Sleep Training Part 1

That's right ladies and gentlemen, you read it right, Part 1 of 2. Sleep Training was a long journey for us.

Sleep Training. Probably the hardest thing I have done as a mom. Even harder than the no sleep thing. Ok, I won't push it, but they are kind of one in the same.
First, I want to say that I was that person that said, "I will never co-sleep." HAHA. Yeah right, when you have to work the next morning and the only thing that will get your baby to sleep is sleeping in your bed, we'll see how good you are at "never co-sleeping."

When Carly was about 6 months old, she was only waking up one time at night and sometimes she would sleep through the night. It was great. I felt like God had actually blessed me with a great sleeper. Then one night Carly had her first fever, and was up and crying most of the night. As a first time mom I wasn't even sure what to do, or if what I was doing was the right thing to do. She slept with us for the next 2-3 nights, and then just like that she was herself again. Smiling, playing, and happy. I felt like she was good to go back to her crib. Boy, was I wrong! She was like "No mom, I like sleeping here." I wasn't getting her in her crib for the life of me.

Excuse me, that's my side of the bed.

Fast forward to Carly being 1 year and 1 month old. I was done with co-sleeping and frankly, I needed my sleep back. I have never been a good sleeper, but not sleeping at all is torture. I asked my husband to move the crib out of our room and into her room upstairs. He didn't move it for the next 3 months. I honestly think he was having a hard time letting go of our baby. Still to this day he tells me that he misses her with us, but he loves that we get to cuddle again. 

Can I have my husband back?

 

At first I was all about the no tears method. Putting her to sleep in our room and once she was asleep, taking her up to her room. Well at 3am we would get a screaming baby and no sleep. Then we tried the "let her cry it out" method. She cried for 2 HOURS, and I just ended up feeling like a crappy mom. I was in a terrible mood at work, she was tired and cranky most of the time, and there was really no progress. The anticipation of bedtime was so stressful for me. I didn't know what I was going to get that night. That lasted for about a week.

Then I got serious about this and the last week of September I made it my goal that by the end of October this baby would sleep in her room, in her crib, and all night. I did some research online and honestly, after reading a bunch of articles, I just ended up feeling like I was doing everything wrong and like a crappy, crappy mom (Yes! Double crappy!).