This Guy

I was given this book from a lady in my old ward when I had just had Jakob. I have loved it and used it with my older two kids. Jakob started sleeping 12 hour nights at 2 1/2 months and Isabelle started sleeping 10-12 hour nights at 4 1/2 months.

Basically it teaches you the importance of sleep and why your child should sleep. It helps you recognize the signs your child shows when they are ready to sleep. He emphasizes getting your baby on a sleep schedule. It states the importance of consistency in bedtime routines and where your child sleeps. And, it teaches that letting your child cry it out is a okay. The crying part is hard. Realizing how important sleep is to your child and that socially they will cry because they want to be with people over sleep helps make it easier. Babies don’t understand how important sleep is and we as parents need to make sure they get it.

So, I know that this system works but frankly I was too exhausted with Karter to do everything that was required to make it work. I did enough and over time (it took a bit longer with him) he got on a great schedule except for his nighttime wake-up. Well, this last week we decided to do the work to change this. I have had 3-4 nights where he has been up crying (screaming) for 1-2 hours. It is so hard to not go into him, especially when I’m tired, but I have stayed strong. He has also had 1-2 nights this week where he has slept through the night. So wonderful to go to bed and know that I can sleep until the morning. He seems well rested the mornings that he has slept all night. He wakes up happy and content. I’ll let you know how long it takes to break him of this nighttime waking. I know the older they are the harder it is for them to lose a habit. So, I leave you with thoughts of many more restful nights to come.