Sleep Update

It has been one week since we started the sleep schedule training. Before I give the update, I did want to clear a few things up. We never intended for Joey to sleep through the entire night without him waking up...yet. First off, he is only four months old. Secondly, he is still nursing. All we really wanted out of this sleep schedule training is to get Joey on, well, a schedule, and to get him out of our bed!

I would like to announce that we have accomplished both! Joey is sleeping in his crib in his own room! He is also "sleeping" for about 12 hours (this is not 12 hours of consistent sleep, he does nurse a couple of times a night, but he does go back into his crib after each feeding)! He also has a real bedtime, 730 PM, now.

This training was no walk in the park, though. This has actually been the toughest thing we have ever done as parents, thus far. Listening to your child cry for hours seriously hurts the heart and soul!

Michael and I failed the training the very first night! After 30 minutes of non-stop crying, we took Joey out of his crib and he slept with us! Ugh! However, the second night, we stood strong and left Joey in the crib...for all 1 hour and 50 minutes of his crying spell! The third night was the same way. After about 2 hours of crying, Joey finally fell asleep in his crib and stayed there all night long! I do have to get up about 2-3 times a night to still nurse Joey. Since there are three adults that live in this house, we may start using some bottles and taking turns on the night shift. I'm only getting 2-3 hours of sleep at a time and that is just not cool.

The 4th, 5th, and 6th nights, Joey fell asleep at right around one hour! Then, these last two nights, Joey has only been crying for 20-30 minutes!! YES!!!! I really hope this is working (I don't want to say it is and jinx it). I must admit, it is very nice not to have Joey in our bed anymore. I did bring Joey into our bed at 2 AM the other night because I was falling asleep nursing him. Once he was in our bed, I remembered why we were doing this training again! Joey is a kicking fool!

We will continue on with our training and, hopefully, Joey will lay down and not cry one of these days. I also must admit that it is nice to have a "schedule". Now that we know what time Joey needs to be in bed, it has actually been easier to do things. Plus, now I know that once he falls asleep, his is out until around 2 AM. This is perfect for when Michael and I want to go out. I'm not so worried about Joey being a little butthead and driving April crazy! :) Once we get this going to bed thing down, we may start on sleeping through the entire night! You should only break one habit and begin another at a time, if you want success.

(P.S.-I know none of these photos correlate with sleep training, but I have no photos of Joey sleeping. I am way too afraid that I would wake him up and have to hear hours of crying again. I love this blog, but not that much! So, instead of just having another post with a lot of me yakking, I thought I would include some random photos for you Joey stalkers!)