Our Sleep Training Journey :: An Update

We are now three weeks and one night into our sleep training.  Everything has been going very well.  Natalie is typically in bed by 8:00 (latest has been 8:20).  Before I go to bed, I go in and dreamfeed her until she is full.  This is a very nice way for me to settle down before heading to bed and I like the snuggles.  Eventually, we will work on cutting that dreamfeed out.

For the last week and a day, Natalie has slept until 7:30ish every day except twice.  Two morning in a row, she was up at 5:00 and 6:00.  Both days, she would lay down and be quiet but wouldn't stop fussing for long.  Her cries seemed to be ones of pain or distress, so I waited about 15 minutes before heading in to feed/rock her.  Both girls are battling nasty colds and croup.  In addition, Natalie has a bunch of teeth moving around.  Her lateral incisors are beginning to bulge so that could have been the issue.  I rocked her for a bit, fed her and put her back in bed awake. She did fall back asleep both mornings until it was time to get up.

I was concerned that this would affect Natalie's ability to truly sleep through the night.  She did stir and fuss at 6:00 this morning, but went back to sleep until I woke her at 7:40.  That was a big achievement, I was concerned the previous two mornings would set us back!

I am happy to report that we have slept through the night for over a week!!  It makes me a happy mommy!

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 14

This is the last daily blog post that I will be doing in regards to our Sleep Easy sleep training journey.  I am ecstatic to be able to report that on day 14 (2.13.12) Natalie SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am still somewhat in denial that it really happened, but here is how the night went:

7:53 - I put Natalie in bed

7:56 - Asleep - she was tired!

10:40 - Dreamfeed

There were various times throughout the night that Natalie fussed, but she never even sat up in her bed.  

6:30 - Natalie woke up, sat up and proceeded to put herself back to sleep

7:35 - Natalie started rolling around and I went in to wake her up and congratulate her on her first night with no middle of the night dreamfeeds!

Now I need to learn to sleep through the night!  I was up at 3:00 and 5:15 (of course I then had to go potty otherwise I wouldn't have had to get out of bed), I guess old habits die hard.  It has been over a year since I slept all night long.  The third trimester of my pregnancy had me waking often to go to the bathroom and Natalie is just over 10 months old and had never slept through the night.

This was a very hard process for me.  I can undoubtedly say that it was worth it!  I am still amazed that in two weeks all of the bad sleep habits are nearly gone.  If (that's a really big IF) we have anymore kids, I will not be waiting this long to sleep train that is for sure!  

The difference in our family is astounding, both kids are getting more sleep due to the strict routine we are abiding by and we all have a better temperament.  I feel as though I can function again since I'm not up multiple times a night. This is good for my family, my employer and myself.  

Thank you to everyone who has read about this journey daily and for your thoughts, prayers and encouraging words!!  They were more helpful than you will ever know.  I will continue to update our progress weekly since I'm quickly learning that sleep training is an ongoing process.  

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 13

Thank you all who have been joining me on this journey.  It is nice to know there is so much support!

Yesterday was an off day for us.  Natalie didn't go down for her morning nap until 11 am and her afternoon nap was from 3:30-5:15 so I was concerned if she'd be ready to sleep at night.

Here is how the night went:

7:58 - In bed, she really didn't eat well beforehand.  She never fussed, but was quite restless.  She rolled around trying to get comfortable and just laid awake watching her mobile for the longest time.  I wasn't surprised that she didn't go right to sleep, but I was surprised at how calm she was in her bed.  It was such a great feeling!!
8:35 - Finally asleep.

10:45 - Dreamfeed before I went to bed

I took the advice of so many of you after Day 12 and decided to stretch the middle of the night dreamfeed.  Instead of getting up at 3:30 like I had (or had been trying to) on past nights, I decided to get up at 5:00 to dreamfeed.

5:00 - Dreamfeed 5 minutes (I fell asleep in the chair for a few minutes - oops!)

7:50 - Awake for the day

I am so glad that we are not even to the two week mark and Natalie's sleep habits have so drastically improved. I honestly didn't think we could get to this point in such a short amount of time.  Had it not been for Sarah from Nurse Loves Farmer and her Sleep Easy recommendation I would probably still be getting up 2-5 times per night.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 12

If everything continues this way, I will blog until Day 14 then update weekly.  I feel as though I am blogging the same thing as of late.  Last night had a minor change, but overall it was very similar to the previous days.

