update on nap training

i need to write all of this down so i remember when their naps back-fire and i get discouraged...

we started letting them cry a little at naps this weekend and we have seen such progress. i posted a few days ago to ask a few questions. the first day dd cried for 10 minutes before falling asleep. ds didn't cry before his nap but woke up early and cried for 10 or so minutes and put himself back to sleep for another hour.

yesterday afternoon they both slept almost 2 hours. dd woke up HAPPY and smiling/ laughing. this has NEVER happened.

this morning she slept a little over an hour without any tears. ds slept 1 1/2 hours. she went back down without protesting 2 hours later. he went back down 1.5 hours after waking. they are both still asleep and it is going on 2 hours!!!! i had always attempted to put them down within 1-2 hours but dd would usually protest. she is really starting to figure it out.

i know it can't be this easy! could this be the beginning of something?????? i am feeling so hopeful!

they have also slept 11-13 hours the last 2 nights. alseep by 6:30pm... they only woke up to nurse at 6 am for a less than 10 minutes and we had to wake them up at 7:30!

i am so thankful! i think i might go check on them because this is too wierd.

you can see napping babies and happy wakeful babies on our blog @ www.poehlfamily.blogspot.com

 

Sounds like you have a sleep routine going!!! Mine were just a little bit younger when they stabilized their sleeping patterns, so I think you are on to something! We also did CIO - felt just horrible, but luckily mine were good sleepers to begin with, and never cried more than 20 mins, and that was rare.
Good luck!

 

:banana: :banana: for sleeping happy babies! Congrats on your sleep training working! Go Momma!!

 

Wow-- this is soo encouraging for me. We're in the throes of it, and planning to start sleep training as soon as HSHHC arrives in our mailbox! Congratulations!!!!!!!!

 

YAY SLEEP!

 

That's great Andrea! Thanks for posting the happy update!

 

Sounds like its going great! I love when the ladies wake up happy and smiling... thats when I know they've gotten enough sleep. Hope this wonderful routine continues for you!

-Leighann

 

Great news! and - WOW on the nighttime sleep; i'm envious! I also started nap training and it took much less than i anticipated - for the morning nap, at least.

hooray for sleeping babies and rested mamas!

 

thanks for the feedback girls! i know, this night sleep is so great that i hate to even mention it. they have done 12 hour stretches occassionally but we are going on 3 nights in a row now. they have dropped a feeding...only eating 5 times now and nursing for less than 10 minutes. i can't imagine they are getting enough but maybe it is the whole brain vs. stomach thing that HSHHC talks about.

so, i mustered up a little courage and put them in the same room for the morning nap. they are both asleep!!!

dd talked to herself and played for 20 minutes before the fussing started. i let her fuss for 15 minutes and then gave her a paci (i'm a sucker, i know.) but she fell asleep immediately once she had the paci.

ds slept through her fussing! i guess i need to start keeping them together despite the crying/ fussing.

once again, they slept from 6:30 - 5:30...nursed briefly and we had to wake them at 7:30! turns out that the time change has really helped us out, i guess! we would normally put them down closer to 7 or 7:30 but put them down by 6:30 the night of the change. since then they sleep longer. or it is because we are putting them back down until 7:30. (usually their wake time is 6 or 6:30 because i have work)

i started maternity leave this week ( i took off later on so that i could get my class established the first 6 weeks of school) i will be home with them until they are 6 months old.

normally, we have to wake them by 6:30 am and they don't go back down until close to 9 at their sitters house. i am finding that they do MUCH better sleeping until 7:30 and going down at 9. should i recommend that the sitter try to put them down sooner if they wake at 6:30 or should i just have dh take them to the sitter after waking at 7:30?

what would you girls do? i think them staying up from 6-9 is too long and they are overtired by then.

thanks for your input.

 

yikes..just minutes after my last post dd woke up screaming (sleeping a total of 25 minutes) she woke up ds and he started in.

the day went down hill from there. she fought every nap and slept a total of an hour all day.

today is not much better. she fussed 2 minutes before falling asleep for only 20 minutes. i tried to sooth her back to sleep without success and am letting her work/ fuss it out now.

i decided to split them up again since he was unable to rest through her protests.

how many days of letting them CIO before i see some progress. i know the books says they learn much more quickly with consistency. but this is sooo tough.

any encouraging stories out there of babies learning to nap after routinely screaming for an hour?

 

Hi Andrea - Sorry I don't have any advice - just empathy!! We started nap training early, and as a result had pretty darn good nappers from about 3-5 months (napping 2-3x/day for 1.5-2hrs for at least 2 of the naps.) Well, something happened in the last two weeks, and our napping has gone to the birds!

DD is still napping OK, but DS will NOT nap for more than 20-30 minutes at a shot. It's horrible. He falls asleep realtively well, but wakes up crying as if he's had his heart broken. I can't bear to listen to him. I let him cry for about 15 mintues the other day, and it just seemed to be getting worse over time. He would take a break and start right up again. The thing is, I know he knows how to self soothe because he's done it for months AND he's still been sleeping decently at night (thank goodness). So, I'm just calling it a phase - one that we hopefully move through QUICKLY!

Good Luck - I'll be watching the post for helpful hints too!! Suzi

 

suzi,
yikes, it's tough isn't it? my ds crashes the moment i put him down. i reinserted his paci once and it fell out again so i didn't go back in.i don't want to get into the paci game with him. i heard him fuss a tiny bit and then put himself back to sleep.

like your ds, dd has been screaming as if she is being tortured. she is soooo stubborn and fiesty. so much fun, but quite the pistol when it comes to naps! i am experimenting for this week with just letting her work it out for an hour. so far she only gets more and more angry/ loud as time goes on but i am hoping if i am consistent in not going in that she will figure it out. then again, i have read a lot of posts where letting them cry after waking up never works. but i have tried to go back in and sooth/ give pacifer but that hasn't worked either. so for now i will stick to keeping her in her crib until the full hour is up. monday was sooooo great! i know she can do it. hoping it just takes a few tough days/ weeks because this is terrible!!! the pay off is great from what i have read/ heard from others.

they are 5 months today so i feel they are old enough to begin practicing self soothing. thankfully night time is easy and she can be put down awake.

keep me posted on how you are doing...i hope you are right and this is a quick phase for your two. my dd has never been an easy sleeper, like ds. so i am hoping this is the solution.

i better go and get her. she slept for almost 20 minutes and has been crying for 50 minutes.iiiiiiii, yyyyaaaa, yiiiiiii!