday Caden and I went on our VERY first play date with a blogger buddy. It was kind of like a mommy blind date. We had lots of friends in common and of course she is a fellow Baylor Bear, so it really wasn't mommymatch.com or anything, we at least knew each other were safe! After spending a few hours with her and her adorable daughter who is several months older than Caden, I decided to ask her for some mommy to mommy wisdom. Asking her when her little girl hit certain milestones like sleeping through the night, napping, etc. It became clear that I needed to make a move with Caden's nap schedule when I asked her..."So how long has she been taking naps during the day?" And she said, "You mean when did I switch her from three naps to two naps?" HA! Nope, not what I meant AT ALL, but okay let's start there...
Needless to say I felt a little behind the curve... (I know, I know... all kids are different, all parents are different... I get it) But what I had known to be true in my heart for some time now was becoming blaringly obvious! My new friend told me her little girl had been crying it out since 6 weeks old! 6 weeks?! I was shocked! BUT guess what? It gave me SO much confidence to see this beautiful, happy, healthy little girl who was a great napper and a great sleeper and she still loved her mommy... phew! All of my fears were comforted! I could do this!
So I decided I would wait until Caden was 4 months old (tomorrow) to start making him nap in his crib during the day... if he cried... bring on the Furber Method... I'm ready! So Monday came and went... no naps... just 30 minute cat naps and a very tired and unhappy boy in my arms at the end! Then Tuesday... same... and Wednesday... same... and that brings us to today...
Why was I waiting until Friday? I could NOT hold, stand, console, sit and rock, stand and console, sit and rock, stand and console...finally asleep....30 minutes later awake... stand and console...sit and rock ANY LONGER! He's 20+ pounds and doesn't support himself yet... you do the math!!
Here is how the day is shaking down so far...
Nap #1: 9am, cries for the entire hour we try... of course I go in every 5-8 minutes to put the passy in his mouth his lovie in his arms and pat that tummy and sing him my prettiest song... NO SLEEP!
Nap#2: 12:45pm, cries for 10 minutes, I soothe him, sleeps for 25 minutes!
Nap#3: 3:10pm, cries for 4 maybe 5 minutes and has been sleeping for 25 minutes and counting!
PROGRESS PEOPLE! In only one day, we are making progress! It hasn't been easy and I hate hearing him upset, but I know that that too shall pass!
So thanks blog friend for the confidence to try it! And thanks mom for the pep talks in the midst of his crying today!
PS: If you have something negative to say about "crying it out" please don't share! Find another outlet to do so! THANK YOU! :)
7 comments:
Way to go Katie and Caden!! Progress is progress and I am proud of both of you. You are a wonderful mother and he will always love you even when he is crying!!
Hope that this afternoon continued to go well for you! We had a blast with you guys last Friday and can't wait for our next playdate!
yeah for crying it out, this is what we did with Caleb (also with husband prompting) and he is a much happier boy now because of it. He still cries for about 5 min. at every nap but goes down at night like a champ. Way to go. . . not easy!
AB
Hey Katie, I am a friend of Cori's and she has me turned on to your site. I have a 9 month old and trust me...crying it out works! I know it is hard to hear your baby boy scream and cry--but I have a great napper and sleeper thanks to this method! He usually takes 2, 2 hour naps a day! Keep it up!! (my blog is www.mattandmelherring.blogspot.com)
im terrified of cry it out...your blog made me laugh and gave me encouragement for the future!!!!
I only have positives to say about crying it out! It is totally worth it! With your next baby, you'll wonder why you waited so long :) Good luck...it's hard at first but he will get the hang of it. Both of our girls were on a schedule from the beginning and are still great nappers. Mackenzie is 14 months and still taking two naps a day. She gets up at 8am, goes back down by 10am, I usually have to wake her up at 11 (so she will still take a good afternoon nap and she can easily skip this morning nap on Sundays because of church or if we have something else doing on) then she goes back down at 1pm for a 2-3 hour nap. Long naps are a lifesaver! Especially with more than one child...I need them to all be sleeping at the same time or it doesn't me no good to get anything done or a nap for myself! You are doing great!
PS. Once you get him going to sleep on his own okay, you can even try letting him cry it out if he wakes up early. He may just have a bad habit of only taking short little cat naps but if left in his crib for a little while longer he may fall back asleep?!?! Wouldn't that be nice!
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