Here's our night:

8:20 - In bed, we went to church and got a late start on our nighttime routine.

10:40 - Dreamfeed, but she wasn't very hungry

1:30 - Screamed for 3 minutes then went back to sleep

3:30 - Alarm went off for the scheduled dreamfeed, Ryan woke me up and we both proceeded to go back to bed.

5:15 - I woke up and realized I hadn't gotten up.  Decided to just see how long Natalie would sleep because I just wanted to go back to sleep.

5:30 - Screamed
5:45 - Dreamfeed

8:00 - Up for the day

I am really tempted to just totally skip the dreamfeed from here on out, but I am concerned that she will wake early because of it.  I am torn on what to do.  She went 7 hours between feedings last night and may have gone longer.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 11

Last night looked like many of the previous nights, however I actually got up on time for the dreamfeed!  Ryan set his alarm and I got right out of bed.  The good news is that aside from some minor fussing which she settled herself down during and two dreamfeeds, Natalie slept nearly 12 hours!

8:06 - In bed, minor fussing
8:18 - Asleep

10:40 - Dreamfeed 7 minutes

3:30 - Dreamfeed 3 minutes.  She really wanted to eat longer and was not so happy when I unlatched her and gave her the pacifier, but quickly went to sleep.

8:00 - Awake for the day

If we can just get rid of that middle of the night dreamfeed!  We will try 2 minutes tonight, 1 minute Sunday night and no dreamfeed on Monday night.  I really, really, really hope it works!!

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 10

I honestly didn't think I would make it this long.  Don't get me wrong, it is challenging hard, really hard.  Natalie has done a great job learning to sleep, but the challenge comes in getting up to the alarm at all hours of the night during this weaning process. I just don't want to do it.  I want to sleep as long as she does.  I want to  feed her when she wakes up at 5:00.  The only thing that keeps me going is my memories, I remember that we've been down that path before.  I went back to work when Natalie was eight weeks old and she was only waking for her 4 am feeding.  Fast forward 6-7 months and we were waking at least three times a night, sometimes as often as every hour throughout the night.  I do not want to go back there, ever.  So I keep pressing on, however I now must enlist help from Ryan.  I am starting to hit snooze or flat out sleep through my alarm for the scheduled dreamfeed.  So I have asked Ryan to set his alarm and make me get out of bed.  We are getting so close (insert wishful thinking font here) to sleeping for long stretches and I must press on.

Last night looked quite similar to the past few nights:

8:00 - Natalie was in bed. There was minimal fussing, but lots of playing with the six pacifiers in her bed
8:12 - Asleep.

10:30 - Dreamfeed before I went to bed

3:00 - Start of alarm sequence - which continued until 4:30 when Natalie fussed and I cursed myself for not getting out of bed at the scheduled time.  If I had just gotten up, she probably wouldn't have woke up! She cried off and on for 13 minutes

4:50 - Went in to dreamfeed Natalie, she had been quiet and still for 7 minutes so I assumed she had gone back to sleep.  When I opened her door, she sat right up - ugh!!  I fed her, but kept her awake.  She ate for 3 minutes, I put her in bed awake and she went right back to sleep.

7:30 - Natalie began stirring, but kept going back to sleep
7:50 - Up for the day (yes I was late to work this morning)

It is a good thing that I keep being reminded to look 'on paper' to see our progress.  I can see it on paper, I am more tired than ever so I don't feel it.  If someone would have told me 10 days ago that Natalie would soon only get up once/night I would have been ecstatic.  I need to remember that perspective to keep motivated to do this.  This is short term, even if it takes a month (written with pleading, "please no" undertone here).  When we're done she will know how to sleep and that is a lesson that will help all of us for the long term future.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 9

I can't believe that tonight will be the tenth day of sleep training.  In so many ways, it feels SO much longer.  Our whole family now has mild colds, the girls seem to have it worse than Ryan or myself.  I feel my body fighting it, so I am really hoping to get some sleep!

Our night went very well, even better than the night before.

8:02 - I put Natalie in bed, she didn't cry at all.
8:10 - Asleep

10:30 - Dreamfeed before I went to bed.

I was supposed to get up at 2:30 and dreamfeed again, however I hit snooze and finally turned off the alarm.  I woke up at 4:55.  Obviously, Natalie either woke and put herself back to sleep without fussing or did not wake at all.  She went 5 1/2 hours between feeds!  Incredible!

