Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Day 6 of the No Cry Sleep Solution

We're having some success with the new system! I've been trying to keep Melina on a general nap schedule (10:30-11:00, 2-3:30, 5:30-6, give or take an hour or so). She's getting more sleep and is going to bed easier. Also, the nighttime ritual seems to be helping her realize that it's time to sleep. I start the process at 8:30 and she goes to bed at 9:00. Last night she was really tired so we skipped reading a book and she fell asleep *immediately* without any fight at all. How wonderful! She has also successfully soothed herself back to sleep at least once, though most other times I have had to either pat her back to sleep or pick her up and let her fall asleep in my arms (which she does almost immediately). She is finally done with teething, for now, so that has made life much more bearable.

Successes so far:

  • Goes to sleep much faster
  • Has soothed self back to sleep at least once
  • Has slept in crib past 11:00 a few times
  • Has been waking up at night less often (twice instead of four times)

Challenges:

  • Still wakes up every half an hour or so until 11:00 pm
  • Usually wakes up at 11:00 and sleeps in our bed for the rest of the night
  • Still addicted to the binky

The next steps:
  • Work on reducing night wakings (more feedings during daytime, etc.)
  • Work on getting her to soothe herself back to sleep more (she might do this herself)
  • Reduce reliance on the binky.

And Jeff says I'm not systematic enough!!

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Just a question: Why three naps? Camden takes two, sometimes just one on weekends, and her daycare is actually working on getting her down to one long siesta (noon to 2). She sleeps from 9 pm to 7 am with no wakeups. Could that be contributing to Melina's nighttime waking - that she is used to shorter cycles of wake and sleep? I'm not judging - just wondering.