I caved. I decided to try the Cry-It-Out Method for Lucy's first nap this morning, and whaddya know, I was right.
Cry-It-Out just isn't for us. I've known this for years, since I heard my brother and sister in-law using it with my niece. I'm the mom that cries when her baby cries. I'm the mom that drops everything and RUNS to my baby when she needs me. Why I ever thought that I could go through with this method is beyond me.
Oh ya, I was stupid and I was selfish. That's why.
We had a terrible night last night. Lucy went down later than she should have and she was up all night. Finally, around 4:30 AM, we threw in the towel and put her in the car seat. We drove around town for 30 minutes, got home, and she actually stayed asleep in her car seat for two hours. Lucy is almost 6 months old...we should NOT have to resort to the car seat trick. I told myself, "Tonight she sleeps in her crib."
So, tired and frustrated, I tried putting Lucy down in her crib this morning. For my first attempt, I tried nursing her in the glider; when she fell asleep, I waited for "limp-limb" sleep and tried to transfer her....she woke up instantly. Rinse and repeat. Attempt #3, Casey rocked her. And, attempt #4, CIO. I read the Ferber Progressive Waiting Chart on this blog and away we went.
The first interval was three minutes. Lucy didn't cry for the first two minutes, but once she started, she didn't stop. I went in for two minutes, patted her belly, held her hand, and stroked her face - which made her cry harder.
The second interval was five minutes. After three minutes I was sobbing. Casey went in for the second "visit" and just as I was about to throw the baby monitor through the window, he and Lucy came marching into the kitchen.
He said, "She pooped.... And we're never doing that again."
And then we both started laughing, which made Lucy laugh. But as soon as he set her down to change her, she started screaming again. I think she so overtired and afraid that we'd leave her again... After much soothing and nursing, she finally went to sleep in our bed. Where she belongs.
Call me a wuss, call me an idiot, I don't care... I'm not judging mothers that use the Cry-It-Out Method, not at all, its just not for our family.
To each their own, but SleepEasy's CIO sure worked wonders for us! Getting up every hour with a 5 month old who wasn't hungry was enough to put me over the edge and do this! There's no denying its really hard for baby and for mommy/daddy but our motto was "short term pain for long term gain". Good luck with whichever method you choose, but the rocking thing usually decreases in success the older they get from my experience with my nieces/nephews and even my own son which I only did for the first 5 months. :)
ReplyDeleteOh man, I could so relate to this. With my first we used the Ferber method at 5 months and it worked brilliantly. She had bad colic combined with getting up every hour, I was completely frustrated. My son is a terrible sleeper now but he is such an easy baby, I can't see myself doing it. So, I'm still getting up 2-3 times a night! Good luck mama!
ReplyDelete"its just not for our family"
ReplyDeleteI think you made a good decision. I have CIO stuff on my blog so I think that some people think I am completely for it, but I'm not. I totally get that some people can't do it and that some babies do horrible with it. I certainly don't like doing it and attempt almost everything prior If I decide to give it a go.