We Done Ferber-ed Our Kid
Little lady has hated swaddling for quite some time. She would get straight up ticked off when we swaddled her and we had to use a safety pin to keep her from kicking out. That girl has chutzpah. So... we decided it was time to quit the swaddle three days ago. We walked with her that night for like 30 minutes and she was showing no signs of falling asleep... she was clearly tired but wasn't having it. I decided it might be time to sleep train her and Yanik agreed (he always agrees... it's kind of amazing).
We put her down in the crib and walked away. She didn't like it and let us know by screaming her head off. We went back in in 3 minutes and picked her up and calmed her down, then left again. Then went back in in 5 minutes and repeated. Then we left her for 10 minutes... and she was asleep by the end of that time period. 20 minutes. She took 20 minutes to calm herself down. Magic. She slept until 3:00am from 6:30 pm, and then didn't wake up again until 6 am. We watched Memento (which I don't really recommend for someone who is suffering extreme anxiety after hearing their baby scream... but still it was pretty good).
The next night took 5 minutes. Last night took about 4. This girl done been sleep trained. Our nights have become significantly more reasonable. She's also putting herself down for naps.
Valuable lesson learned here. I realize this isn't for everyone. In fact this is one of those things where people can't even help themselves from showing judgment... we got very clear responses from people. It was either "wow! great! that's the best thing ever" or "that causes brain damage and psychological damage and is straight up unnatural." Frankly... I think she's cool. She still smiles at me like I'm the best thing since sliced bread in the morning and most importantly she's getting more sleep. She's learning to calm herself down. And although for us it was tough and for her it was tough... we're all in a better place afterwards. I think that for me that's one of the most important lessons of parenting.
Also I definitely realize that this isn't the only option. There are plenty of people who we know that didn't do this because they couldn't handle their kid crying and that's ok. It didn't work for them. A good friend of mine told me once "parenting isn't about what's right and what's wrong... it's about what you can handle." I can handle a little screaming (unless I'm hungry). I'd rather do that than walk with her for an hour every night... especially when she's nearing 16 pounds. But that's our decision. I'm becoming significantly less judge-y. I have strong opinions on whether or not I would do something, but becoming a mama definitely makes me rethink judging others on what they handle. It's a pretty big deal for a judgmental lady such as myself.
We put her down in the crib and walked away. She didn't like it and let us know by screaming her head off. We went back in in 3 minutes and picked her up and calmed her down, then left again. Then went back in in 5 minutes and repeated. Then we left her for 10 minutes... and she was asleep by the end of that time period. 20 minutes. She took 20 minutes to calm herself down. Magic. She slept until 3:00am from 6:30 pm, and then didn't wake up again until 6 am. We watched Memento (which I don't really recommend for someone who is suffering extreme anxiety after hearing their baby scream... but still it was pretty good).
The next night took 5 minutes. Last night took about 4. This girl done been sleep trained. Our nights have become significantly more reasonable. She's also putting herself down for naps.
Valuable lesson learned here. I realize this isn't for everyone. In fact this is one of those things where people can't even help themselves from showing judgment... we got very clear responses from people. It was either "wow! great! that's the best thing ever" or "that causes brain damage and psychological damage and is straight up unnatural." Frankly... I think she's cool. She still smiles at me like I'm the best thing since sliced bread in the morning and most importantly she's getting more sleep. She's learning to calm herself down. And although for us it was tough and for her it was tough... we're all in a better place afterwards. I think that for me that's one of the most important lessons of parenting.
Also I definitely realize that this isn't the only option. There are plenty of people who we know that didn't do this because they couldn't handle their kid crying and that's ok. It didn't work for them. A good friend of mine told me once "parenting isn't about what's right and what's wrong... it's about what you can handle." I can handle a little screaming (unless I'm hungry). I'd rather do that than walk with her for an hour every night... especially when she's nearing 16 pounds. But that's our decision. I'm becoming significantly less judge-y. I have strong opinions on whether or not I would do something, but becoming a mama definitely makes me rethink judging others on what they handle. It's a pretty big deal for a judgmental lady such as myself.
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