Update on Sleep Training

This has been an incredibly LONG few days for me. Here's the rundown of how everything has gone so far.

Saturday

We started our training on Saturday afternoon with his second nap of the day. This meant putting him down in his crib while he was still awake - a first for him. Jay patiently rubbed his back until he fell asleep. He cried/fussed for about 20-25 minutes before he fell asleep. I was miserable, but was definitely overreacting.

For bed time we tried the same thing. After 15-20 minutes of back rubbing, Joaquin was more upset than ever, so we started a sort of modified Ferber method - leaving him for 5 minutes, then 10, then 15, with 3 minute check up periods in between where Jay would go in an rub his back and talk to him to calm him down. At about the two hour mark (yep, you heard that right), Jay asked if I could go in to calm him at the end of the next 15 minute period. So I did. And I promptly started sobbing. No more trips in the nursery for me. At two and a half hours I could not take it any more. I brought him to bed, fed him and we all fell asleep. Sleep training FAIL. Sigh.

Sunday

Nap time was much the same as it was on Saturday, although Jay said it took about an hour to settle him down. I was out running errands because I didn't want to be around and start crying. This time he used the Ferber method but decided that after the 15 minute increments he would pick Joaquin up for a short period and then put him down.

Bed time took about an hour and a half before Joaquin fell asleep - an improvement but not great. When Joaquin woke up at about 1:00 am to eat, I caved and he spent the rest of the night with us.

Monday - No Jay Around to Help :-(

Nap #1 - I waited until he was pretty drowsy, but not asleep, in the Bjorn and put him down in the crib for a nap. After adjusting his position for about 20-30 seconds, he settled in for a nap. Phew.

Nap #2 - I put him down when I thought he was tired. I used the same modified Ferber method that Jay did on Sunday night. Two hours and fifteen minutes of crying later, I gave up. About an hour later, I put him down again after waiting until his eyes were very heavy. He fell right to sleep.

Bed time - I gave him a bath, fed him, and took a short walk with him in the neighborhood. When we got back from the walk he was crying. I kept him in the Bjorn for another 15 minutes while tidying up the house. At exactly 7:00 pm, I put him in his crib. His eyes were not closing at all at that point, so I figured I was in for another terrible night. I stayed with him rubbing his back for about 7-10 minutes, and he was completely asleep. Wooohooo! I was thrilled. I "dream fed" him at 10:00 pm before we went to bed. He woke up at 1:45 and I fed him and put him right back down. He fussed for 5 minutes, then Jay went in and rubbed his back. He fussed for a few more minutes and then fell asleep on his own. We had the exact same experience at 4:00 for his next feeding. Not bad. He woke up for good at about 6:40 this morning.

Today:

Nap #1: This started in his stroller at the doctor's office as we were leaving. He slept in his car seat while I went to Mother's Market and to RiteAid and is still sleeping now - almost 2 hours!