It's all a guessing game, I've decided. And, it's all about finding the right timing for you and your baby. And, it's different for every family and every child. And, when something doesn't work out just remember "this too shall pass".
That being said, I have started "sleep training" Juliet. I am taking a relatively laid back approach so it sounds way more intense then it is. Before having Juliet I planned to be a hardcore mom when it came to sleeping. I was going to teach Juliet to sleep well, all night long, in her crib, and let her cry herself to sleep if that was what was needed. Then, Juliet was born. She did not like sleeping in her crib, by herself, and certainly not for any stretch longer than one hour. I was told she was fine to cry herself to sleep, I was told to wait until two months, I was told to wait until six months, I was told to never let her cry herself to sleep because it was just plain mean. ...So what on earth was I suppose to do???
Well, I threw ALL plans out the window. I rocked Juliet to sleep and she slept in the bed with me. That worked for us. That was how we both got the most sleep and so that is what we did. I assumed I had ruined my plans of ever having the perfect sleeping baby because I spoiled her, but when you are just "surviving" you do what works best for that day. I was okay with giving up my perfect sleeping baby dream for a few months (and a few hours of sleep); that is what worked at that time!
Well, Juliet hit the two month point and with the support of the pediatrician and some friends I just decided to try putting Juliet in her crib at night, while she was still awake, to try and help her learn to put herself to sleep. I was prepared for the WORST! On night ONE she cried 20 minutes and then fell asleep. I was SO happy. I was prepared to "out last her" for hours on end (slight exaggeration!). After her mid-night feeding, I laid her down again, awake, in her crib. She made noises and struggled (because I swaddle her) but fell asleep after about ten minutes without one tear! WHAT ON EARTH?!?!? I kept going to check on her to make sure she was okay because she was NOT crying. Well, since then (it has been about a week) Juliet has been laid down in her crib at night and after each night-time feeding (about 3), while still awake, and gone to sleep on her own without one tear.
If I catch her at the right time during the day, as in tired but not too tired, I can get her to go down for a nap in her crib with anywhere from no crying to 10 minutes of crying. However, if she is overtired she will cry through her whole nap (1.5 hours...). So, we are still pretty relaxed about daytime sleep at this point and just working on getting longer stretches at night!
So, I write all of this for a few reasons:
1.) as a record for myself to be able to remember how I sort of "sleep trained" Juliet
2.) as an reminder that just because you have a goal in mind (aka: a good sleeper), you might have to take an unexpected route to the finish line, and you might not get there as fast as you thought, and that is OK!
3.) to remind myself that it really is all a guessing game, and every child is different
If you are sleep training a baby, no matter how you are doing it, HANG IN THERE!!...this too shall pass :)
Sounds like she is doing well :) Will started doing this on his own, like I told you, but even now, he doesn't go in his crib awake. Either he falls asleep while eating, or after he eats at night I rock him a little more until he's asleep. Every baby is different and you're doing a great job <3
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