About six months ago the Babito was not feeling well, he had a bad cough, so we let him sleep with us. Before that he was doing great, sleeping in his crib through the night. Well, ever since that night he’s been in bed with us. I can’t say that it bothered me too much, other than only getting to use about 1/8th of the bed for myself and getting kicked in the nuts about 20 times, but it’s definitely put a damper on us been able to work on producing Babito #2.
Starting this past Friday we decided to get him back into his crib. We’ve made a few half-hearted attempts before but gave in quickly when he went nuts. On Friday night, Mommy rocked him to sleep in his room and put him in his crib. He cried for about 15 seconds and then went to sleep. He slept through the night except for one wake-up call when he needed his diaper changed.
Last night it was my turn. I followed the same simple steps that his Mommy used so successfully the night before. I read a book to him and rocked him to sleep. Once he was safely asleep I put him in his crib. As I was walking out of the room he woke up, sprung to his feet and started screaming. I thought, “Ok, he’s going to cry for a few seconds and then lay back down.”
That wasn’t the case. From the hallway where he couldn’t see me I listened to him. His cries grew louder and more desperate by the second. It sounded like he was being tortured. After a few minutes I went back into his room and took him out of the crib. I sat down in the rocking chair and put him back to sleep. This time I waited a good 20-30 minutes until he was sound asleep. I put him back into his crib, but the same thing happened. He sprung up again and started his wailing.
Finally, Mommy came up and took over. I don’t know what she did (I was downstairs downing some shots!) but she got him to sleep in no time.
I just rocked him to sleep and put him in his crib for a nap with no problems, so I think he’s finally learning that the crib is where he’s going to sleep from now on. At least I hope. As for making Babito #2, I’m going downstairs right now to see if I can get lucky. Wish me luck!
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#1 by Jamie on February 4th, 2008
Heh. Your story sounds familar. We had about two weeks of hellish sleep training, but it did pay off. I’m glad that we persisted with it…even if listening to the sobs is heartbreaking. Stay strong. Now our little girl sleeps in our bed for the entire night…and we have our bed back. It worked well.
#2 by Mommyca on February 4th, 2008
Oh, I hate when they start to cry, it breaks my heart. We have been lucky, with both so far(knock on wood) and both sleep in their own beds….but sometimes Missy gets up and crawls into ours when she wakes up to early(secretly I love the cuddle time).
Oh, and good luck with #2!!
#3 by Romi on February 4th, 2008
Hahaha..what a great closing line; you really ended off that post with a bang! (in a manner of speaking…and yeah, that’s my lame joke of the day….LOL)
#4 by Daddy Dan on February 5th, 2008
Jamie: I really thought we were going to have to go through two weeks of training too, but luckily he’s caught on really quick. Last night he went straight into his crib and didn’t cry at all. As long as he has his blankie, his two stuffed animals, and his Angel night lights on he’s fine. Oh yeah, and his binkie. The binkie is the next thing that needs to go.
Mommyca: The crying was the worst. It makes you feel like you’re abandoning him. But at least we have our bed back now!
Romi: Thanks! The post is the only place where I ended with a bang that day, unfortunately! Thanks for the lame joke!!! =)