previously rowan has not cried anything "out" - when he has been left to cry, he never seems to tire and if he does, he wakes up soon after, again and again. i suppose we offered mixed messages in that most times i would go in and soothe him usually by nursing, but other times i'd try just to rock, or my husband would go in and sooth or feed him a bottle. but after 9 months of feeding on demand almost ALL night i couldn't go on. i know people have mixed feelings about CIO and it doesn't work for every baby, every age, or every parent. but i was becoming an angry, sleep deprived shell of a person, unable to be a happy and patient mother during the day and poor rowan was so, so tired all of the time.
he never nursed before naps, but i did swaddle and rock him to sleep, so day one of naps was 45 minutes of crying and no actual nap. i went in to console him with calm words and a few pats, but i left him there. i usually feed him right after nap but i had to wait because i knew he'd fall asleep while nursing and just assume that was the "new nap". he eventually did fall asleep while i was holding him and i put him in his crib. days 2 and 3 weren't much better. this morning was day 4 and it took him less than 2 minutes to fall asleep for the morning nap (usually we're in the car for this one) and he slept for an hour and a half. the afternoon one took longer to cry but he slept for about 20 minutes on his own. still a work in progress!
the first few nights were hard. i still rock and nurse him at bedtime as part of our whole routine and i am not willing to give that up. i think it can easily be learned that he has one cuddle time before bed and then he doesn't get to nurse again until morning. he goes down easily, either asleep or mostly asleep and between 8:30 and 12 is his typical longest stretch. the first few nights he woke and cried throughout the night at various feeding times. i went in a few times when he seemed very upset and consoled him without picking him up. it was hard but each night he cried a little less.
by the third night i hadn't heard a peep from him when i went to bed and i slept so soundly that i either missed his cries (unlikely) or he also slept soundly ALL night. he woke up happy and hungry and we didn't deal with the 5 am to 7 am 15 minute crying intervals that usually happen after the wakeful sleep patterns he's had. i felt like a whole new person. each night i'd slept a bit more, so by today i was like super mom. cleaning, cooking, working out, going outside - i felt sane! what's more, rowan was happier. perhaps cutting his first tooth helped (he's still got more ready to pop, though), but he seemed rested.
i'm crossing my fingers that he can continue to sleep better. longer stretches without fitful screaming will help our whole family. we've got a video monitor on the way since i'm not going in there as often - i feel like i want to see what's doing, just in case. he doesn't seem unhappy, he still trusts me, and we praise him for good sleep. so far this is working so we'll keep it up and hope that he just sleeps instead of crying it out.
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