Tonight I decided that Maddy must learn to go to sleep by herself. Up until now I have been either nursing her to sleep or rocking her to sleep. Both of which are time consuming (usually takes a half hour to an hour) and very emotionally/physically demanding (not to mention it can make you very sore... all you breast-feeding mother's know what I am talking about).
So I let my sweet, darling (and very tired) baby girl go to bed awake. She was very upset and cried for nearly 40 minutes. I read on the Internet (and received the same great advice from Alicia) that I should go in to comfort (not pick her up) her every 15 minutes. Whenever I went in she immediately stopped crying and took the signature short sob breaths (this sound can really break a mother's heart) to calm down. I would stay a minute or two and then walk back out. The instant I left the room she began crying.
As I said, we continued like this for forty minutes. It took everything in me not to go in, pick her up, and let her know that I love her and immediatley apologize for my behavior. I know that the end result will be great, but getting there is so heart wrenching! Must this be so hard?
5 comments:
Go Heidi!! That really is so rough, but it sounds like it is paying off. The first time I let Sheldon go to sleep on his own like that I sat at his door and cried right along with him. In the end, I'm glad we did it that way, though.
I can't imagine, I think I would just give in and pick her up. Good Luck!!!
How's it going today? I hope well! I know it's hard but it really will be worth it. Let me know if you need anything!
Sad!! We did that from the beginning and Carson has been a great sleeper because of it. It is super hard, but it works and it is good for them in the end. Good Luck! Don't worry, the hard part doesn't last for too long. A few days was all for Carson.
Thanks for your encouraging remarks everyone! I will definitely keep it up. I am glad to hear that it will work.
I may already be seeing the fruits of my labor. I just put her down and she fell asleep without crying! I know that there will be more ups and downs, but I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks great!
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