Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 7

Day 7 was way more challenging than the first six days.  This was also the day where I learned my breaking point. Claire has shared her cold with her little sister and Natalie has been congested the last couple days.  So I was concerned how this would impact our sleep training.  We had a rough night, but I am not sure if the cold was the culprit or not.  Here is how our night went.

7:53 - Natalie was beginning to fall asleep while nursing so I promptly put her in bed
8:03 - Asleep, she never sat up

I was planning to dreamfeed her at 10:30.  However our challenging time began just before that.

10:20 - Screamed for two minutes.
I then wanted to wait 10 minutes after she was quiet to make sure she was totally asleep.
10:31 - Screamed again, this time stood up in full protest.
This pattern continued for nearly an hour.  The time in between the protesting was beginning to get shorter and she was not laying down as much any longer.  When she would lay down she was extremely restless and wouldn't hold still.  A minute 'quiet time'  between screaming outbursts became a long time.
11:15 - Decided that Ryan would go in for a check-in
11:20 - Natalie hadn't settled down at all and her cry was becoming more intense and sharp sounding.  Both Ryan and I agreed that something seemed wrong rather than just protesting being alone.
11:25 - I went in and held her to get her to calm down.  She was quite congested and it took a long time for her to settle down.  Once she calmed down, I fed her but I was careful to not let her fall asleep while nursing.
11:35 - I put Natalie back in her bed, she protested but quickly quieted down
11:42 - Asleep

2:45 - Dreamfeed

6:30 - Dreamfeed

8:00 - I woke Natalie for the day.

Looking back, I am unsure if she wasn't feeling well or if it was the final "extinction burst" as it is called in the book.  It is one last final push for the 'old way' before they totally give into the sleep training method.  I am still stumped today.  I guess time will tell.  At the time it was happening, I was sure something wasn't right, but now I am doubting myself.

I am encouraged that Natalie slept for over 8 consecutive hours.  That is a big accomplishment in our world.  I scheduled her first dreamfeed a little earlier today to see if she could get past that fussy time that she has had the last few days that normally begins somewhere between 10:20-11:30.

Tomorrow marks a week for our sleep training.  Natalie will be 10 months old on Thursday, I can't believe it has been that long since I have slept through the night!  I am hoping that by the time she's 11 months old, I will be sleeping again :-)