Sleep Training? Day One

Date: August 11, 2009 11:16:05 PM

Sleep training: Day 1

Today I set up the pack and play in the corner of my room. Owen took a three hour afternoon nap and then slept from five to eleven. So if sleep begets sleep, I might just sleep tonight!

Brad fed him a bottle at eleven, then I changed him. We lay on the bed together with the blue light on. The first time he yawned I put him in the p and p. Then when I heard him yawn again I turned off the lights.

He has been huffing and several times I’ve thought he was going to cry but he is quiet right now. I've heard him yawn a few times. Tonight is also the first time he is sleeping without his swaddle. He has really been fighting it recently. But he punches himself in the face without it .

Still quiet! Am I going to sleep more than three hours in a row? I won't get my hopes up. My mom said I slept through the night at six weeks. I would also put myself to bed. He made a little noise but he had been silent for a minute before that.

Another yawn followed by huffing. A soft coo. A yawn without huffing. Several louder coos, like he's saying, Anyone there?Huffing.

It has only been three minutes? WTF

Grunting, quiet, snort, coo, annoyed coo. More yawns. No huffing!! Sounds like he is eating his hands. This is hard. I'm going to listen to my iPod.

Didn't listen to iPod. It has been eight minutes, no crying. Things are looking good. Nine. Yawn. Coo. No huffing. Deep relaxed breath! Soft coo that trails off at the end. Ten minutes. No sound. Big snort. Smaller snort, movement. Loud coo. No huffing. Yawn. A protest fuss. Small coo.

Thirteen minutes. He must just be winding down. Quiet for minute. Faint snort. A few coos and huffs. I am going to send him relaxing energy. He responds with a loud protest cough. He's getting more worked up. He just said “hi”, with a southern accent.

Eighteen minutes. Quiet with moments of soft protest. Big yawn. Protests. Quiet.

Twenty minutes. He's getting worked up. Calling out ayeeee. Pre cry cough. Frustration. Cough. Ayeeee. Ayeeeeeeeeeee. Maybe he needs the swaddle.

If he starts crying I am going to wait five minutes before going to him. Frustration, quiet, frustration, coo. Big cough. This is serious.

It has been twenty five minutes. Crying has begun. Full cry. Sniff cry. Three more minutes. Hope Brad has ear plugs. First time I haven't immediately responded since he was born.

Louder. Sniffles. Two more minutes. Building steam. He is getting mad. One more minute. “Why have you forsaken me” type cry. I can visualize his lip quivering.

Losing steam? Two more minutes? Killing me not so softly. It sounds like whyyyyy? This is Torture. But not sleeping is also torture and I have had three months of that.

Quiet. Huffing. Weak cry. Quiet. Ten minutes. Crying, full. He was faking going to sleep, just resting. Getting more energy. Ok. Two more minutes. Weaker, trailing off. Quiet.

I could take down a ninja right now. My sympathetic fight or flight response is in high gear. Sniffles. Quiet. Seriously quiet.

Thirteen minutes since he started crying and now quiet. No huffing. No coughing. Is he suffocating on his snonkey? I will never be able to sleep. My heart is pounding. Still quiet. I don't want to wake him with the sound of me throwing up in my mouth.

Minutes of quiet and now full on, pissed off cry. I am going to soothe him.

End of Day 1: I picked him up. I tried to rock him to sleep. Finally I swaddled him with one arm out. Then I nursed him until he was sound asleep. I put him in the pack and play. So tired. Going to sleep at one.