JANUARY 15, 2012
sara’s Reply: “Hi! Thanks for checking in, I was sick with the stomach flu sorry for being MIA. Well we were making progress sam was in bed from 630-7 every night and he would sleep till about 330-430 then nurse then pretty much go back till 7. I also was putting him in drowsy awake he would cry and it would take us a few tries of soothing picking up but he would fall asleep on his own. He also is napping at least hour and half to 2 hours in AM and same in afternoon. thanks, sara”
unfortunately, the night following, these nights was not so great for sara and sam. sam did digress a bit and sara went back to feeing him more than just the 1 time/night. also, she mentioned she ended up bringing sam to her bed to sleep half way through the night. of course there is absolutely no blame to sara, as when you are exhausted and just want to sleep you will often do anything for it! i assured sara that it is totally normal for babies to take a step back once you start to see results. this is very common and will work itself out if you remain consistent with you sleep training process! i also assured sara that the fact sam is falling asleep unassisted with just a few tears is amazing progress and to remain positive!
my reply to sara in regards to sam’s digression is below :
“hey sara, sorry you haven’t been well, no fun! as for sam….i would say if he was going until 3:30 or 4:30 without feeds i wouldn’t feed him before then. so if he wakes at 2:37 i wouldn’t go to him. if you want to go to him after 10-15 minutes and soothe him, than that’s okay, but i would lay him back down awake, drowsy, not asleep. you have to be consistent. so that means never bringing him to your bed. this will create bad habits. one night will not cause the habit but if it happens too often it can. he may have an off night if he is not feeling well. so don’t get discouraged. try to stick to the same soothing routine, time frame of crying and stay in his room while soothing. also, if you are feeding only once a night, than stick to that. by being inconsistent he will become confused and will back track in his progress. let me know what you think and keep me posted. Tia”
sara’s reply the very next day, january 16, 2012:
” You are totally right! Well I am happy to report last night was a great night! Sam was in bed at 730, he did fall asleep on boob, but slept till 450 nursed and went back to sleep till 750. Thanks for your help! Ill keep you posted hopefully we are back on track!”
From here on out little sam has been going to bed and sleeping all night. sara continues to feed him on the occasional night, but this is something we can easily wean out when she feels she’s ready!
Congratulations to sam and his family!! through their commitment, consistency and dedication their entire household is catching their zzz’s!!
don’t forget, you can be too! just click the “request a sleep consult” link on the homepage and sleep will be on your way!