Of course I'll post a picture of my little boog:
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Crying it out.
It's been a little while since I posted, but I have been in Virginia for Thanksgiving/vacation. I had a wonderful time with my family, and I got to meet my beautiful niece, Camryn! She is SO beautiful. I spent time with two of my best girlfriends, Pam and Melissa. Adam, Connor, and I also got to spend time with our bestfriends, Lauren, Shawn, and their baby girl, Delaney. It was a successful trip if I do say so myself, and Connor was fabulous. He started getting antsy towards the end of the trip, but he's teething and I think the trip was hard on him. He did sooo good on the flights home today though... made me so proud :) I feel like I have so much to talk about. I always have thoughts in my head I want to write about and somehow forget. Connor is getting SO big! He's going to start crawling any day now, I can feel it, but I'm in NO hurry. He's so busy already, I can't imagine how he's going to be when he can move around. AH! I swore I gained 5 lbs over Thanksgiving since I didn't count calories AT ALL when I was in Virginia, butttt I didn't gain anything?! Uhm, talk about exciting. I was prepared to see a scary number when I got home, but it wasn't scary at all. Hallelujah! Anyways... moving on to what I wanted to write about. The "cry it out" method. Connor and I have a routine, and it's fairly easy each night. I notice he gets tired around 7:30/8:00, so I grab him up and cradle him, put a blanket over him and his face, and walk around the house. He's out within 5 minutes. Some nights he fights me, but once he realizes he's going to lose, he surrenders. Tonight he was realllly restless (I think it was because of the traveling), so Adam suggested that I let him "cry it out." I know it is probably good for them, and I read that it helps babies learn how to fall asleep by themselves and then fall back asleep by themselves if they wake up in the middle of the night. Connor doesn't have problems going back to sleep in the middle of the night, but he doesn't like for me to juts lay him down, and selfishly, I don't like doing it either. I enjoy walking/rocking him to sleep. I feel like it's "our time." Is that lame? Maybe, but I like our routine. Tonight, I put him in his crib and he talked to himself for a while, then he realized what was going on and he wasn't havin' it. He screamed and screamed (only for about 5 minutes), and I went in and got him. He was so worked up, there was no way he would fall asleep on his own, and then I rocked him for 5 minutes and he was out like a light. Maybe I'm ruining him... but my way works for now. It's easy for us, and once he's asleep, he's asleep for the night! 10 minutes of rocking beats an hour of crying in my book. What are your nighttime rituals? Does the "cry it out" method work for you? I'm just curious to see how other momma's do it.
Of course I'll post a picture of my little boog:
Of course I'll post a picture of my little boog:
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Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all- Connor is SO handsome, such a cutie!
My personal opinion is that you can't ruin your babies sleep habits. If Connor is able to put himself back to sleep after waking in the middle of the night, then he is capable of putting himself to sleep on his own, period. and in my opinion, he doesn't need to cry it out to learn how to fall asleep by himself, ya know? I totally agree with how you feel about that time at the end of the day being a nice quiet bonding time. I LOVE our nighttime routine. Every night its bath/nurse/sleep. some people might say its "bad", but I have been nursing my daughter to sleep every night since she was born. And I love that time together. She has no problem putting herself to back to sleep if she wakes at night, and i can out her down wide awake during the day when i know she is ready for a nap and she falls asleep after fussing for about 2 minutes. I do not believe crying it out is effective as sleep training, and it doesn't sound like Connor needs that "training" Sounds to me like he just likes the comfort of your arms at night. I kind of look at it like- you know YOU can fall asleep on your own, but aren't you more comforted and able to fall asleep easier if your husband is next to you? -why should it be any different for your little one?
Just do what works best for YOU and Connor. try crying it out if you feel its working best for him, but dont do it just because you think you have to, ya know?
Sounds to me, from reading your blog anwyway, that you are doing an amazing job! Connor looks like a super happy, healthy baby! Be proud and trust your mommy instincts! :)
edited to say: its almost midnight, I am exhausted- please excuse any errors, I hope this made at least a little bit of sense, but I am too tired to re-read it to make sure! :)
Thanks for your input! :) It's fun to see that most moms I have talked to rock their babies to sleep. (Or nurse them). I think it just gives Connor comfort, and he knows it's bed time. In my opinion, as long as you have a routine then you are doing right by your child. :) Thank you! I am trying my hardest to be the best momma I can!
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