Sleep Training

When I had my oldest son I was tough. I decided he would sleep well, eat well, and behave well. I was strict, but loving. I was tough, but kind. When he turned 10 weeks old I began sleep training him. He was stubborn as heck and eventually I learned that he would just have to cry it out. If I came near him he would freak out more. I started on a Tuesday (I remember because I intentionally did it for when my husband "the softie parent" would be at work) and after four grueling days, it worked. In fact, I also remember crying to my husband when he came home Friday night, "He hates me! He glares at me when I get near him! I'm so mean!" Of course on Saturday our son was an angel and my husband had no clue what had been so hard. GAAH! To this day my oldest son is a very stubborn child, but I can tell you this much...He sleeps well and behaves well. Eating....well....he has his days.

Then came Son #2. He's our final baby and he's so much more mellow than his older brother. This child rarely cries (unlike his brother at his age) and when he does it bothers me because I know something must be wrong. I tried sleep training him a few weeks ago when he was 8 weeks. I tried it. Really I did. Then I gave up and decided I'd wait until another day. In my mind I made the decision that 10 weeks would be it. Ten weeks was when Son #1 was trained and look at him now. I'll do the same with the other.

And the came week ten.

It was hard. He cried all day, he fought me tooth and nail, and it broke my heart. I thought he hated me, too. In fact you can read about my day at Mothers' Hideaway here. I was so lucky to have my MH girls to support me through it. I had a long rough night and probably totaled a grand total of 2 or so hours of sleep, but I held strong. I had my MH girls behind me, and I had my oldest son's results to back me. I could do it.

Then we come to today. He woke up with smiles for Mommy and has been cooing to me all day. As of yet he hasn't fought me to go to sleep in his crib and he's in there sleeping quite peacefully now. Now I know that since I wrote this I probably just jinxed myself, but I'm proud of myself. I did it and hopefully, with time, he'll be a good sleeper, too.

Come share your sleep training style at Mothers' Hideaway in the Kiddie Pool!