09-10-2009 - Sleeping a bit better

My mood while writing this blog: pleased

I’ve had a bit of success…but it has taken 6 months! My DD was afraid of her crib since we tried CIO – which didn’t work. She would start screaming the minute I lifted her over the rail. So, I needed to fix that problem first. To help her not be afraid of the crib, this is what I did: changed the bed to a toddler bed so she wouldn’t feel trapped and then we “played” in the bed during play time so she would get happy associations with the crib. At night, I took the mattress out and put it on the floor. I lay by the mattress on the floor and patted her to sleep while she was on the mattress. We did this for like two-three weeks. Eventually, I stopped taking the mattress out but still patted her to sleep. Oh, and I have a short bedtime routine of brush teeth, books, bottle, bed. Lights are out around 8 pm. Over the last six months, she has figured out that her bed is a nice place. This week, she has slept in her own bed from 8:30pm to about 5am for three nights. The other 4 nights, she has awaked once or twice for a bottle but went right back to sleep. I read the “No Cry Sleep Solution” book. It was helpful for me. In a nutshell, it says to have a plan and things don’t change without work.

Next thing I need to tackle is the bottle obsession…