How to Train your Dragon

...or, everything you need to know about getting your dragon, er, baby to sleep through the night. 

I decided that getting up three to six times a night was too many so I immediately checked out every book on the subject from the library.  These included Happiest Baby on the Block, Babywise*, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and the No Cry Sleep Solution.  I skimmed them all, realizing that many of the authors expected me to have started "sleep training" my baby from birth.  Shit.  Four months old was too old, I had probably already broken mine by now! 

The Happiest Baby on the Block talks about the 5 S's: shhhshing, swaddling, sucking, swinging, blah blah blah.  BUT, I was supposed to start weaning him from swaddling at 4-6 months.  So, I probably shouldn't START swaddling at four months then.  And the No Cry Sleep Solution tells me that babies don't learn to reinsert their own binkies until 10-18 months, so if I didn't want to keep getting up to plug it back in when baby wakes up, then I better get rid of that too.  So now I'm 0 for 2.  I did take something from Babywise though...I started feeding Charlie on a schedule during the day.  7, 10, 1, 4 and 7.  Babywise also recommends feeding, then playing, then sleeping, which is sort of backwards to what I had been doing, so I decided to give it a try.  I've been following this "schedule" about a week now and it seems to be working.  I keep it flexible, but it has made it easier to remember how long it's been since I last fed him, and Charlie seems to be getting used to it. 

I wanted to try crying it out, but I was worried that then my eyes would get all puffy.  (haha!)

No, seriously, I was worried that he was too young and the No Cry Sleep Solution basically said if I let my baby cry it out he would be scarred for life. 

So I asked his pediatrician about it.  She said actually 4 months was the perfect time to start...that it would be harder at 6 months, and darn near impossible at 9 months.  She said if I wanted to eliminate nighttime feedings then to drop one feeding at a time.  She said by four days he would have forgotten that he was used to eating at that time and I could move on to eliminating the next one. 

Encouraged, I went home, vowing to start that night.  I fed him at 7:00 pm, like usual, then gave him a topper upper at 8:00 and put him to bed.  He screamed.  For 55 minutes.  On and off.  Don't judge me, I know, I know...that part sucked.  It broke my heart.  But, I knew he would be happier if he was getting good sleep, and I would be happier if he was getting good sleep.  I decided I was going to eliminate the first feeding of the night, so when he woke up at 1:00 am I didn't feed him, I just let him cry, and he cried for 30 minutes.  Then he fell asleep.  When he woke up at 4:30 am I fed him, put him back to sleep and he slept til 7:30.  I considered that pretty successful for the first night.  (And he still loves me!, see photo, above).

The second night I put him down around the same time and he cried.  For only FIVE minutes.  FIVE!  He woke up at 1:00 am again and I let him cry, for about 20 minutes.  When he woke up at 4:00 am, I fed him, and put him back to bed.  He slept til 7:00.

The third night (tonight) I put him down and he did not make a peep.  NOT ONE SINGLE PEEP.  He just laid there, watching his mobile, sucking on his fingers (no binky!) and fell asleep.

Amen!

*I actually did not get Babywise from the library, I borrowed it from my friend KATIE.  She's rad.  ; )