Operation Sleep Train Jake

These are the sleep training journals...at least what I haven't blocked out of my mind yet.  One Saturday night this sweet little monkey didn't even see it coming.  No more rocking to sleep, it was time for him to learn on his own. Ouch.

Night #1 Saturday -
18 min
8 min
10 min
up at 6:20

Day #1 Sunday -
Cried 30 min - no nap
Cried under 20 min - 30 min nap
Slept over an hour on a walk

Night #2  Sunday-
22 min
no crying
up at 5:30

Day #2 Monday -
Cried under 20 - 30 min nap
Cried 30 min - no nap
Cried 30 min - no nap
Cried 20 min - 30 min nap (until 6pm)

Night #3 Mon
no crying
slept from 7:25 to 5:45

Day #3 -
Cried 22 min - napped at least 25 min (had to wake for doctor appt)
Cried 17 min

This is where the wheels come off in my brain and I really cannot be sure what happened the next few days.  Now as I write this we are near the close of day 6 and well I was on the brink yesterday, we have had a few victories today.

I should start by saying that nights have been pretty awesome.  He caught on quickly and from what I have heard we got significantly less crying than a lot of people get.

Naps were a whole other ball game.  He was mad.  I mean really mad.  He is a snuggler, which I love and am happy I have taken full advantage off in his first 4 months of life, but it wasn't good for the rest he needed so we both had to make a change.  No more snuggles in the chair to get to sleep, no more rocking with the sneaky placement in the crib, no more wearing the ergo for 2 hours around the house so he could get a nap.  It was time to get serious about sleep so this little boy could continue to thrive the way he should.

So today, just as I thought no progress was being made, we made progress. With under 10 minutes of crying we got a 50 min morning nap.  The next nap was in the carseat, but this afternoon again with under 10 minutes of crying we got a 40 min nap. This is progress.

There have been several times this week that I have questioned whether I was doing the right thing or not.  Was he tired?  Did something hurt? Did he need to burp or poop?  I just sat and stared at the monitor, eating chocolate, hoping the little guy would surrender and get some rest.  Eventually, with a couple exceptions, he absolutely did.

After reading some of this book. I even felt more confident.  Just as I am proud to have a 100% breastfed baby at 4 months, I will be proud to have a well-rested one too. Special shout-out to Grammy this week, we didn't see much of her, but we texted A LOT and she helped this Mama get through her toughest week yet.

Our sweet little monkey is going to be a good sleeper.

After some crying to sleep he is in a peaceful morning nap and we had to wake him up to go get his shots.  Parents of the year. 

Planning his escape

Head to the side, the white flag of surrender.