Sleep Training....

David and I have had so many problems trying to get little P to take naps, to stay asleep during his naps, and to sleep longer stretches through the night....I only feel the need to blog about this because it will be apart of our "family album" when I make a book out of my blog.  This started right after my mom left Japan, when he was two weeks old and has continued up until now. The situation had gotten progressively worse to the point of him eating every 1.5-2 hours around the clock, with him not really sleeping during the day. Other than the sleep issue, which causes a lot of crankiness, P is a dream...On the days that we got naps out of him, he was an angel and not so much on the days where we didn't. He started sleeping in the car, so recently we have been driving him around for 45 minutes to an hour, just so we could get a short nap out of him...It was a very sad, sad situation. Per the advice of our pediatrician and support of a dear friend, we started letting him cry at nap time and bedtime. It sounds evil and mean and cold, but this child wakes up with a smile on his face now and goes to sleep peacefully without nursing (I am still in shock) or being driven or rocked. It took about 4 days of scheduling to get to this point. He cried for 15 minutes each time, with one exception, which was much longer.  Today there was not a peep for both of his naps and bedtime. We still have some nighttime things to figure out, but I am so proud of the little man! He has adjusted beautifully. I finally feel in control of my life and feel like I am giving him the best start in life. He needed sleep, he just did not know how to get it. I am hoping the PTSD will fade away over the next month and then we will ALL be sleeping peacefully. With sleep, he is the mellow, calm baby I knew he wanted to be! And, after promising myself I would never let him cry it out ever, I have to admit, it worked wonders for us. Like my dear friend said.....TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES...Naps recharge everyone.

Naps before sleep training.....

if we were lucky enough to get a nap.

After sleep training...

Imagine Preston sleeping in his cradle in his own room with his little blankie close to his face...No pictures yet..I am still to scared to wake him up by taking his picture...I think this little fellow gave me PTSD with his sleeping habits...I still tip-toe by his room, speak in a whisper, and try not to sneeze in the house, if he is sleeping....Life was very, very difficult before this :).