Sleep Training

When Sydney was born, I found myself really struggling to find some sort of schedule. I called my friend, Kate, who sent me a book called On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. I read the entire book in a couple hours and immediately started putting the principles to work. Anyway, long story short, I am a big believer in sleep training - teaching your children to put themselves to sleep. Everyone wakes up during their regular sleep schedule, but going back to sleep when you wake up is a skill that takes a while to learn - especially for children. Sleep training for babies is not easy! Mostly, it requires letting them "cry it out." The first night or two are usually the worst: they'll cry until they fall asleep. Then, the amount of time they cry significantly decreases until they're able to put themselves to sleep in a matter of minutes - most times without any tears at all! The entire process takes less than a week.

I wouldn't say that our week is totally finished (we started last Thursday night); however, we're very, very close. Cole is routinely going to sleep for naps and at night without crying. When he wakes up, he usually only cries for a couple minutes and then it's back to bed! Today was definitely a milestone: both kids took their naps in their own rooms and fell asleep on their own! I love this for several reasons: Cole is learning to be an independent sleeper - like Sydney - and Mommy will, eventually, be able to count on this time as child-free time to work, do chores, or prep dinner.

Hail sleep training - I'm a believer!