Making the Decision to Sleep Train

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Oh sleep! How I have missed you so!

Everyone tells you to be prepared to not sleep when you have a baby. And like duh. Right? Except you just can’t completely understand what it is like to go without sleep for days, weeks, and months on end until you are there yourself, in the trenches. The exhausting, foggy, never ending trenches.

Let me tell you, I feel like I tried everything: Cooler room, warmer room, cloth diapers, disposable diapers, swaddles, sleep sacks, footie jammies, nightgowns, and a new mattress. Literally everything to get Wyatt to sleep through the night. Every once in a while, it seemed like something might work; he’d only wake up once the first night. But nope, then we were up 2 times and back to 3.

Ahh! There were some mornings I felt like it would never end! All baby stages are a phase right? They’ll never last forever! But here we are, night after night, week after week, month after month. A change had to be made.

Deciding to Sleep Train

Finally, I had it. At 2 A.M., ten and a half months in. I had a fever of 102 and was up with Wyatt for the second time that night and I made the decision. We were going to sleep train. I didn’t feed him that feeding at 2 A.M. I also didn’t think he was ever going to fall back asleep, but about an hour later, he did. We were in it. We were going to do it. I was going to get some sleep!

Why the Decision is Difficult

Why did it take so long to make this decision to sleep train? Well for a couple of reasons.

1. We were breastfeeding. And, in the beginning of breastfeeding, at the newborn stage, you feed whenever that baby wants to eat. Sometimes that is every hour. So, that was the habit I had gotten into and I didn’t want to deprive Wyatt of milk if that’s what he really wanted and needed.
2. We were in a routine. Yes, it was a sleep deprived one, but I was also getting SOME sleep. Wyatt would wake up, I would put him in bed with us, he would nurse, and we would both fall asleep for awhile. I would then wake up about 20 minutes later and put him in bed. I didn’t want to somehow make it worse and get even less sleep!
3. We are in the same room. Yes, Wyatt shares a room with us. He sleeps in a pack-n-play by our bed. No, at this point, it is not by choice. We only have a two bedroom house and we tried the kids sharing a room for two nights. If we want sleep, it’s not an option. We also tried him sleeping in the living room. It totally ruined his nap. So, with us in the same room, it is REALLY hard to ignore him when we wakes up and cries!

Enough is Enough

So I had been thinking about trying to sleep train for awhile, but I wasn’t 100% sure if it was worth it. Was it going to work? I didn’t know, but at 2 A.M., I had enough and decided it was worth a shot! Wyatt is 10 months old now and shouldn’t have to eat multiple times a night, breastfed or not, and at this point is it really going to get any worse? I doubt it. Let’s give it a go.

Is it Working?

Now the big question. It is working? Um… Maybe? Of course, keep in mind that I have not hired a baby sleep coach. I have also not read a whole lot of research. I’ve scoured a few articles here and there, but a lot of it is what I think feels right for us. Could I be wrong in what I am doing? Maybe.

But, I am getting more sleep. Last night (a week after we started) was the first night he slept through the night. Typically, Wyatt has only been up once a night instead of 3. He has also gone back to sleep quicker when he doesn’t hasn’t been fed. This is a process.

Hopefully in another week I can tell you we are sleeping 7:30 – 5 every night, but that also could just be a pipe dream. Either way. We are going to keep powering through a little bit longer and see where we go. Progress is being made, so there’s no stopping us now!

Experiences??

What’s your experience with sleep training? Do you have a favorite method that worked for you? Or is your child one of those golden angel babies that slept through the night from the beginning? Give me hope here people!!