Conquering Bedtime & Nap time...

Month 7 to 8 has been a month of so much change for baby Rockwell... namely sleeping has become the root of all our trials. Ever since we lowered his crib and he learned to stand up, he was no longer my dreamy sleeper... getting two teeth in the process probably didn't help much either.

Therefore you have the picture to the left. I hit the library up and got every book I could find on how to get your baby to sleep. Bedtime became an exhausting chore, I didn't quite have a plan of action, he caught me off guard, I thought I had been blessed with the best baby sleeper but then it all changed in a matter of days. He loved practicing his new tricks, standing up, sitting down, and up again, then throwing his binki, crawling, rolling, etc... most all the advice we received was to let him "Cry it out" 5 minutes then 10 minutes etc... we tried it and I loathed it, and he hated it, and it just didn't feel good. I couldn't stay consistent or let him cry very long... needless to say it just didn't work for us.

So from what I read there were some common guidelines and here is what I have ended up implementing and now works wonders!

HELP 1: Bedtime Routine

• every book I read talked about the importance of a consistent bedtime routine and exact time they go to bed. (Here's what we do: 7 pm bath, nurse, book, prayer and kisses, song, and then start Help 3: My Version.. see below)

HELP 2: Set the Mood

• every book also talked about setting the tone for a good sleep environment. We bought dark curtains that keep out the sun and have made all the difference.
• Turn on white noise on ipad (best app "white noise pro") (a fan would work great too)
• clip on his binki clip (*important: now he can't throw it and be desperate for it and he can find it in the middle of the night if he needs it)
• Clean crib out, so just his comfy blankets and a few stuffed animals are there to keep him company;)

HELP 3: My Version...

• The main emphasis for me was to help Rockwell learn to fall asleep on his own in his crib, to know that he's not alone and he's safe and to show/teach him how to sleep.
• (Night 1 & 2) after I lay him down, I lay by the crib until he falls asleep. This way he sees me and knows I'm there and he doesn't feel abandoned, but he knows I'm not going to pick him up (*important*) or get him out. The first night Rockwell cried pretty hard, so I would sing him a few lullabies and whisper "shh, shh shh" until he calmed down, it took Rockwell 1 hr 30 mins the first night, second night only took 15!
• (Nights 3 & 4) Eventually move close and closer to the door. I stayed by the crib and sang a song or two, then moved to the middle of the room and laid down, after a while I moved to the door, as soon as he was laying down, I quietly left the room, even if he wasn't asleep. Rockwell would sometimes get up again and notice I was gone, cry for less than a min and would fall asleep on his own.
• (Night 5 & 6) By this time after I laid him down I would go straight to the door and lay down (I would lay half way out so I could just kneel up and shut the door in a quick second) the first time he laid down I would quietly leave the room and he was good, no crying! I was in his room less than 5 mins.
• (Night 7 & beyond) Now after I lay him down I can walk out the door, he'll even watch me, and he's okay, (before we started this process, if I left the room he would start screaming and crying so hard- it's amazing how quick this worked!) he'll usually play in his crib for a bit and then fall asleep with out a problem! Sometimes I'll stay laying by the door for a min if he fusses, but literally a minute and then he's fine. This has worked so well for us and I hope it will work for you! Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions! Good luck!

OTHER HELPS:

• Move to an Earlier Bedtime
• Sleep begets sleep (the more they sleep, the better they sleep... good naps=good bedtime) Honor your babies nap times and bed times, it's good to revolve your life around there schedule for at least the first week that you start a new routine. It will pay off!
• Put baby down at first signs of tiredness... or even before (AVOID baby getting overtired)
• For my baby (8 Months) we aim for a 9 AM morning nap, 2 PM afternoon nap (dropped evening nap and transitioned to earlier bed time) and 7:30 Bedtime.
• If he does get up in the middle of the night, thats when I just have to leave him... one of the books I read talks about the difference between our "awake brains" and "sleep brains"and basically states the importance of letting them learn to fall back asleep on there own for the middle of the night awakenings.

*I know every baby is different and you just have to do what works best for you! Most everyone I know does the cry out method and has success, so no judgement if that's what you do- if it works- go for it! This way was just so much easier on both me and my baby! Oh ya, the other major help... I did a lot of praying.... I know it seems silly to pray so intently for help getting your baby to sleep, but if it's important to you, it's important to God... so I prayed.... and it helped:) Best of luck!