Sebastian slept in his crib - can I get a hallelujah!
Sebastian is by far my most needy baby. My husband blames me because I constantly hold him and we're attached at the hip. I blame my ppd/ppa because I felt like to be a good mom that kid couldn't cry for more than .5 seconds - newsflash that's impossible. Babies cry. I'm working on it, okay?
For the past nine months, Sebastian slept in a bassinet next to our bed and then when he grew out of that I ATTEMPTED to put him in his crib. He basically hyperventilated immediately because I wasn't with him, so I brought him back into our room, but this time into our bed. BAD IDEA.
Not only did my sleep suffer, but he became even more attached to me.
So here's what we did differently to get him into his bed. (p.s. this is only one successful night, I'll report back to tell you if this strategy is still working in a few months).
1) Bath time. Sebastian LOVES bath time. We call it the baby spa. He splashes and has too much fun. So a nice warm bath gets him clean and allows him to burn off a little late night energy.
2) Book and bottle. I read him one book and gave him a 6oz bottle of formula. He downed it like a champ and was engaged in the book from beginning to end.
3) Hatch on and cuddles. We turned on the Hatch to a nice rain noise and blue light and then I cuddled him for a good half hour. Could I have shortened that time? Yes. But I was enjoying the cuddles just as much as he was.
4) Laid down drowsy. He was *almost* asleep when I laid him down, but the second he realized he wasn't attached to me he freaked out. I expected this to happen. I picked him up one more time, cuddled him a little more, gave him a kiss and told him I loved him. Then I laid him back down and left the room.
5) Let him cry it out. He started crying again, so I decided to go downstairs and give him some time to cry it out. I distracted myself with unloading and reloading the dishwasher so I couldn't hear the tears. Before I was even done reloading Todd came in to let me know he settled down and was asleep! I think this was my biggest takeaway. I can't handle the tears so I had to remove and distract myself with a task.
He slept soundly through the night and woke up around 11 hours later.
If you're struggling with a sleep schedule, know that *most* Moms have been there and struggle too. There's no manual (even though there have been plenty written) on how to best sleep train your baby. Go with the flow and if you find something that works - stick to it. I will be saving a chore for me to accomplish while Sebastian cries it out from here on out.
When did your baby start sleeping in their crib? Let me know!