Sleep Training - Days 1 & 2

I may have spoiled Tyler just a little bit with sleeping the past few months. When he came home from the NICU, I tried putting Tyler in the cradle next to my bed. The problem is he was so restless and noisy that I didn't get any sleep, and I felt like he wasn't really getting good sleep either. After just a couple nights, I caved and let him start sleeping on my chest. I slept reclined in the theater room seats or propped up on pillows in my bed. When he was about three months old, I shifted to have him sleep next to me in bed, his head on my arm so I knew where he was at all times and there was no chance I could smother him. Tyler slept well so I slept well and we were both happy. It was a good sleeping arrangement for us, especially since Matt sleeps during the days so it's not like we were crowded in my king sized bed at night. I knew that Tyler "should" be sleeping in his cradle or his crib, but I didn't care. Honestly, I liked cuddling with him all night. It was so sweet how he would snuggle right up to me and fall asleep. He would often reach his hand out and touch my neck or my face and it just melted my heart each time.

I probably could sleep with Tyler next to me for several more months and be completely content. But... I knew it was time for him to sleep in his crib. I tried a month or so ago to "sleep train", but I couldn't handle the crying. It broke my heart to hear my sweet baby crying for me, and so I scooped him up and took him to bed with me. And I felt better. I decided that if I was really going to do this that I needed to do it when Matt had a couple nights off work, and preferably on nights that we didn't have Kylee home so she wouldn't be kept up/woken up by his crying. I needed Matt for support and I needed him to help distract me from the fact that our baby was so sad. I decided this was the week.

Before I go on, I should clarify what I mean by "sleep training". I don't need Tyler to sleep through the night. If he wakes up and is hungry, I am more than happy to feed him. He is still so little and is trying to catch up weight-wise. In fact, we're still fortifying some of his milk each day with Neosure for extra calories. What I do want is for Tyler to be able to fall asleep on his own in his crib. And I want him to sleep in his crib all night instead of in bed with me. Those are my only goals at this point. We might work later on him sleeping through the night, but that's not my focus right now.

I know everyone has their opinions on the "right" way to get a baby to fall asleep. I decided this was "right" for us. I'm hoping it will work because this isn't easy! We'll see how things are in a week. If this isn't working for Tyler within a week, we will need to reevaluate and may need to wait until he's a little older or try a different approach. Fingers crossed this works and Tyler is able to fall asleep easily on his own in the next few days.

Anyway, night one went like this:
7:40-8:15 - diaper change, pajamas, bottle, story, lullaby
8:18 - put Tyler in his crib (he almost immediately started crying)
8:21 - check on Tyler
8:26 - check on Tyler
8:35 - check on Tyler
8:45 - check on Tyler
8:55 - check on Tyler
9:05 - check on Tyler
9:15 - check on Tyler
9:30 - Tyler was finally asleep

Each time we checked on Tyler after laying him down, we would talk softly to him, tell him we loved him, stroke his cheek or rub his tummy, and tell him it was "sleepy time". We wouldn't pick him up, and wouldn't stay in his room longer than a minute, even if he didn't calm down. Let me tell you, that hour and 12 minutes was rough. He woke up around 10:30, and we did the same pattern (3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes) until he calmed down about 20 minutes later. This period of crying was almost harder for me than the first because he got so upset. I'm glad it didn't last too long. When he woke up around 12:45, I fed him and put him back to bed (he fell asleep at the end of feeding). I fed him again around 3:00 and 6:00, both times he fell asleep while eating and didn't make a peep when I put him back in his crib. He woke up for the day around 7:30.

Night two was much better... probably because Tyler was so tired when we put him to bed.
7:40-8:10 - bath, pajamas, bottle, lullaby
8:14 - put Tyler in his crib (light fussing)
8:18 - Tyler was asleep

He fell asleep so quickly we didn't need to check on him once! He woke up around 1:00 am, and I went in a couple times to calm him down. He woke up again at about 1:45 and I decided he was probably hungry, so I fed him. Same thing - he fell asleep at the end of eating and I transferred him back to his crib. He woke up again around 5:30 and ate again. At 7:20, Tyler woke up for the day. All in all, day 2 was a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, day 3 hasn't started out as well. It took Tyler 50 minutes to calm down and fall asleep tonight. That's better than the first night I guess! I called my sister Mandi to help distract me because I was feeling weak (Matt is working). Hoping the rest of the night goes well!