I’ve sleep trained 2 out of my 3 kids and I didn’t with the first one because, well, because he was my first one. That and he was a gaggy baby and would cry until he threw up which meant a lot of clean up for me so sleep with him I did until the ripe old age of 3. So anyway, the thing about sleep training and this is the WHOLE thing about sleep training is that you have to be ok with the crying. That’s all there is to it. The way I do it anyway. I've tried the other method where you go in in intervals to quietly reassure them you haven’t abandoned them but it just didn’t work for us. They would cry longer or harder when I left each subsequent time which made it harder on everyone. So I just straight “cried it out”. It’s the fastest and though initially very painful, ultimately the least painful method. Again, in my opinion. But you do you and kudos for finding what works for you.
With Kyler at around 7 months, it took 3-4 days of crying with the longest being 40 mins. With Everett at around 6 months, it took 2-3 days of crying for 25 mins. Of course there are periods of regression because they get sick or they’re just being motherhaters but each time you just re-commit and it usually takes within a couple of days.
Listening to your baby cry uncontrollably is hard. It’s not natural. It goes against every maternal instinct in your body. But the payoff is so worth it. To be able to do their bedtime routine and put them down and leave the room while they drift off to dreamland on their own is so freeing. To have them self soothe when they wake in the middle of the night rather than call for you is the BEST.
So my (unsolicited) advice to new mommies or tired mommies that need to take the nights back from their children is to just do it. Cry it out. It’s hard. Turn on the white noise. One in the baby’s room and one in your room. Turn it on high so you can’t hear them screaming, crying, whimpering for you. Turn on your monitors so you can keep an eye on them and make sure they aren’t hurting themselves, but keep with it. Don’t give in. Don’t give up. In the end, your baby will be so much better for it. They will be better sleepers and self sufficient rather than whiny, tired, dependent babies. And you will be a better mother for it. A well rested mom who doesn’t hate life because she’s running from room to room soothing babies. It'll be one of the best things you ever do as a parent. I promise.
