Okay, a little back story:
Before Reed was born, I had ideas of the kind of mother I would be. Stern, but loving; always having the big picture in mind. I wanted to raise a gracious, disciplined, loving child. This meant having clear boundaries and practicing "tough love" if that's what was best. All of that changed when I became a mother.
I always wanted him near. I never wanted him to be upset. I would gladly stay up all night holding him so he wouldn't have to cry. I would probably let him do whatever he wanted. He had me wrapped around his finger. I am pretty much the antithesis of who I thought I would be. It has left me conflicted and confused (knowing what I should do vs. what my heart wants to do). Sleep training, UGH!! I just knew if I loved Reed enough, he would fall right asleep and stay asleep all by himself.
That's not how babies are made, unfortunately.
So sleep-training is underway in the Turner Home, and mom and baby are doing surprisingly well! So far, it's only been mom and baby involved, so we'll see how dad holds up when he's actually home and put to the test. Part 1 was encouraging because I actually lived through letting my sweet boy cry until he fell asleep (although I felt genuinely heartless watching TV in my jammies while he cried). I didn't have a break-down or even cry at all (I did that the previous night when Wes and I decided to let him cry for a little bit before bed - AWFUL!). So here is the update so far:
Try #2 (afternoon nap): I put Reed down at 4 because he seemed sleepy. Tucked his blanket tightly around him, turned on his noise bear and left......I didn't hear anything.....panic, PANIC! I went to check on him and he. was. ASLEEP! ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! Nope, slept for an hour and a half. I think it would have been longer, but Wes got home and the door beeped, and I was making noise in the kitchen. This cannot be that easy!
Try #3 (bedtime): Believe it or not, I was not optimistic about bedtime going as smoothly as his afternoon nap. Naps were always easy, bedtime was not. So I did a bedtime routine: bath, story, feeding, a little cuddle/tv time, then bed. He cried, of course, but only for 30 minutes. Woke up for 2 very brief moments to whine, then went to sleep. Success!! I will admit, I was disappointed in the 5 hours he slept. That was only a half hour longer than the night before, but at least I didn't have to pick him up 5 times to try and rock him back to sleep.
Try #4 (morning nap): Reed was pretty fussy only an hour after he was up for the day, so I tried to keep him distracted and awake a little longer. Only 30 minutes later I figured he was ready for a nap. Put him down, turned the sound on and left. Only cried for 15-20 minutes. Getting shorter!!
Wes has class Tuesday nights, and wasn't able to partake in the bedtime try last night, and is out of town today, which means he will miss it again. Reed will probably be a pro by the time Wes gets to help. That's probably a good thing. Daddy caves too quickly. :)
Enjoy your Wednesday! More updates tomorrow.
The Turners
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