sleep, sleep, sleep

This past week's experiment with getting Lucy to fall asleep on her own turned out to be much more successful than I expected it to be. Here's a rundown of how it went:

Sunday night:

As you know, she fell asleep in 35 minutes. It was her first time in the crib and her first time in a room other than ours. A lot of firsts, but I wanted her to learn that the crib is the place where she falls asleep by herself and begin to associate it that way rather than confusing her by switching things around. We were thrilled with how well she did.

Monday night:

We tried again and this time it took her 40 minutes. I was just beginning to think that it wasn't going to work, and then she was asleep. She slept 8 hours again.

Tuesday night:

We put her in bed and walked downstairs to turn on the monitor, and there was no sound coming from it. We went upstairs, and she was asleep. So, night three - less than a minute! We were amazed and thrilled. Again, 8 hours of sleep.

Wednesday night:

It took her about 10 minutes to fall asleep, and she slept 9 hours.

Thursday night:

It took her about 20 minutes to fall asleep, but there was no 8 hours this time. She woke up after two hours and was up for about two hours, and then she woke up three hours later. It was not such a pleasant night. It didn't surprise me too much, though, because I was expecting something like that to happen, and I think she is also beginning to teethe, which would contribute to some sleeplessness.

Friday night:

We seemed to be back on track. There was five minutes of crying followed by five minutes of moaning, followed by 6 hours of sleep.

Saturday night:

She fell asleep in about 10 or 15 minutes and slept 6 hours.

Tonight:

I put her to bed right before coming down to blog, and she is now sleeping. So, 5-10 minutes, I suppose.

So, all in all, the first week of the crying it out experiment went much better than we anticipated! I am not living in the naive world of thinking that all of our problems have been solved when it comes to getting Lucy to sleep, and I think there will continue to be some difficulties and setbacks, but I am pleased with the way week one went.

I think all three of us have some things to be proud of. Little Lucy has been so brave and really smart in learning her night routine and falling asleep on her own. And Kip and I stood our ground even though it was hard, and only went up to her room occasionally and soothed her

without picking her up even though all we wanted to do was pick up our little girl and soothe her.

I know there are a lot of mixed opinions out there about this issue and what is the best thing to do, so I just want to share briefly why I think the way we have gone about it has been good for us.

1.) I think it is important for kids to learn to soothe themselves to be able to fall asleep. They're going to have to do it at some point and 5 months is easier than 2 years, 3 years, or even 5 years.

2.) Routine is good for kids. It teaches boundaries, which kids desperately need and research indicates that kids with boundaries fare better in group settings and feel well adjusted to their surroundings.

3.) Kids need parents who love each other and make each other a priority. As new parents, this can be hard to do, and we have found this especially difficult to do while having to stay up late with a baby who isn't sleeping. This week as Lucy has gone to sleep earlier and been on a schedule, Kip and I have had more time with each other to make our relationship a priority in the midst of being parents. This is not only good for our marriage, it is good for us as parents, which in the end is a huge benefit for Lucy.

There are a few more reasons that I might share in time, but for now let me just say that I have been pleased with how this week has gone, but it hasn't been easy. In the future I think I will start this earlier with my babies, but I know that what we have all been through this week - and might continue to go through in the days and weeks to come - is really the best thing for baby, mommy, and daddy -- at least the ones in this house!