Sleep Training

Things have finally turned around for us, I am so happy to say.  I started "sleep training" last Thursday and I am so glad I did.  This little guy was eating every 2 hours at night and I was exhausted.  I could handle the physical feelings of being tired, but I did not like the fact that I was impatient and yelling at the other kids due to my fatigue.  Not a good place to be.  Anyway, I decided to take action!  After reading through all of the various sleep training methods, I picked one that was middle of the road.  I was not comfortable with letting Micah cry for hours on end while he figured out how to sooth himself (not what I was aiming for!)....besides I would probably be crying right along beside him.  :)

Night one:  We let Shaylah sleep in our room so that Micah would not disturb her.  His crib is in her room and my goal has always been that they would sleep together for the first year (at least).  I made the decision that I would not feed Micah between the hours of 11pm and 5am.  When he cried, I went to him and picked him up, soothed him until he calmed down, put him back down in his bed and turned his crib aquarium on.  He did cry when i put him back down, but this only lasted a minute or two once i left his room.  This happened about every 15-30 minutes the first night, but it was so worth it.

Night two:  I repeated the same process, but this time I only had to go to him every hour or two...not so different from what we were already doing, only this time I was not feeding him overnight.  The benefit was that he started eating during the day!  I was having so much trouble trying to get solids into him because he was not hungry.  He was getting all the nutrients he needed by nursing overnight.  The little stinker!!

Nights three, four and five:  I got up only once or twice.

Last night:  I put him to bed at 8:00pm and got up to feed him at 5:00am.  No crying overnight.  I did hear him wake up twice, but he put himself back to sleep so nicely all by himself.  He is eating 2-3 tablespoons of food three times at day and we are all happier.

I will let Shaylah sleep with us until the weekend just to make sure he is in a good pattern, but I think they will finally be able to share a room.  No more closet for Micah.  :)

Sleep training worked....and I never had to let him "cry it out".  So happy!

Side note:  My other 3 all slept through the night from an early age so I never had to deal with sleep training.  Even as a fourth time mother, I am still dealing with new issues.