Sleeping Success!!!!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago I wrote about Bailey's sleep issues... She wasn't napping for me at all unless she was nursing. It made life a little bit difficult because I was essentially "on call" all day long. Then, to make matters worse, the flood happened and we were at my parents' house for about 5 nights. She didn't sleep great there (unless she was with me) and when we got home, that same pattern unfortunately continued. For about a week I was in her room each night nursing her over and over again and some nights it would take 4 tries to get her to stay sleeping. After long days with her, the long nights and evenings were exhausting.

I knew that Miss Bailey was quite capable of sleeping through the night (since she had been doing it for so long!), I also knew that she wasn't nursing for hunger during these wakings because she would quickly fall back asleep upon nursing. That told me that it was time to let her "cry it out." I was hesitant to do so because it's not a fun process and in the midst of it I feel so sad. However, having previous experience with this from the other girls, I decided to go forward with it. I told one of my friends that I felt bad doing this Bailey and she reminded me, "You're not doing it to her, you're doing it for her." That was just enough encouragement to get me going.

So, all throughout this week we have been doing this whole "cry it out" process. I've been nursing her quietly in her room, praying for her, singing her "Sleepy Jean" and then putting her down groggy but awake. I let her cry for increasingly long intervals of time and at the right times I just go in and rub her back, let her hear my voice, and then leave. The first night went great! She only cried for about 20 minutes and it was only fussing on and off. The next night was a little bit more intense, as she cried for about 40 minutes. Last night was only half and hour and tonight? TWO minutes of fussing. YAY!!!!!!!!!!  Mission accomplished!

A few added bonuses have come out of this... For starters, all of this has miraculously translated into her naps. She has taken 2+ hour naps every afternoon and this is something she's NEVER done, not even as a newborn. She's also sleeping in later in the mornings. She used to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning to nurse (and then fall back asleep with me) but now she's sleep in until almost 9.  She's a happier, more content baby because she's finally getting the sleep she needs. I'm so thrilled!

I know that the "cry it out" method is controversial to many people... So much so that I almost don't even like talking about it. Sure, I don't love letting my precious baby cry. There's nothing that feels more unnatural to me as a mother... BUT, you cannot argue with results. A few nights of crying will greatly transform her ability to sleep and feel rested and that's definitely in her best interest!