STM 2008
Well, STW is now STM. We have been attempting to “train” Annie to sleep through the night for over two weeks now, so it is time we re-christen this event as Sleep Training Month 2008. Over the last sixteen or so days there have been many different variations and ideas about how to pull this off and, to be honest, none have worked.
I have successfully weaned Annie from eating at night. However, she is still waking up at least once (usually around 1 a.m.), but most often twice (the second time around 4 a.m.). The idea behind weaning her from these especially soothing (for both of us) bottles is that once she gets over the whole standing thing, she will have no reason to wake up at all hours. This obviously has come with some adverse consequences for the adults in our family. Every night, I have been spending at least thirty minutes per wake up trying to get her back to sleep. On the worst nights the thirty minutes become sixty. On the truly horrific nights, where my daughter seems possessed, the sixty minutes become ninety.
Until last night, my strategy was to sit with Annie and lay her back down every time she stood up. But on the advice of my mother-in-law I decided to put her down and then leave the room. I waited on the couch for five minutes and then repeated the process. The good news is that at 1:00 this only lasted for twenty five minutes. The bad news is that she woke up an hour and a half later and I had to do it all over again. After this second wake up, Annie slept quietly until 7:30. Tonight, we do it all over again.
You tell me, has progress been made here? I truthfully don’t know. I may be adding to the problem by settling her every time she stands up in her crib, but the night that I let her try and figure it out on her own she was wailing for an hour and a half. When I finally gave up, it was 7 a.m. and time to get our day started. The whole process seemed pretty mean and pointless when I went in to get her as if it were any old morning. She looked as if she has been awake for days, her face blotchy and covered with tears and mucus. I ask you, who out there could handle that?
I have successfully weaned Annie from eating at night. However, she is still waking up at least once (usually around 1 a.m.), but most often twice (the second time around 4 a.m.). The idea behind weaning her from these especially soothing (for both of us) bottles is that once she gets over the whole standing thing, she will have no reason to wake up at all hours. This obviously has come with some adverse consequences for the adults in our family. Every night, I have been spending at least thirty minutes per wake up trying to get her back to sleep. On the worst nights the thirty minutes become sixty. On the truly horrific nights, where my daughter seems possessed, the sixty minutes become ninety.
Until last night, my strategy was to sit with Annie and lay her back down every time she stood up. But on the advice of my mother-in-law I decided to put her down and then leave the room. I waited on the couch for five minutes and then repeated the process. The good news is that at 1:00 this only lasted for twenty five minutes. The bad news is that she woke up an hour and a half later and I had to do it all over again. After this second wake up, Annie slept quietly until 7:30. Tonight, we do it all over again.
You tell me, has progress been made here? I truthfully don’t know. I may be adding to the problem by settling her every time she stands up in her crib, but the night that I let her try and figure it out on her own she was wailing for an hour and a half. When I finally gave up, it was 7 a.m. and time to get our day started. The whole process seemed pretty mean and pointless when I went in to get her as if it were any old morning. She looked as if she has been awake for days, her face blotchy and covered with tears and mucus. I ask you, who out there could handle that?
posted by Unfinished Dad at
11:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home