Starting Life the Babywise Way

 

Two nights ago we started sleep training Laila Babywise style. She has been consistently waking 4-5 times a night for quite some time and it has really become too much for me, so we decided to take the advice of a number of friends and start sleep training. According to BW, we are starting quite late but can still make it happen with a lot of patience and listening to music through headphones as Laila cries it out to sleep.

It is SO HARD as a parent to listen to your little one cry, but we have to keep telling ourselves that she is safe, fed and changed and nothing is really wrong. We aren't punishing her or torturing her, but rather doing her a favor and teaching her good sleep habits that will benefit her in the (hopefully near) future. We are told once these habits are established she will be a happier and more content baby during the day because her little body will be on a schedule and know what to expect.

Our first night she did great. She went to sleep without much fuss at her usual 7:00pm bedtime. She then woke up about an hour later and we let her cry it out which only took about 12 minutes and 36 seconds (I know because the whole time I was starting at our video monitor and my phone - watching the clock!). She then slept until 11 and cried that one out for 10 minutes, and then slept straight until 6:30AM! We thought we had a BW genius and were so psyched she went 7-6:30 without needing a feeding.

Not so much. Last night, she had to cry it out for about 30 minutes but then slept until 2:30. At that point she cried for about 20 minutes before I decided to go in and feed her. Unfortunately I think she got a little too worked up and after feeding WOULD NOT go back to sleep. She cried with eyes wide open for the next 2 hours (don't worry, we're not devil parents - we kept going in and trying to soothe her and let her know she is loved), and then by about 4:30 I couldn't take it anymore so I got her out of her crib and brought her to bed with us.

Part of the BW plan is to have her on a 3 hour schedule of eat - play - sleep throughout the day. We tried that today and will continue it as best we can going forward. She is not great about napping (taking sporadic 30 minute naps throughout the day) so I'm hoping we can transition her to 1.5 hour naps like BW says she needs.

Needless to say, it's a heartbreaking process but one we believe is in her best interest (and ours, eventually). Please pray for us as we strive for dedication, determination, patience and deaf ears for the next (supposedly) 7-10 days of "training".

Any and all pro-BW comments/advice/stories would be welcomed and much appreciated! You can comment here or email me at hvataha@gmail.com. Thanks!