I asked to put up this posting, as i have a penchant for the controversial. The editor-in-chief kindly allowed it.
So, about 2 weeks ago Vin had a tough night. The kind where you'd have to wake up every hour just to put his paci back in his mouth. This brought about a family meeting where we discussed options. One - we are not going to play paci games. Two - he wasn't sleeping/napping very well. We decided to give the Ferber method a try. This is the method spoofed in the movie Meet the Fockers. Also known as the Cry-It-Out method. For wikipedia fans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferber_method
One - paci games:
After consulting w/ several books (DaVinci Code, Halequin Romance Novels, The Bleak House, etc. - not very helpful), and our own sensibilities, we determined that the kid no longer needed to be attached to the paci. So, we fought the good fight and had this problem licked in one very LONG week. He now generally refuses to even take a paci, but will accept one if we are in a restaurant or the like. Nice! Most importantly, he no longer needs a paci to fall asleep which means when he wakes in the middle of the night he puts himself back to sleep.
Two - sleeping/napping
While the Diesel was sleeping relatively well at night, we were struggling to get him to take solid naps during the day. Here was the ritual: 1 - paci in; 2 - swaddled; 3 - rugsucker proxy white noise 2 inches from his ears; 4 - constant mach 1 swinging. This worked well and he would sleep for approx 2-3 hrs at a time. As you can see from the above, this was not easily pulled off - especially if we weren't at home for any reason. This began another epic battle wherein our nerves (mostly Dia's as this was a nap time struggle) were shot and our kid cranky. He would sometimes lay in his crib sobbing, wimpering or generally complaining until he went off to restful bliss. However, we can happily say that Diez now naps in his crib sans the paci and swaddle. Shewee! A tip of the hat to Dia for all of her determination in this one.
The result of this was longer nightly sleeps (10-12 hrs at a shot) and, for some reason, a much happier kid.
You stay classy webloggers-
Jello
5 comments:
A hilarious and entertaining blog post. Well said sir. Well said.
-Mister Shaw
LOL! I love the nickname. I can't wait to meet lil' Vin Diesel!
Congratulations you two! How wonderful to hear you guys are getting some sleep out there. Wish us well as we attempt to wean Ada off of her nighttime snacking at 4:00 am... We've been giving in for tooo long. It must stop I say.
Oh dear- we are in for a rough one tonight I fear... eek!
Thanks, Jay, for giving me the chance to say that Meet the Fockers was a total hoot! Is there
anyone funnier than a deadpan Ben Stiller?!
Anyway, back to babies - way to go, everyone! Back in the dinosaur ages, after I'd have done everything I could and I was zombie-tired from no rest, I'd just put my poor kids down in their cribs (tummy down - HORRORS!!!), close the door, crawl back into bed and turn a fan on high! Somehow we'd all sleep, and they've survived to blog on today.
How far you've all come - I'm glad I didn't know as much, though :-D
Blessings & hugs & can't wait to meet the "Diesel"!
MommaGum
I hear ya Momma Gum. We were so leery to put him down and let him cry because of all the stuff we read on how it would damage him emotionally, make him an unfulfilled adult, etc. Thank God for parental instincts.
After the first night we modified the Ferber method to just putting him down and letting him cry until he fell asleep. Funny you mentioned the fan because we have one right next to our bed for that very purpose.
According to the prevailing thoughts of our generation we may be "cold parents" but our household is a much happier one. :)
Oh, and we are HUGE Ben Stiller fans!
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