4:55 - Dreamfeed for 4 minutes

7:30 - Natalie happily woke up on her own.

Last night was a first for us, there was absolutely no crying throughout the entire night (11.5 hours)!  She went to sleep and stayed asleep the whole night (or at least fussed only a little since it didn't wake me up)!!!  I love being able to update with progress :-)

Thanks to everyone who is following our journey and your prayers for sleep!  The encouragement has been so helpful!

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 8

We have officially crossed the one-week mark.  For the first night in quite a few posts, I feel like we made solid progress last night!  I am so excited to finally be able to write those words.  I understand that in the grand scheme of things, this is short term, but while in the thick, it sure feels long.

Here is the summary of the night:

8:02 - I put Natalie in bed, she did not fuss at all.
8:09 - Asleep

10:38 - Dreamfeed (At this feeding I have started letting her eat as long as she wants to in hopes that she "stocks up" for the night.  I don't mind this feeding since it is nice to sit in her quiet dark room before heading to bed.)

11:14 - Cried for a minute and went right back to sleep

3:15 - Dreamfeed for 4 minutes (this is the feeding I am going to work on weaning first)

6:00 - Natalie woke up, sat up and began protesting.  She was pretty worked up but settled down after 5 minutes, laid down 3 minutes later and was back asleep shortly after.

7:15 - Pseudo dreamfeed - she woke up while eating for the day

Natalie slept with minimal interruption for 10 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now if we can just get rid of that middle of the night feeding and keep this sleep pattern, we will be in business.

Thank you for following our journey and for the support!!  I am hoping this is the start of a trend with Miss Natalie :-)

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 :-)

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 6

I think instead of Day 6 we should name last night, "Mommy fail". Again we are making baby-step progress, but I was not helping the situation one bit.

Here is the summary of our night:

7:55 - Natalie was in bed
8:10 - Asleep, with absolutely no crying

I put Claire to bed at 8:30, wrote yesterdays update and by 9:45 I could hardly keep my eyes open. Ryan noticed that I grabbed a blanket and put the recliner into recline mode. Since me falling asleep at this point is inevitable, he suggested that we should go to bed. He watched television in our room while I fell asleep in 3.2 seconds after my head hit the pillow. I had set my alarm for 11:00 pm, my first scheduled dreamfeed. Apparently, I was tired because Ryan said he did everything in his power to wake me up when the alarm went off and it just wasn't happening.

11:15 - Natalie woke up screaming, which woke me up and then I finally turned the alarm off (sorry Ryan!). She screamed for 4 minutes before settling back down. I was going to wait for 10 minutes of silence before entering her room to make sure she was actually asleep before dreamfeeding. I didn't set the alarm (obviously wasn't thinking there) and went back to sleep myself.

2:35 - Natalie cried, I woke up and realized that I had totally skipped her first dreamfeed. I really needed to feed her!
2:45- Dreamfed her for 7 minutes (instead of the scheduled 3) since I needed her to eat longer for my sake.  I also was feeling awful about skipping the first feeding and wanted to let her eat as much as she would have if we had done the 4 minute and 3 minute feedings.
2:52 - Put Natalie in bed, somewhat awake.  She rolled over and went right back to sleep.

6:15 - Dreamfeed for 4 minutes

7:45 - I woke Natalie up for the day.

The good news is that she went 7 hours between feedings.  This is a stretch that I didn't think she was capable of.  We also only had two dreamfeedings throughout the night.  However, I am a bit worried that I set us back with my longer feeding and sleeping through the first dreamfeed.

We are nearing in on a week since we began the sleep training, I sure hope that things really start to click this week!  We should be done with at least one dreamfeed in the next few days.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 5

I would like to thank everyone who has been so supportive of our sleep training. It is a huge encouragement during this physical and emotional challenge. I am starting to feel fatigued from waking to the alarm clock to dreamfeed and waking when Natalie cries. Like so many of the nights, last night was a combination of success and set-back.

Here is how it went:

8:05 - Natalie was in bed, she didn't cry or complain one bit, but it took her 15 minutes to fall asleep

11:18 - She screamed for 3 minutes and was very angry

11:30 - Dreamfeed, she somewhat woke up when I got her out of bed. I wondered if I didn't let her sleep for a long enough time after the screaming

2-3:25 - She was angry, very unsettled. She was rolling around a lot and fussing quite a bit. There was lots and lots of up and down throughout the hour. However, since she kept settling herself down we didn't go in her room to do any checks.

