Sunday, October 4, 2009
Maggie took a big-girl bath, tonight. Up until now we had been using one of those smaller basins that sits in the tub and I have no idea why we hadn't moved on from it sooner. I guess we were just short-sighted as to what she's capable of. (This has been a recurring theme, lately.)
Our other revelation is that she's actually – despite my earlier complaints – totally capable of sleeping through the night. We discovered this after coming to our wit's end with night wakings and sleep deprivation and deciding to try the old "cry-it-out" technique again. We talked about this at length; how we felt about, how long we could stand the crying, at what point we would cave... but decided that anything was worth trying. To our very pleasant surprise, Maggie made it easy on us.
The plan was to put her in bed – awake but drowsey – and allow her to cry. We would come in at intervals to scratch her back and let her know we still existed, but the rest was up to her. This, of course, was hell and my guilt was increasing with every passing minute, but then... gasp!...silence. She actually fell asleep!
It was very humbling to realize that while she may want us at bed time, she doesn't need us. The following nights have gotten better and better. The tears are brief and she's sleeping more and more soundly. I feel absolutely spoiled with how much of my own sleep I've been able to catch up on!
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Glad you were able to let her cry it out and it was successful!! It is the best thing ever to do (even though you don't think so at the time!) My pediatrician has us do it at 4 months and I followed her advice and thankfully all 3 adjusted within 2-3 nights and I was able to get back my full nights of sleep again! You will be so happy to be well rested again!!
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