You may remember that we have been having some sleep issues with Katherine. She had regressed and was waking up every 3 hours. So, after all of our holiday travel ended, we started a new sleep routine. I read all the books out there and some were too harsh and some were too wimpy. I finally found a suggested solution that I thought I could handle and would possibly work. It is from the book, ”Good Night, Sleep Tight” .
There are several things that this book suggests. First, do NOT nurse your baby to sleep. This is something that I have always known was a bad habit for us, but when she fell asleep so easily I just did it. So, you are supposed to put her to sleep “drowsy but awake”. Easier said than done. We now have a routine where I nurse her and then leave the room. Then Sam gets her ready for bed and reads to her and puts her to sleep.
The second thing suggested is to do the “sleep lady shuffle” where for the first three nights you sit in a chair by the crib. The next three in a chair between the crib and the door. The next three in a chair outside the door but within sight. Then, when we put Katherine down and She cries because she is not used to it, we are there where we can touch and speak to her without getting her out of the crib.
Tonight we are on day 7 and the chair just moved outside the room. It has gone better and better each night. Remember, before this I would nurse Katherine to sleep and then go in there 3 times in the night and nurse her again to get her back to sleep. She cried a lot the first two nights because I would not nurse her. But last night she went to sleep at 9:30 (later bedtime than usual because she was asleep in her carseat from 7:30-8:45) and did not wake up until 5:30. Then she crid for about 1 minute and fell back asleep before I went in. She woke up 15 mintues later and I went in there for less than 2 minutes before she fell back asleep until 6:40. So, that was a great night - 9 hours of solid sleep plus the hour in the carseat. It is still not as much as I would like, but it is improving!
