Ok, here's a question for the parents out there. What sleep method did you use on your children? Did you rock them to sleep, or lay them down almost alseep and let them fall asleep on their own? And if they cried did you do the "let them cry for 5 minutes and check on them and increase the time every time"? How did it work?
Here's where this is coming from. From speaking to a few people and doing a lot of reading, I've found that now is the time to start teaching Cayson to soothe himself to sleep. So we started last night. I nursed him and when he got really sleepy we laid him down. Of course he started crying. He's getting in the habit of wanting to be nursed to sleep. So we let him cry for 5 minutes. This was the hardest 5 minutes of my life! I think I cried more than he did. But it seemed to work. At the end of it, he was almost asleep, so Shaun picked him up and comforted him to sleep. And he slept through his normal 3 am feeding! So tonight we're going to try it again and this time check on him at 5 minutes and then at 10 minutes.
I'd love to hear from parents out there to see how you handled this. And if you did use this method, did you feel just horrible, too? I can't imagine what it's going to be like when he gets older and we have to discipline him.
Being a mom is hard work! But so far it has been such a blessing!
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4 comments:
I'm going to have to check that out! Thanks, Jeff!
You might not want my advise if this is the method you really want to use.. but even Dr. Ezzo has come out against his own findings in Babywise... I'd strongly disagree with his methods. (sorry, no offense) I, personally, believe that babies cry to be with you b/c they NEED to be with you. It's not always convenient.. and Lord knows sometimes you hate it lol, but really he's still so little. :) He'll grow up so quickly.. i'd enjoy every moment rocking him, looking into that sweet baby face as he drifts to sleep feeling safe and comforted in your arms, rather than crying himself to sleep alone in his crib. I'm not one to use crying it out as it's called... we even let Carter cosleep a lot until very recentely b/c he really is a touchy feely kid and he needed mommy at night for a long time. Now he's awesome in his own bed and i feel good that I let him 'become' independant in comfort rather than forcing it upon him. Again, not trying to be offensive.. but wanted to offer some "words of wisdom" that books often times don't say the naturally correct things. If it breaks your heart.. it's probably not a good time for it. (it didn't bother me to make Carter cry and throw a fit at age 1.5 really... but it would have before that.. see what I mean?) Good luck to you! No one has all of the answers... that's why it's SO very important for you to listen to your gut feelings and follow your heart. You know what's best for little Cayson.
Thanks for your honesty Mandy! And, no, you didn't offend me. Everyone has different opinions on child-rearing. And since this is our first, we're just trying to figure out what works for us. So far, letting him cry has actually worked. He only did it a couple of times and now he pretty much goes right to sleep. Even at naptime. Which was very helpful this past week. We spent a lot of time at the church working on our set for our Christmas musical. So we just wheeled a crip from the nursery into the sanctuary and let him sleep while we worked. If we have more children, and hopefully we will, they might be a different story, though!
That's awesome :) Madison was a baby that could "fuss" herself to sleep with no actual screaming.. she was a dream child! lol Then came her baby brother.. and let's just say that I honestly don't think anything was gonna make that boy sleep! lol (except nursing and holding... so that's what we stuck with lol) I'm hoping for an easier sleeper with this baby.. but not holding my breath!
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