Just a quick post to say that Keziah has become a wonderful little sleeper. She has now had 3 nights of cry-free sleep. Cry it out was definitely an effective method for her. I highly recommend it to struggling moms that have babies at least 4 months of age.
Back when Keziah was 6 weeks old, I attempted to let her cry to sleep and it didn't work at all. Crying it out should only be implemented for babies old enough to cry for reasons other than actual needs.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Crying It Out
This week Jon and I have decided that it's time to allow Keziah to cry it out. This has been something I've been incredibly conflicted over, as no mother enjoys sitting there allowing her baby to cry at the top of her lungs. But, since we've been away for the past few weeks staying at the river house, Keziah's sleep patterns have changed significantly to the point where we feel it's necessary.
Up until a couple weeks ago, Keziah slept soundly for 11-12 hours straight a night. If she did wake up, she put herself back to sleep, without me waking to notice. But, lately she's been waking up at least once per night to cry persistently. In addition to that, we've been swaddling Keziah and giving her a pacifier since the day she was born. As she nears the 5 month mark, we feel it's time to wean her of that and allow her to get used to her arms and be able to deal with her pacifier falling out of her mouth at night.
So, I guess starting last night (officially) we started letting her cry it out. And believe me, she did. I went in on occasion to pat her, tell her I loved her, and then say goodnight once more. She would momentarily be quiet and then as soon as she realized I wasn't going to pick her up or feed her, she would scream again. So, I would leave and wait some more. Finally, after about 30 minutes of crying, she wore herself out and went fast to sleep. I had swaddled her with one arm down and one arm free. She woke up happy this morning later than usual (7:30am -- she had been waking just before 6am for several days in a row). She ate a little and fell back asleep for another hour and a half. I'd say it was successful.
Tonight, I put her in a sleep sack. For those of you who don't know what that it is, it's a blanket that a baby wears that has arms but the bottom is just a sack that you zip up. So her arms are completely free to move around. I fed her, put her down, said goodnight. Of course, she instantly started to cry the moment she realized what was going on. I left and listened painfully to her crying for 5 minutes. I went back in, patted, said I loved her, she was quiet, I left -- she cried. I listened to her cry for another 10 minutes. Went in, patted her and she was quiet -- just long enough to poop. Awesome. So I had to pick her up and change her. Way to throw a wrench in the process. She cried the entire time on the changing table. Once changed, I picked her up and hugged her until she was quiet. I laid her back down and the moment she realized what was going on, she screamed at the top of her lungs. I left again, this time with the intention of waiting 15 minutes to go back. But, after 5 or so minutes she stopped crying! She's now fast asleep (or dead... haha).
I was reading online about how to carry out a "cry it out" method effectively. Apparently you're supposed to wait 5 or so minutes the first time, and then add 5 minutes to the time you wait, repeating the process each time until baby falls asleep. Supposedly within 3 nights of doing this, we should see a drastic decrease in the time spent crying and between 4 and 7 nights the crying should virtually disappear. Fingers crossed! She's already cried less tonight than last night and she's not swaddled at all!
Up until a couple weeks ago, Keziah slept soundly for 11-12 hours straight a night. If she did wake up, she put herself back to sleep, without me waking to notice. But, lately she's been waking up at least once per night to cry persistently. In addition to that, we've been swaddling Keziah and giving her a pacifier since the day she was born. As she nears the 5 month mark, we feel it's time to wean her of that and allow her to get used to her arms and be able to deal with her pacifier falling out of her mouth at night.
So, I guess starting last night (officially) we started letting her cry it out. And believe me, she did. I went in on occasion to pat her, tell her I loved her, and then say goodnight once more. She would momentarily be quiet and then as soon as she realized I wasn't going to pick her up or feed her, she would scream again. So, I would leave and wait some more. Finally, after about 30 minutes of crying, she wore herself out and went fast to sleep. I had swaddled her with one arm down and one arm free. She woke up happy this morning later than usual (7:30am -- she had been waking just before 6am for several days in a row). She ate a little and fell back asleep for another hour and a half. I'd say it was successful.
Tonight, I put her in a sleep sack. For those of you who don't know what that it is, it's a blanket that a baby wears that has arms but the bottom is just a sack that you zip up. So her arms are completely free to move around. I fed her, put her down, said goodnight. Of course, she instantly started to cry the moment she realized what was going on. I left and listened painfully to her crying for 5 minutes. I went back in, patted, said I loved her, she was quiet, I left -- she cried. I listened to her cry for another 10 minutes. Went in, patted her and she was quiet -- just long enough to poop. Awesome. So I had to pick her up and change her. Way to throw a wrench in the process. She cried the entire time on the changing table. Once changed, I picked her up and hugged her until she was quiet. I laid her back down and the moment she realized what was going on, she screamed at the top of her lungs. I left again, this time with the intention of waiting 15 minutes to go back. But, after 5 or so minutes she stopped crying! She's now fast asleep (or dead... haha).
I was reading online about how to carry out a "cry it out" method effectively. Apparently you're supposed to wait 5 or so minutes the first time, and then add 5 minutes to the time you wait, repeating the process each time until baby falls asleep. Supposedly within 3 nights of doing this, we should see a drastic decrease in the time spent crying and between 4 and 7 nights the crying should virtually disappear. Fingers crossed! She's already cried less tonight than last night and she's not swaddled at all!
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