So there is plenty of discussion on how to get your child to sleep through the night. There are books written about it, websites devoted to it, and pretty much everyone has an opinion on the subject.
So the past 3 nights Abigail and I have been doing what we call "family camp". Actually more traditionally it has been called "sleep training", "crying it out", etc. However since the head of our bed shares the same wall that Emmaline's crib is on, crying it out is very difficult. So we took another approach on Sunday night and setup 'camp' in the family room. Emmaline wasn't invited :)
We decided to give it 3 nights at first (although Abigail threatened all year if that's what it took). Here's how the first three nights have gone:
Night 1 (Sunday into Monday):
Emmaline cried from 10:10 till about 11:45. I'm pretty sure she hit defcon 1 during this time. This is as hard as I've heard her cry. She also woke up at about 3 but cried for only 10 minutes. She ended up sleeping until 7:00.
Night 2 (Monday into Tuesday):
Emmaline again woke up, but this time much later, 12:30 and cried till 1:30. Her cry wasn't nearly as bad as night #1. Please don't get me wrong, she brought her A game that night, but it wasn't too bad. She woke up again at 5:10, and we let her cry for another half hour and she slept till 6:40.
Tuesday afternoon Emmaline went down for a nap and wasn't quite ready to go down, she cried for 10 minutes and then took a nice little nap after that spell. This was quite a change from the week between Christmas and New Year where she cried for 45 minutes during a similar situation and never fell asleep.
Night 3 (Last night):
Abigail and I started to realize that three nights might not do the trick. So we went to Costco last night and bought an AeroBed. We're getting serious. Emmaline did wake up twice last night, but cried for only 5 minutes each time and fell back asleep. She was up for good at 5:40.
So overall sleep training is going well. I think we'll be conducting 'Family Camp' through the rest of this week and see where we are. But so far, after 3 nights we both feel like she's making progress.
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5 comments:
Wow you guys are champs! I think there are a lot of different ways to get to teh same result, the key is to STICK WITH IT. And you are certainly doing that. Remember, this is all probably more traumatizing for you than her. She knows she is loved, so keep up the good work. Sounds like amazing progress!
Pictures please!
Hang in there you two.....you'll be able to remind her of this when she's a college student and wants to sleep forever!
Luv you all!
Kim
i think it is three days when they have not been doing this FOREVER. she will get off schedule from time to time and to get her back it will take three days! keep with it becuase you will be so happy you did. it is hard but so worth it. we have to do this sometimes even now with emmett but more when he is goign to bed and decides he is scared of something or whatever!! she is just testing you!!! PASS THE TEST!!!!
...or that you have made progress! Hehehehehe...joke!
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