(This photo is blurry cuz it's a baby monitor screen shot, fyi.)
There were those who said it couldn't be done. "He's too young," they said. "When babies under 6 months cry, they actually need you." I received much more discouragement than encouragement. After posting a status on Facebook asking fellow moms when their babies learned to self-soothe, most moms responded that their babies learned between 8 and 11 months. Still, I decided to give it a shot.
We went through a rough week. Ethan started teething (for real this time) and wanted nothing more than to feed (constantly) and to be held (constantly). I was unable to bathe, use the toilet, or even eat. I was drained, both physically and emotionally. I decided to give sleep training a shot. After all, Ethan sleeps SO WELL at night, nap time shouldn't be any different.
I did a lot of research online and to my dismay, there wasn't very much about sleep training for naps. So after my 5-day success story, I decided to do my part to help out other moms who might want to sleep train their babies for naps.
This is an exhaustive log of our 5-day sleep training process:
Sleep Training: Day 1 (Friday, June 5th)
Finished 210 ml of formula at 2:30 then changed poopy nappy
Put down at 2:45
Started crying at 2:52
Went up at 3:02 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:05 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 3:15 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:15 and he immediately started crying
Stopped crying at 3:22
Slept til we woke him at 6:22
Sleep Training: Day 2 (Saturday, June 6th)
Put down at 9:43
Started crying at 9:46
Went up at 9:56 and picked him up
Put him down at 9:58 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:08 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:09 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:19 and picked him up
Cried nonstop til 10:28
Put him down at 10:28 and he continued crying
Went up at 10:38 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:39 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:49 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:50 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 11:00 and picked him up
Put him down at 11:03 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 11:33 and picked him up, changed his poopy nappy, and decided to feed him and try again later
Attempt 2:
Put down at 12:21
Started crying at 12:27
Went up at 12:37 and picked him up
Put him down at 12:40 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 12:55 and picked him up
Decided to try again later
Attempt 3:So there you have it, folks! It IS possible! The common denominator between the successful times was that he was fed a bottle beforehand. At first, this was frustrating me. Was he not getting enough to satisfy from breastfeeding? Is this going to be the start of a bad habit we struggle to break when he is older? I did some more research (I love information on babies!) and learned that breastmilk and formula metabolize differently in a baby [source]. Since Ethan is somewhat used to having bottles of formula, he is used to having more in quantity. What he gets from breastfeeding, though enough to keep him healthy and full, isn't quite enough to keep him satisfied enough to self-soothe, just because it isn't as much as he would get from a bottle of formula. And THAT'S OKAY. (I'm repeatedly telling myself that....It makes me feel better.) Who cares that he needs a bottle to fall asleep on his own? It works. My baby is growing and he is fed and he is loved. That's all that matters.
Finished 210 ml of formula at 1:33 and changed poopy nappy
Put down at 1:39
Asleep by 1:43
Woke up at 5:08
Sleep Training: Day 3 (Sunday, June 7th)
Put down him at 3:30 and he immediately started crying
Cried til 3:35, stopped, started again at 3:47
Went up at 3:47 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:50 and he immediately started crying
Stopped crying at 3:56 but continued fussing til 4:13
Started crying again at 4:30. Guess he wasn't sleepy!
Sleep Training: Day 4 (Monday, June 8th)
Fed for 21 minutes and kept falling asleep on the breast
Put down at 9:06 and immediately started crying
Went up at 9:16 and picked him up
Cried consistently, put down at 9:18, and he continued crying
Went up at 9:30 and picked him up
Cried consistently, put down at 9:32, and he continued crying
Went up at 9:47
Drank 140ml of formula from 9:50 to 10:05
Changed poopy nappy at 10:10
Put down at 10:18
Fussed til 10:21 then fell asleep
Sleep Training: Day 5 (Tuesday, June 9th)
Finished 210 ml of formula at 9:34
Put down at 9:35
Asleep by 9:55
