Day 9 - Letting Baby Cry

Letting Kaycee cry herself to sleep = hardest thing I've done as a mommy, so far! 

We knew that it's best for the baby to teach them to self soothe and to go to sleep, by themselves, when it's nap time. We also knew that it was time to start teaching her this skill, to establish a good routine, good metabolism, and good sleep habits. We also knew that this is good in theory but really really really hard emotionally. 

We started last night and let her cry herself to sleep. It took about 20 min. Almost too long for me to handle. I had to turn the sound off on the monitor and the video off, so that I couldn't hear or see her crying. I would check back every few minutes, and want to cry myself as I watched her cry and scream. I wanted to hold her and rock her to sleep. But Anthony was strong and helped me stay strong. Finally, SHE DID IT! She fell asleep. 

So I tried again this morning. After her morning feeding and wake time (time spent out in the kitchen with Grandma and Grandpa, exploring the world!) it was nap time. I put her in her bassinet and walked away. (hardest thing ever!) I listened to her cry for 17 minutes before she fell asleep. That's a 3 minute improvement from last night! We're making progress. It's so hard to let my perfect little angel cry.

Her next 2 naps were not so good. She screams, at the top of her lungs, and it kills me every time. She did not fall asleep within the 20 minutes, either time. Kaycee Lou what am I gonna do?

"If you want a fussy baby, pick him up every time he cries. Never let him learn the skill of self-soothing and always run to his side whenever he fusses." We don't want a fussy baby. We're gonna kick that habit! Wish us luck! 

Kaycee slept so well last night! She gave Anthony and I a total of almost 8 hours of sleep, in the form of 3 naps. At her 11 o'clock feeding, she was too tired and couldn't wake up. It was almost scary. We tried talking to her, that didn't wake up. We tried playing with her hands and feet, that didn't work. We tried stripping her down to her diaper and rubbing her tummy, that didn't work. We tried a wet wipe on her feet, tummy and back, that didn't work. Finally, we decided to put her back to sleep and let her wake us up when she was ready to eat. Boy, was that a good decision! She slept for a total of 3 hours and 45 min during that nap time! Daddy should have a good day at work today! Praise to God for answered prayers!

My prayer for today is that Kaycee self-soothes quickly and mommy doesn't lose it emotionally every time she cries herself to sleep.