First, five years ago my chubby baby son, Frank showed obvious signs he needed a schedule and routine. He was like Gizmo (the cute Gremlin of the 80's) - he's all warm and fuzzy until he gets wet (read: until my son gets tired) and then he turns into a wicked demon that can't be held accountable for the vile things he does. We trained Frank by the book. Ferberized. The movie "Meet the Parents" was still top-of-mind and we related to DeNiro, but ruled with an iron fist. Frank was napping and night-sleeping like a baby should in 3 days and the peasants rejoiced. We still had hiccups every now and then and to this day, if he's up past 7:30 p.m., he turns into the SNL character, "Drunk Uncle"...a little bit politically incorrect and hilarious, until he's naked and sobbing face down in a pillow whining that "no one ever listens to him."
With sweet angel baby Margo things are a little different. Frank was sleep training at 4 months and in a crib a flight of stairs away from our room in the city of Chicago. At 6 months, Margo was peachy-keen in a pac n play, in our room, in a sleepy southern suburb (and I still worried and awoke at 2:00 a.m. to confirm she was breathing). I'm not sure what contributed to me feeling like I needed to coddle her - she's healthy, fierce and independent already. I never let her sleep in the bed with us at night...the fear of smothering her was too great. I equate co-sleeping with jogging in extreme heat or doing heroin - do it even once and certain death is eminent. Our situation was fine until I realized she was too big and getting uncomfortable...and I wasn't getting anything done during the day besides stacking up hours of looking at her sweet cherub face as she slept in my arms.
So with that, I checked out books about sleep training, had Jordan pack up the pac n play, and readied the crib and (of course) video monitor. Margo was used to catching a few winks in the car seat or stroller throughout the day and getting cozy in my arms or carrier. Not to say this will never happen again, but it's too unpredictable and we needed a schedule for my sanity and Margo's health. I read a mom's notes about sleep training and this stuck with me, "I wasn't ready any sooner, but couldn't have waited another day." It was totally true. Sure, not being so flexible with my days and carting Margo around was really going to cramp my style..."see you next weekend Target" and "No, ladies, we can't meet for a late lunch today." These don't seem like big sacrifices compared to a straight 11 hours of night sleep and 3 solid naps a day though. And my husband and I watching Jeopardy in peace every weeknight while our children sleep soundly.
How did we do it? I really give Margo the credit.
Day 1 - she sobbed for about 45 minutes when I put her in the crib. I paced. I went in and rubbed her belly at 10 minute intervals. She fell asleep for about 20 minutes and I would keep her awake for an hour or two until the next nap. By night she was so exhausted that of course, she slept 12 hours.
Day 2 - same story, but this time I left the house and Jordan did it. Star husband and father. Jets pizza for everyone.
Day 3 - she cried for 10 minutes max when placed in her crib. She totally knows the drill. We have a good routine to prep for dozing and she's rocking it (not literally...Ferber says no rocking).
I'd be a wicked MomLiar if I said I hadn't gotten up at 3:00 a.m. and tiptoed to her room to place my hand under nose. I'm still a worrier, but not worried about her being over tired. I'm also not worried about leaving her with a sitter now since I can say with certainty that she'll sleep. I'm also not worried that I won't have time to do the dishes, laundry or watch the weeks worth of Ellen on my DVR - wait, I never worry about dishes and laundry...and I always watch Ellen.
