Sleep Training
OK, here's my situation. My Mummy has had me for almost 7 months. The
first few months were great - I cried, she picked me up and fed me,
anytime, day or night. Then something happened.
Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep through the
night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting
worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's
pretty common after Mummies have had us for around 6 months.
Here's the thing: these Mummies don't really need to sleep. It's just a
habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep - they just don't
need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the
Crybaby Shuffle.
It goes like this:
Night 1 - cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's
hard to see your Mummy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding
yourself, it's for her own good.
Night 2 - cry every 2 hours until you get fed.
Night 3 - every hour.
Most Mummies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights.
Some Mummies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These
Mummies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give
in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her
STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every
night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she
is just resisting the change.
If you have an especially alert Mummy, you can stop crying for about 10
minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall
asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mummy once
stayed awake for 18 hours straight, so I know she can do it.
Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it
and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come
up with.
My sleep sack tickled my foot.
I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
I burped, and it tasted like pears (I hadn't eaten pears since lunch -
what's up with that?)
The cat said "meow" (I should know. My Mummy reminds me of this about 20
times a day. LOL.)
Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the
monitor in the other room.
Too hot, too cold, just right - doesn't matter! Keep crying!!
It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my
goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings
in order to reset your Mummies' internal clocks.
P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck
on them, NO milk will come out! Trust me.