3:35 - Dreamfeed: again, she woke up when I entered the room. I think I need to give her a longer time after fussing to feed her.

7:00 - She began to stir and since it has nearly been 11 hours since she initially went to sleep, I woke her up rather than doing another dreamfeed (we wanted her to take an earlier morning nap anyway).

She took two pretty good naps today, but again had a hard time going to sleep. Lots of playing in her bed (which is MUCH better than screaming).

I am encouraged that the feedings were stretched once again she went 4 hours twice and 3.5 hours once. I also count it as a success that there were technically only two dreamfeeds and one was before I even went to bed. However, she was quite unsettled awoke easily. The fussy time for 1.5 hours was perplexing since she had been doing better settling down. However, I read that they often have a setback sometime in the first week so I am hopeful that is now over with.

I know this system will work, it may take a little longer than I had anticipated. It will be so worth it when we sleep through the night!!

Natalie also has the signs of the start of the cold that has been plaguing her sister. I am hoping that this doesn't set us back too far, but I also know how to get us back on track.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement. I am hoping to blog about more exciting things in the very near future ;-)

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 4

Day four felt very much like days two and three. I don't know how to feel about this. On one had I am VERY thankful that she hasn't had an awful night, but on the other-hand I was really hoping for some more progress. Typical me, I am having a hard time being patient.

Here is how our night went:

7:59 - Natalie was in her bed
8:06 - Asleep

10:20 - Fussy for two minutes

10:55 - Dreamfeed for 5 minutes

I set my alarm for 2:00, apparently I didn't want to get up and hit snooze until 2:45.

2:45 - Dreamfeed for 5 minutes

4:30 - Natalie was standing and screaming
4:35 - Asleep

5:45 - Dreamfeed for 4 minutes

8:15 - Woke up on her own

There were a few other times through the night that she fussed, but it wasn't long enough to even write down. So here we are again, she fussed more times than the previous night but the duration of each time was shorter. We did successfully push her feedings past three hours as she went 3.5 and 4 hours so I am encouraged in that regard. I am ready to not set my alarm any longer. I do know that the system works, and I will continue to dreamfeed until she is successfully weaned.

I think I will try to push her feedings again tonight in hopes that she gets used to not having a full tummy and is able to stay asleep.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 3

I'm not really certain if we made progress on day three, but we did not go backwards.  I was certainly more tired today, but I am always tired by the end of a week.

Here is how our night went yesterday:

7:45 - Natalie in bed awake
8:02 - Asleep with hardly any crying, just the initial protest when I walked out of the room

10:40 - Dreamfeed, 7 minutes.  Natalie didn't wake up at all, put her back in bed with no response.

2:00 - Dreamfeed, 6 minutes.  Natalie woke up when I put her in bed, but rolled over and went right back to sleep.

4:35 - Woke up, stood and screamed in bed for a few minutes, continued to fuss on and off while laying down and rolling around
4:50 - Asleep

5:00 - Scheduled dreamfeed.  However, Claire woke up when her pull-up leaked and I went in to change her bedding.

5:12 - Natalie started screaming while wrapping up with Claire.  This was such a bummer since I was just about to head to her room to feed her!  She was fussing a little more than she had 45 minutes earlier, but not enough where we felt like we had to do our check-ins.  She was laying down for the most part.  Ryan and I agreed that it would probably just cause her to be more upset if we went in.
5:27 - She was laying still and quiet.  I decided to wait five minutes before I went to dreamfeed her.
5:32 - Headed to her room to dreamfeed.  Natalie cried as I was about to open her door.
5:37 - Dreamfeed while pseudo-awake

7:45 - Woke Natalie up

Natalie made progress by decreasing the number of times that she was awake.  In addition, she slept her longest consecutive stretch (8:00-4:30).  However when she was awake the fussing increased and it seemed to take her longer to settle down both times.  I am not sure if this is an improvement or more of a lateral move.  I am hoping to see very real progress over the weekend!

Please keep the sleep prayers coming!  I so thankful that I am seeing progress, but I know that our dreamfeeds are getting shorter.  We are getting closer to stopping them all together.  This makes me nervous, since she hasn't increased her daily calorie intake very much.  I don't want her waking out of hunger (or the habit of eating) and setting us back.

