By the time my son turned four months, I was so exhausted that I was determined to sleep trained him. All these books kept telling me that he should be sleeping by the time he weight 11 lbs. Well, since I was breastfeeding I had to be up every 3 hours to pump. So I read all the books and tried to sleep train him. He would cry and one night he even threw up from all the crying. I said to myself, why am I putting him through this? What good is it going to do if he’s throwing up. I threw all the baby sleep training books out. None of it worked for me. Not even the no cry sleep solution. But one thing did work for me and that is mother’s instinct. It didn’t feel right for me to force him to sleep on his own. The only thing he’s ever known his entire life was the comfort of sleeping with mommy and daddy. Hassan is one now and we are still happily sleeping together. He sleeps through the night now without a bottle. I’m a full time working mom so the only real time I have to cuddle with my son is when we’re sleeping. Although he can well sleep on his own in his crib, the bed just feels empty without him. One day, he won’t need me or want me to sleep with him. So until then, my only advice is to enjoy every second of it. I miss those days when he was so tiny and all he could do was look up at me with his big eyes. So I am glad that I listened to my heart and let nature takes its course. While you may be sleep deprived today, just know that it doesn’t last long. I wish I can give you a timeframe as to how long this sleep deprivation phase will last. But I don’t have an answer for you. Every child is different. I remember when my cousin was born, you could never hear sound from her. It was like her parents brought her home sleeping. She never woke up in the middle of the night and when she was awake she was happy. My son came out with eyes wide open and you couldn’t get him to sleep for anything. But I’ve learned to adjust to him instead of forcing him to adjust to me. I’ve learned that even though it’s frustrating and tiring, sleep training is too harsh. Self – independence will come with time. It doesn’t happen just because a child or baby need to sleep alone. The whole point of this is listen to your heart. If you feel that it is right to sleep train, then go ahead and find a method that works. If you are okay with co-sleeping, who cares what anyone has to say. Do what feels right.
But don’t just take my word for it.
Namaste
Sleeping Training. May 28, 2010
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