New sleep method- Day #1

Let me preface by saying that it's 7:30 and Ben is already down for a nap.......

We went to the pediatrician yesterday just to talk with her and make sure there's nothing physically wrong with Ben that is inhibiting him from sleeping through the night. I thought maybe it was pain from being on his back?? She examined him and really didn't think it was anything physical. She said if he really was in pain, he'd be fussy and miserable during the day as well not just when we're trying to put him down to sleep at night or for naps. She said he's scream on the changing table, scream in the playgym etc and he's normally a happy baby during the day. Of course he was showing off and flirting with the pediatrician cooing away.....making me look like a crazy mother. Ben loves the pediatrician- hasn't been conditioned to hate them like I did. So...no physical reason for pain. She said on the broad spectrum of sleepers, Ben is just on the far end of "not a good sleeper." She said her first child was the same way. She recommended a new book and new approach for us. The book is called Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West. She said some strong willed and advanced babies (she thinks Ben is both) not only don't do well with the cry it out method but she said it can actually backfire and make sleeping habits worse. Bingo.

So I got this book from the library yesterday. We started reading it, and found a website for the Sleep Lady with the top 10 list of things you're doing wrong to prevent your baby from sleeping. We started a semi-new routine last night for Ben - read a book (in this case 2 books) first, then wash (either bath or just face and butt) then massage and pajamas on, then a bottle. Importantly, we need to put him in the crib before he's completely asleep - he needs to be about a 6 or a 7 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being asleep. So, we did that part, and it went well - he got a little fussy when he first got put in the crib, but Brian stayed with him for about 10 minutes and soothed him to the point where he fell asleep. He slept for 2 hours about, then woke up with a vengeance... Brian went in and held him/soothed him for another 10-15 minutes, with him screaming just about the entire time (this was around 9:45 or so). He finally fell asleep back in the crib again with Brian holding the pacifier in his mouth and rubbing his stomach. He was up again at 11:30 then again at 12:15. I fed him only at 12:15. This book says that babies his age should be able to go 8 hours at night without eating....Ben usually barely goes 3-4. So we're trying to stretch him out and only feed him every 5.5 hours and progressively work our way closer to what he should be at right now. So I didn't feed him until 12:15. Fed him and he was up again at 1:15. This time he screamed and stayed awake quite frustrated he wasn't being nursed like normal. I finally went in and woke Brian up at 2:30 to come help because he wasn't going to sleep for me without nursing. Brian got him down around 3. Up again at 4:30. Up for good at 5:45. It's taken 30 minutes to write this email already because as soon as I wrote that he was down for a nap, I heard creature stirring in the other room. I went in and soothed him and now Brian is in there trying. He's not getting away with a 7 minute nap this morning...won't make up for the marathon that was last night.

So....there's night 1. As Brian said- we have the first one under our belts. The key for us is consistency...we're going to try this method and be strict about it for several weeks. We're trying to exact same thing day and night for the next 3 days before gradually changing. This method is less harsh than cry it out and hopefully will be less traumatic for all parties involved. Hopefully Brina won't go running to the basement quite as often (yes....the dog goes and hides in the basement when Ben is screaming)

Here's to hoping for a better day/night tomorrow