Our Sleep Training Journey :: Day 1

It wasn't as bad as I originally thought it would be. It almost felt a little too good to be true!  Here is how our night went:

7:45 - Nursed Natalie and tried to keep her awake
8:00 - In her crib awake, standing and screaming when I left the room
8:05 - Laid down
8:11 - Asleep
Since she has been able to put herself down initially, I was not terribly excited at this point and I just waited for her to wake up.

10:03 - Woke up, standing and screaming
10:07 - Laid down
10:08 - Asleep
This was a victory since she had yet to do this.  Granted, I was always very quick to get her and feed her in an attempt to keep her from fully waking up.  I didn't nurse her and she went right back to sleep!

11:08 - Go in room to get her up to dreamfeed, realized that Natalie had a messy diaper and had to be changed.  Dreamfeed for 10 minutes first since I didn't want her to fall asleep nursing after the diaper change
11:18 - Diaper change
11:20 - In her crib, standing and screaming when I left the room
11:20 and 30 seconds - Laid down
11:21 - Asleep

11:35 - Woke up, standing and screaming
11:39 - Laid down, she was still a little fussy (protesting cries rather than screams)
11:48 - Asleep

2:38 - Dreamfeed - wouldn't eat longer than 7 minutes
2:45 - In her crib and asleep

5:10 - Woke up, standing and screaming
5:12 - Laid down
5:35-6:00 - Restless, rolling around and fussing but not awake
6:02 - Asleep, I went in to dreamfeed
6:09 - In her crib and asleep

7:45 - Began to move around, I went in and woke her up

I am encouraged after night one since it seems to be working.  She is actually putting herself back to sleep!!  Not only that, but she did not get up from 11:48-5:10, that's the longest stretch she's had in a very long time.  I realize that this is just the beginning and we are far from the end, but I am hoping that she gets it soon!!

For her naps today, I asked her daycare provider to wait at least two hours before putting her down for the morning nap.  She did as I requested, but Natalie just laid there quietly for an hour and a half without sleeping.    She took nearly a three hour nap in the afternoon.  I really hope that she's not over-tired tonight.  Time will tell.

As I wrap up this post, Natalie is in bed.  She went down at 8:02, laid down almost immediately and then alternated between laying, sitting and standing with some crying.  She was asleep at 8:10.

I appreciate all the encouragement and prayers!! I can truly feel the strength from them.  I am no longer anxious over the process, I have a peace that this needs to be done for all of us.  I am praying that night two is an improvement.

And so it begins...our sleep training journey

I was honestly hoping that we wouldn't get to this point.  I was hoping that Natalie would miraculously reverse her bad sleep habits and sleep through the night.  Obviously, that hasn't happened.  She is 9.5 months old and as of late, is sleeping worse than she was at one month old.  At one month she was waking on a consistent schedule, every 3 hours.  Now every night is a guessing game, she is up once Tuesday night followed by five times Wednesday night.  A mommy-blogger/twitter friend Sarah recommended Sleep Easy a few months back.  She had wonderful success and swears by the sleep training methods.  It took me a couple more months of no sleep, waking multiple times to nurse Natalie, bringing her into our bed where no one really got quality sleep before I actually purchased the book. I can't put it down, every chapter has something that helps me understand why I need to improve Natalie's sleep habits and to do so I must make some changes.

The principle is to not 'reward' the crying at any point.  Tonight I am planning to attempt to beat Natalie to the 'wake up' punch by setting my alarm and dream feeding her.  If she wakes before the scheduled times, she will have to cry.  We will go in and check on her at consistent intervals so she knows we haven't abandoned her, but we will not reward her behavior by giving in and picking her up.  Part of the problem is that we have always given in with her, it is the easy way out at 2:00 am, she eats for 5 minutes and drifts back to sleep.  More sleep for all, win-win right?! Not at all since she has increased the number of feedings at night, relying on me to help her back to sleep.  It's now time for her to learn to put herself back to sleep.

I put her to bed an hour earlier than normal, she went to bed wide awake.  She cried hard for 5 minutes then fussed for another 6 minutes before drifting off to sleep.  This was nearly two hours ago.  She is still sleeping, She has always been able to initially go down on her own, the problem has been in the middle of the night.I am praying harder than ever that it is only a few days of torture training for her and she will have successfully learned how to put herself back to sleep.

I have all my supplies ready, my journal, clock and book (it has a section for panicking, it's bookmarked).  I would really appreciate prayers and encouragement as we begin what we hope will be better sleep for all.