I’ve been keeping a dirty little secret. Ever since our son Mylo was born, we’ve only slept through the night once, and even then it was a fluke. I understand that during the first few months of his life the no sleep thing is normal, but he’s 6 months old now and we just cannot go on like this.
My group of mom friends with babies the same age as Mylo have been buzzing about sleep training for the last couple of months. A few have returned to their full-time jobs and so establishing a routine in order to help prepare their babies for daycare was important. But we were not in the same boat so I did nothing with the useful information they were sharing. Ferber who?
Putting Mylo to bed usually goes something like this: breastfeeding, rocking in the rocking chair, walking around the house with all the lights out, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, breastfeeding. Jason and I have been stuck in newborn mode, scared to put Mylo down in his crib while he is still awake.
Our middle of the nights go something like this: get woken up by him in the middle of the night, deliriously transport him from crib to bed, nurse, sleep, nurse, sleep, nurse. Although there’s always much more nursing going on then there is sleeping.
Recently, my husband Jason asked me why weren’t doing sleep training like my mom friends were. For starters, we have a one bedroom. Granted it’s large, but how could we sleep train in a one bedroom when I’m still breastfeeding? Everything I read says that a mom in the same bedroom as baby who is not planning on nursing is like holding cake up to someone but not letting him have a bite!
But then Mylo’s pediatrician emailed us a sleep training book that she’s a big fan of — The Sleep Sense Program by Dana Obleman. I read it and finally understood how important it is to have a bedtime routine.
This past Monday, we began sleep training. While I didn’t have high hopes because of our one bedroom, I decided to put more emphasis on putting Mylo to bed at night and lessened my expectations of him actually sleeping through the night.
It’s been four nights now and I cannot believe the way he has taken to it. The routine takes a half hour each night and begins with a bath, followed by pajamas, a book, nursing and putting Mylo in the crib awake. He cried the first night for 13 minutes, fussed for less then five the next two nights and cried hysterically for six minutes last night.
In the middle of the night on the first night of sleep training he woke up twice. Both times we laid there and did not go to him. He didn’t cry but moaned and played and then eventually fell back asleep. Or maybe we fell asleep first. The second night he woke up one time in the middle of the night. And then the last two nights in a row… knock on wood… baby boy SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!
The routine, while time consuming, is fun. And in reality it takes less time and energy than our previous routine of rocking, nursing and soothing him to sleep. What’s more, this new routine gives me and Jason more time together. Time to connect and be intimate, which I almost forgot how important and fun that can be.
Putting baby boy in the crib awake. Who knew that's what you were supposed to do.
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Does your infant sleep through the night? Do you have any other sleep training tricks I don’t know about? If so, share the wealth!
It wasn’t announced that night for a few reasons. One, we were there to celebrate someone’s birthday. Two, she is only five weeks along, and three, the woman who is pregnant was trying to take her sister and friend’s feelings into consideration.
