Raidra
05-30-2006, 10:10 PM
I just had to post this minor sleep victory of Lachlann's, as I'm so proud of him (and us!). And yes, it is sort of a pat on the back for me.
We've always took the stance that our kids will learn how to put themselves to sleep in their own time. It's our job to watch for signs of readiness, and gently teach them how, but we shouldn't rush them. When Colwyn was 7 months old, he started fussing when I'd try rocking him to bed, so I tried putting him down in his crib to fall asleep. He learned to soothe himself to sleep within two or three days, with very little fussing.
Even though every kid is different, when 7 months came and went for Lachlann, and I was still having to feed/rock him to sleep, I started to get a little frustrated. But lo and behold, yesterday for his afternoon nap, he fussed so much while I was rocking him that I put him down in his crib and patted his back until he fell asleep. We did the same for last night, this morning's nap, and tonight (not this afternoon's nap.. he wanted to be rocked). I know it's a minor victory, as I still patted his back until he fell asleep, and it's not every time.. but it's progress! I was just starting to worry that I'd end up with a 2 or 3 year old that needed to be rocked to sleep every night. Of course, he still cosleeps half the night, and has a bottle (of water) when he wakes at night. Baby steps! I'm just proud that my parenting philosophy is holding up through my second child. :)
Of course, he'll probably regress tomorrow, but that little glimpse of independence will probably get me through a few more months of rocking my back out.
We've always took the stance that our kids will learn how to put themselves to sleep in their own time. It's our job to watch for signs of readiness, and gently teach them how, but we shouldn't rush them. When Colwyn was 7 months old, he started fussing when I'd try rocking him to bed, so I tried putting him down in his crib to fall asleep. He learned to soothe himself to sleep within two or three days, with very little fussing.
Even though every kid is different, when 7 months came and went for Lachlann, and I was still having to feed/rock him to sleep, I started to get a little frustrated. But lo and behold, yesterday for his afternoon nap, he fussed so much while I was rocking him that I put him down in his crib and patted his back until he fell asleep. We did the same for last night, this morning's nap, and tonight (not this afternoon's nap.. he wanted to be rocked). I know it's a minor victory, as I still patted his back until he fell asleep, and it's not every time.. but it's progress! I was just starting to worry that I'd end up with a 2 or 3 year old that needed to be rocked to sleep every night. Of course, he still cosleeps half the night, and has a bottle (of water) when he wakes at night. Baby steps! I'm just proud that my parenting philosophy is holding up through my second child. :)
Of course, he'll probably regress tomorrow, but that little glimpse of independence will probably get me through a few more months of rocking my back out.