Feed, change, book, cuddles, reassurance.
Into bed, blanket up, eyes lock.
Nightlight on – stars spotted.
Goodnight Toby, kiss, reassurance.
Silence.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nights 2 & 3 of sleep training the Tobester were a mixed bag, but we’re definitely seeing some progress with the self-settling.
We had a fairly quiet Sunday so we could stick to his eat/sleep routines as closely as possible. After self-settling at 6:25am (yes!), Toby was up for the day at 7:40am. This is almost unheard of for our early bird; who is always the first to kick off the dawn chorus. We had breakfast, a big play and then attempted to play the naptime card about 9:30am. Thirty minutes later he was down, only to be up 30 minutes later! We tried to resettle but he wasn’t having a bar of it, so we gave up and went shopping.
A few hours later we arrived home to find he was asleep in the backseat. Loathe to stay in the car reading the Internet for up to an hour we drove straight out of the carpark and off for a tiki-tour. We managed to keep him asleep for his full 45 minute nap. Another 30 minutes at 4pm and we had a fairly good base to start the night from. The Lamari Parenting article did say that day sleeps could suffer under sleep training so we’ve been prepared for the shorter sleep cycles… and subsequent grumpy baby.
Unfortunately our bedtime routine didn’t quite go to plan. The Tobester threw up his bedtime milk feed all over me, then his dinner all over Neil, me, himself, the sofa and the floor. His Exorcist-esque vomit impressed us both, but left us with a very upset and exhausted baby. And a tonne of washing.
Night 2: How it Panned Out
7pm: Down for bed
10:15pm: Cries briefly but self-settles
12:50am: Wakes & cries so I give him a feed to make up for his expulsion of dinner.
4:15am: Wakes and starts sucking my shoulder so we feed & he’s out like a light 10 minutes later.
7:30am: Wakes for the day! Another sleep-in for mum and dad.
The Verdict: Getting better. We’re seeing some definite signs of self-settling. It’s also getting easier to listen to him crying as we’re paying attention to the pitch and sound as per the Lamari Parenting article.
On Day three we got a good 1.5 hour morning sleep out of Toby, followed by another 30 minute sleep in the pram while we were out. He ate really well all day and our bedtime routine was Exorcist-spew free.
Night 3: How it Panned Out
7pm: Down for bed
10:30pm: Toby obviously hears me say I’m off to bed because we hear a token squawk, but nothing more.
2:30am: Wakes for the first time!! Unfortunately hubby has already been in twice to check he’s still breathing. We feed and he’s back off to sleep. This is the best single stretch of sleep he’s had since before Christmas.
6:20am: Wakes for the day.
The Verdict: We don’t want to celebrate just yet, but things are definitely looking up for the Tobester (and us). He is self-settling several times a night, so we think he’s finally getting it. Hopefully the 7 1/2 hour sleep stretch isn’t a 0ne-off.
How Life Has Changed 