Sleep training
ANTOINETTE:
Daniel is almost a year now and he is still waking up during the night. All through this year, with him having been quite an ill baby I have tolerated this. Some days I don’t know how I make it through the day, especially after being up at least 3 times in the night. I have always know that with sick or refluxy babies you sometimes need to throw out the rule books as they need to be treated and handled differently. Daniel has had a good summer and his constant coughs and chest infections have cleared up. However the sleep disruption has not and he continues to wake between 2 and 6 times a night. I want to try to get his sleep sorted out now, while he is well, before winter comes around here (UK), before the colds and flu start again. Last week I got out my Sleep Sense book and had a look at the sleep training tips you suggest in the book. I love the fact that the sleep training you recommend is very gentle and flexible, without making me feel guilty about what I am doing. I cannot leave Daniel to cry, and staying with him is the way to go for me. In less than a week I have broken the rock him to sleep habit and he is soothing himself to sleep with a dummy and his bedtime buddies. I am in the room, but I am now almost out of the door. I am pretty much there to lie him down again if he stands up, to sh sh sh him if he need it, or to put my hands on him if he is unsettled. This has made a huge difference to his bedtime for us. It was taking up to 1 1/2 hours to get him down, now it is generally 15-20 minutes. Also, he is sleeping better at night. Some nights he has even made it through to 4 or 5 am before waking. I am so pleased and am hoping that he will make this a more regular occurance. Thanks Megan and Ann for the easy to use and flexible advice on sleep training.
MEG:
Nette that is wonderful news - nothing worse than waking up all night with a fretful baby. It makes it hard to cope the next day. I recall a time when James was waking 14 (yes 14) times a night. I did the gentle approach and broke the habit in 3 days. I felt like a new person and there was very little trauma for either of us. I am glad it worked for you too!