...went well!
last night we let him cry in increasing intervals (3 mins, 5 mins, 10 mins) and at the appointed time we'd go in and rub his back, give him his pacifier, unhook him from the bars of the crib where he had spider- monkeyed himself on to get a better screeching platform...and it took about an hour of this all told before we slept. and he slept for 7 straight hours! which is way more than he's done in many months.
so tonight, we did it again, but in longer intervals 5 mins, 7 mins...would have done 12 mins, but didn't have to. he fell asleep with a little encouragement after the first 2 rounds.
we'll see how it goes for the next few nights. i decided to try all this because his night sleeping was getting worse and not better. and my coworker just did this and had a lot of success with her 5 month old, so i thought i'd give it a shot.
it's murder listening to him cry when you know your arms can fix it for him. but man needs to sleep and the tiptoeing around him trying to accommodate his delicate sleep and throwing him in bed with us, none of it was working- so here we go.
i just hope he knows he's secure and protected and we love him. this morning, after our first rough night of trying this, he didn't seem to hold anything against me. he was cheerful and sweet. and he actually had a great day of naps and eating and everything.
so perhaps we haven't messed him up for life.
yet.
Hang in there! I know it's hard but you're not damaging him. The crying periods will get shorter and shorter and eventually he'll just learn to sleep on his own. Better for him, better for you.
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