2nd night of Ferber technique
We have followed instructions to the letter, and J’s bedtime routine has only changed in the fact that we don’t put her in the cot asleep. This resulted in her having a hissy fit and crying, so we followed the technique and went in after 10 mins, didn’t pick her up and said ’shh shh’ continuously whilst rubbing her. We do have the problem that she likes to stand up in her cot so we were concerned that it was going to be a pain. After 35mins the crying tappered off and by 40 minutes it had gone very quiet.
I was going to take an early night but unfortunately that didn’t happen and I was dreading the night. I shouldn’t have worried so much because this morning we woke up at 6.30am and I don’t know how it happened but J had slept through the night!! I can count on 1 hand the amounts of times she’s slept through. I have a feeling that the crying she did before she went to sleep tired her out.
I do however feel better for having a whole nights sleep, kind of a new woman lol. Hoping that this isnt a one off and if by a miracle she’s learnt from her one time experience of controlled crying that we are not going to entertain the idea of going in immediately and comforting her. But I do have a feeling that will not be the case so early on.
Obviously I will be reporting back after tonight. The one thing that i haven’t mentioned before is what sleep she has during the day. So will write here my schedule of what we do:
Get up
Breakfast
2 hours later milk and then an hour to an hour and a half sleep.
1pm Lunch (no milk - but juice)
2pm Sleep (even if she doesn’t want to go to sleep I still put her down for her sleep)
4pm snack
6pm Dinner
7pm bath
7.30pm milk and then bed
I think it is important that J gets her naps during the day and nothing after 3pm. I was once told before that sleeping after 3pm affects your sleep pattern at night. I can from 1st hand experience tell you that this is correct, I suffer myself from sleep paralysis and if I have slept after 3pm notice that it is heightened.
(Click here to read how the 3rd night went)
August 21st, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I stumbled across your website the other day and I think it is wonderful that you are documenting your own experience with this tecnique. I am seriously considering starting it for my 7month son who still refuses to sleep the whole night. I haven’t quite worked up the courage yet but I am feeling a little more confident after reading your first couple of posts. I hope baby J is just a really fast learner and your good night’s rest is a sign of things to come. From what I’ve read on other websites however, it normally seems to take 1-3 weeks so try not to be too disappointed if it was just a conincidence. Keep up the great work! Julie
August 21st, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Julie, it has taken me quite some time to pluck up the courage to do this technique. To me it goes completely against your motherly instincts, however I had read a few articles on the web and had spoken to friends as well. My dad even commented last night ‘I wondered when you were going to do something like that for your own sanity.’
I completely take on board the fact that J might have slept all of last night as a complete fluke so am again fired up ready for tonight.
I am sorry to hear that your 7 month old still refuses to sleep, you too must be exhausted from it. Although I dread the nights because of what we need to do, I dreaded them before knowing that I was going to be woken up. When I look back at my experience I always thought that I’d have the perfect baby - Fool i am, she may not be perfect but I want her to be happy and I want to be happy too and its silly but I’ve always thought of this technique as a last resort when it really shouldn’t have been.
I hope that are able to continue reading my blogs and the progress that we make with baby J.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Thank you Lainy, Yes I am exhausted but I think, like you, I’ve reached the point when I must take action before I go bonkers!
I’ve done a lot of research on the web but hearing from a real parent as they’re doing it is far more valuable than the preechings of any so called ‘baby expert!’
Thank you for this, it means the world to me and best of luck for 2nite. Julie
August 21st, 2008 at 9:32 pm
p.s I’m loving the funky little picture that appears by all my replies!