So maybe you saw on Insta last month a couple days where we tried out a new sleep routine? No? Well, basically it was me posting pictures of my baby monitor of my screaming baby.
I had and still have btw nothing against the CIO method. After talking to one of my friends who has 2 kids, it sounded like her little routine was working perfectly for them. And she had so much time for her and her hubby at night together. I thought hey.. she’s got something here.. I need to try it!
Before we started I thought we had a problem.. See every night after bathtime (yes she gets a bath pretty much every night= MESSY EATER!).. we then would go and cuddle in bed together until she fell asleep.. I would then go transfer her to her crib and tip toe out.. If she woke up I’d huddle over the crib stroking her hair until she passed back out. Sometimes I was standing there, listening to the water on the sound machine trying not to pee my pants for 10mins or more..
Then she’d maybe sleep til about 2 or 3, cry and stand up so I’d go in there, grab her and bring her back to bed with me and then we finished sleepin together til about 630- 7..
And during the day? Well naps lasted about 30-45 mins in the morning and then maybe an hour in the afternoon.
When I talked to my friend.. her kids were taking two, 2 hour naps! Say whaaa?! Again I thought.. man the freedom! I need that!
So after a playdate with my friend she asked if we started it and I just kept putting it off.. I was scared.. anxious to start. I was open to CIO.. everyone on IG was telling me “oh it’ll be so worth it”.. “It’ll only be a few days and she’ll get the hang of it”… Really supportive! So I was like ok I got this..
The first night, it was hard.. I put her in her crib, laid her down and stroked her hair a little bit while singing a couple songs but she was still awake. And then I’d just walk out as she’s standing up reaching for me, crying! It was terrible! But from what I was being advised from others or even a little reading in did about it.. Everyone said you need to put her in there awake so she knows to fall asleep on her own.
It took only about 10mins the first time so I thought ok that sucked but we got this.. I can do it for a couple more days.. Well that time she only stayed asleep for a couple hours. Again I read.. when they wake up do not pick them up.. so that was hard. I went in there to calm her down and she just kept trying to grab my arms to pick her up. Long story short it took about 30mins the next before she wore herself out from screaming/crying so much (yes with a couple of my pop-ins to try to get her to calm down after maybe 5mins.. then 10mins after that etc.. ). That night sucked.
The next day (Friday) included naps this time.. so I thought ok.. we’re not much of readers since she can’t ever sit still for a book but let’s try a new routine.. Read a couple books then sing her a couple songs and put her in her crib.. awake.
That’s the part that was the most difficult. She was so used to falling asleep with me/ on me/ next to me.. What I wasn’t understanding when doing this is I should get her drowsy.. then put her in her crib.. Not just wide awake.
Again long story short, there were many screaming and crying (to the point she needed me to change her diaper- poor thing) naps and that night was tough. But I kept telling myself they say by 3 days they got it.. So Saturday was day 3 I was still willing to try it out but then I started to get depressed.. That morning after her rough nap.. I was crying with her.. I missed our old routine. I also was getting texts from a friend who clearly did not agree with CIO and point blank (I know she didn’t mean to) made me feel like an awful person or that I didn’t do my research.
I called my sister and dropped K over to her.. I needed a little break. I was getting so frustrated with her.. Not liking her. I was scaring myself of how I was feeling, and then sad I was feeling like that.. so I knew I just needed to get away for a little bit.
I went and returned a few things.. picked up a couple things and at 2 different stores I kept seeing babies.. and then I heard them cry and how crazy as it sounds but it was like the cry was haunting me! I was already feeling like crap and then hearing more sad babes was my breaking point. I called one of my best friends, who also has 2 kids and asked her what she did.. And her words were like music to my ears.. She never did CIO (also wasn’t against it- just didn’t do it) but instead would lay with the boys until they fell asleep. And it works for her!
After picking up my sweet girl and feeling drained and down still, my hunny knew I just needed a little time with my fam so we loaded everyone into the car and went for a short little ride.
Just walked around a little bit.. went to the beach but then the dogs weren’t allowed so it kinda turned into a bust. We just stopped and got her a quick dinner since I really hadn’t planned that part very well and little miss had her first Happy Meal. She actually didn’t care for it at all. Which I guess is good.. Just enjoyed her milk and a few fries.
For some reason, after hearing my other friend saying how much her kids sleep I thought I was doing everything wrong. When really what we were doing was the right thing for us. What I definitely learned from this was not every baby needs the same sleep routine.. and not everything works for everyone. We did though pick up a bedtime routine that we stick to pretty much every nap and at night. But I still get to cuddle with her sometimes or lay with her while she falls asleep.. depending on our moods pretty much. If I need her cuddles or am missing her we go and lay in bed for a little bit. And still when she wakes up in the middle of the night, I’ll usually bring her back to bed with me. We both sleep better and it’s just easier.
Now that I’ve written a novel.. sorry I think maybe someone will benefit from hearing our little story with it..
Again thanks friends who reached out on Insta with the encouragement! It meant a lot and I learned a lot too, using everyone’s suggestions and tips!!
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