A quick update, for those who are following our exciting series on Audrey's daytime and nighttime sleep habits. (To the rest of you, tune in tomorrow for more cute pictures). Sleep training efforts this past couple of days have been a bust, resulting in so much prolonged crying that we decided to back up, do some more reading, check our methods, and think about it some more.
I feel like I am on a trapeze swing, swooping between two very small, rickety platforms, one called Sears (attachment parenting, wear your baby, sleep with your baby, never let them cry-- oh, and your own needs for sleep and structure can wait a decade or two) and the other called Ferber (children can and should learn to sleep on their own, a little crying never killed anyone, it's going to work, just be consistent and patient, etc.). Neither perch is quite comfortable and I am having a hard time making it look easy and anyway I can't fit into my pre-pregnancy sequined costumes. The tights chafe.
Audrey is back to napping in the swing while Scott is out of town, and I am afraid we will have to contact Fisher Price at some point to see about a custom made swing for her college dorm room.
I always am so grateful for the notes and calls and "I hear ya" messages I get from all of my friends and relatives out there-- thank you.
Sailing through the air with the greatest of ease-- or at least hanging on by my fingernails-- your correspondent,
Kris
3 comments:
Here's how it went with the Monkey:
I used a Ferber variant. Where by "variant", I mean completely different. But it worked spectacularly well.
It took a(very, very long) three nights to get him to sleep on his own. Each time he awoke and cried for me, I waited about 2 minutes, then I went to his room, comforted him and put him back to bed. And then left.
Lather, rinse, repeat every 10 minutes all night. Every night
By the third night, he'd figured out that whenever he called, I'd show up.
And then didn't feel like he needed to!
(sanj, not naoka)
This possibly sounds like a Ferber variation we could live with. Audrey seems to be one of those kids who gets more excited (and by that I mean upset/excited) by seeing us come into the room and then leave again, but maybe if we tried this at much closer intervals it could work.
It's not nighttimes so much as daytime napping that are really vexing me lately.
What age was the Monkey when you did this?
I'm a little hazy on exactly when we did it. I think he was a little older, because it took me a long time to get the nursery done.
Sally says it was on Thanksgiving, so that'd be just about 6 months.
She was wise to choose a long weekend to do it over.
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