Sleeping Woes and Weeping

Once again, we are back to the subject of sleep. Every one told me how easy it is to let a baby "Cry it Out". I was a little scared to try it. I had heard horror stories of babies choking as they got sick from crying so hard. But I had heard so many testimonials of how fast it works; that within a couple of days, their babies slept through the night and were happier. So I tried a mix approach: I let them cry until they were too upset to calm themselves. I then went in and gave them their Binky's and talked to them until they were calm, after which they would go to sleep.


I felt awful! If anything, I slept less! I stayed awake long after they fell asleep thinking about how my actions were probably causing long term neurological damage. I had a constant prayer in my head the whole time they were crying, asking Heavenly Father if He could please not let them die, or have traumatic associations with bedtime. I have taken too many child development classes.

Three weeks later, aka last night, after being awake for 2 straight hours stressing, I decided that it just wasn't going to work. It was as if I had only taught them to cry all night rather than sleep. So I spent all morning reading articles about alternative 'sleep training' methods. For any of my fellow sleepless moms, I have my two favorites listed here:


http://www.babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=451.0 An interview that discusses a pick-up/put-down method that stops your baby from having sleep associations.


http://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-no-tears-methods_1497581.bc -- no tears methods (I like Hogg's method the best) great article on a few different sleep training methods.

I decided that since my babies are together all day long, and have been even before they were born, that maybe they don't feel comfortable when they are alone and can't see anyone else. So tonight, I put them at different ends of Elysha's crib. I let them sit in there at first, playing with their stuffed animals.





Elysha invented a fun new way to play peek-a-boo with Ashley. She would look at Ashley, smile mischievously, then scream "Ahhhhhh!' as she did a nosedive into her giraffe. She would then pop back up, waiting for a reaction from her adoring sister. Ashley was in hysterics, she thought it was so funny! She started to copy her, screaming and diving into her lion. I was just waiting for them to do it at the same time and bonk heads.


I then sang a song, read them a story, and put them in their cribs. They were content. I was content. I will let you know how it goes from here, but so far we are off to a good start!