This past week I did something I thought I would NEVER do. I let my little Love Bug cry it out to go back to sleep. I was VERY sure I would never do this, but two things made it very apparent that I needed to do this...
1. Bug was waking up every 45 minutes to an hour and just wanted to be cuddled back to sleep. If I did try to nurse him, he would eat for about 30 seconds and fall asleep.
2. I was having a conversation with my aunt about Bug's sleeping habits and I started crying... a lot and unstoppable because I was SO exhausted and knew something needed to change!
So I guess the main reason why I never thought I could do cry it out was because I am a nurturer, I like to meet people's needs, especially my little Bugs and it hurts my heart so bad to hear him cry. But like I said above, something needed to change.
To make a long story short, I will give you the time line of events that brought this to be...
**April 4th - we started Bug on probiotics and he was sleeping for about 3 to 5 hours at a time at night. GREAT! I could handle that!
**April 15th - Bug gets his 6 month shots and a few days later catches Daddy's cold because of his weakened immune system.
**The next few days are awful! The first cold for my Bug was so hard on me because I couldn't help him!
**He is sick for a while... around a week and a half.
**He's better by the last few days of April, but his sleeping is HORRIBLE because I spoiled him while he was sick. I knew I had to do something, but we were leaving for Arizona in a few days, and I knew things would be different and habits would change, so I just suffered through it.
We get to Arizona and his sleeping is obviously still awful! This is where the conversation with my aunt happened and let me tell you it was HARD to hear!
I was DEAD set against crying it out, but I guess it's because I didn't know what would happen. I just imagined my baby crying and crying and thinking his mommy didn't love him anymore.
But she told me exactly what happened with her baby 14 years ago. She said her baby was very much like Bug in personality and habits and she finally had to do something.
Here is what happened at our house with crying it out...
Night one - I nursed and put Bug to be like usual around 9:30. He nursed a long time, and I knew he should not be eating before 2 AM. In my mind I knew he would not starve to death waiting 4 and a half hours to eat. I needed to have that goal in my head, because I think it would have been harder for me to let him cry when he woke up around midnight. When he woke up, Bug cried for 47 minutes, he stopped for about 5, and then cried for about 10 more. He fell asleep and slept from 1 to 7:30 the next morning.
I will say the only reason I was able to let him cry as long as I did was because my husband is AMAZING and kept reassuring me it would all be okay. He basically had to hold me down in bed. Not forcefully, but he had his arms snuggled around me.
Night two - I nursed Bug to bed at about 9, he woke up at 10:30 and cried for 25 minutes, and slept until 7 the next morning.
Night three - I nursed Bug to bed at around 9:30. He woke up and cried for about 5 minutes at around 1 AM and slept until 5. I nursed him at 5 and he slept til 8.
Night four - No crying! He slept from 9:30 - 6, nursed and slept until 8:30.
My baby Bug still loves me, even more than ever because he isn't so tired and crabby all the time! :)
We have been going on about a week, and some nights he will whimper for a couple minutes, but he goes right back to sleep. I have been getting up between 4 and 6 to nurse him, and he will sleep for a few more hours. But that is manageable!
His naps are also much better. He has been taking one and a half to three hour naps two to three times a day. So, so, so, so nice!
My main reason is writing this blog isn't to boast at what we did, but it is to help someone who was in my position. I was exhausted and didn't know what else to do. I was beside myself with terror and what would happen if I let my \precious Bug cry himself to sleep.
I NEEDED someone to outline exactly what was going to happen. My aunt told me down to the minute what happened with her baby. And it really helped me to know what to expect. I would not have lasted as long as I did the first night if she would not have told me it took an hour and five minutes for the first night.
It is okay to let your baby cry. It will make your baby happier which in turn will make you happier!
That's all for now!
Cassandra :)
