Here we go again

Two hours. 120 minutes. Countless cries.

Ferber method, take 3.

After a travel weekend gone wrong (sleep wise) we're breaking out the book again and attempting the Ferber Method.

I was spared the first hour by going to yoga but the sobbing is definitely sobering. She's gotten so close to stopping so many times. And now we have collectively decided to stop going in to comfort her because it does just the opposite.

The worst part of it all is that, like last time, we can easily soothe her to sleep if we just keep a loving arm on her until her eyes shut. Last time we caved. This time we will try not to.

With a strong willed child we will give it four days. If the nights continue to be filled with endless tears we will let it be.

We'll take that last (planned) vacation (for the next little while) and then get back on track with the no cry sleep solution upon our return. It worked last time. Slowly but surely. After three weeks we were just about where we wanted to be.

It's a trade off, time vs. tears. Right now, time is sounding a lot better.

But Ferber seems to work for everyone else so we will try (again) to put ourselves in those ranks.

Hopefully once she finally gives in tonight, it will be for the night.

Tough stuff.

The Mommy Method

Night One.

Take Two.

Ferber.

Well, Ferber modified that is.

It's all about using your instincts as a mom, right? So, instead of following the Ferber method step by step, we have adapted it to our level of comfort. And night one was quite successful.

Down to bed after a feeding at 8am. Sure, she was upset but I left the room for a few minutes. Once the crying ensued, I re-entered put my hand on her chest until she settled and stayed with her until she drifted off.

Pretty easy, right? Too easy!

Then at 10pm she woke again and just couldn't seem to settle herself. So after an hour of crying, a huge poopy diaper and a small feed, I put her back down. I made a few attempts at comforting her but knew at that point nothing would work so we just let her cry it out.

Eventually she fell asleep.

We heard some more kvetching at 1am but chose to ignore it. Followed by a bit more at 4am.

And then at 7:45am I heard her playing in her crib and went to say good morning (in desperate need to feed her).

Wow, the first night I have stayed in my own bed in months!!!

So maybe Hannah is now more mature or we have just realized that not everything can be by the book.

Mom knows best and hopefully this new mommy method will take only days to make an impact!

V Day

Vaccination day.

At 2 months it was a wonderful day (after the initial screaming) when she slept for hours on end. After a 3 hour dinner with friends, we placed her in her pack and play instead of her usual bassinet. She slept until morning.

Oh what a night!

So I was eagerly anticipating today's 4 month vaccines (a few weeks late due to our Calgary trip). With a list of things to do around the house this afternoon, we set off to the CLSC.

Luckily crying was kept to a minimum with the nurse we loved from our at home breastfeeding drop by.

Hannah fell asleep in the car on the ride home but quickly woke when I transferred her to the carrier.

I fed her about 3 times this morning but still no shut eye. So at 1:30 we set off on a walk to the park with Winston, our golden retriever.

Yay! Asleep at last! So we sat in the park until I can stand the heat no more. Hiking back up the hill to our house I'm envisioning all that will get done - cleaning, packing for a weekend in the country... But first I must clean the poop off of Winston's trousers (long dog hairs below the bum). Winston is a boy dog but karma is definitely a 5-letter girl dog today.

But as we roll in the front door her eyes magically pop open and my plans are put on hold. Then a crying cranky fit follows which ends with a dose of tempra, after a 98 degree thermometer couldn't quite make it to the end of it's time thanks to crying convulsions.

Now she is feeding (yes, all this was written with one hand on an iPhone) and will hopefully doze off at least for a little while.

Lesson learned. Expect the unexpected because nothing is a sure thing with baby.

Ferber Night 1

After a relaxing weekend in the country, which consisted of lots of reading, it was go time. I now knew how to solve my child's sleep problems which consisted of associations (boob, back rubbing) and sleeping in too late.

After the usual nighttime routine, I simply set Hannah down in her crib gave her a kiss and walked away. Of course, hysterical crying ensued. But after visits at 3, 5, 10 and 10 minute intervals she calmed herself down and fell soundly asleep. Sure the crying had my husband and I practically in tears ourselves. But the comforting element was that she usually cries that much on any given night. We're just usually there to rub her back.

She stirred again around 2:45 so I went in to feed her. She's only just shy of 5 months so considering it had been almost 7 hours since her last feeding I went to top her off. Again, I pulled her off before she could doze off. But one burp later, I placed her in bed and she was asleep again (with no fuss) within minutes.

So now its early into the morning hours and she is up and we're trying to keep her up. At this time, I usually nurse her in bed and we sleep until 9am. It seems to be harder on me than on her :)

Hopefully tonight will go as smoothly. And I'll be kicking myself for not trying this sooner!

Toothpicks Please

Pass the toothpicks...I need them to keep my eyes open today.

I thought sleep was back in style after the 7 hours I got two nights ago. But in the theme of mixing it up, last night started out with a 1-hour hysterical crying session and then wake up calls at 1am, 2:30am and 5am.

Trying to resist her need to suck to soothe means all the more tears. And my husband coming into the room inevitably asking "are you sure she's not hungry?" And my answer of the past month "No, she's not hungry...she went 7 hours the other night without eating..."

So I'm off to my sister's today to get her copy of the Ferber Method. With 5 months upon us I think the time has come. For me at least...

Thinking about calling our pediatrician to see if she is on board to convince the husband its not too early. I have high hopes for Ferber - early bedtimes, sleeping through the night, and the ability to fall asleep sans boob (at night and for naps).

Hope I'm not putting all of my eggs in one basket or I'll have to stock up on the toothpicks...