Every nap time and every night as I try to put Hyrum to bed, I think about how much easier and time effective it would be for me to just let him "cry-it-out." My pediatrician, friends, books, etc. keep reminding me how it would only take 3-5 days. I'm pretty sure the method I'm using is going to take a month or two. That's a big time difference. That's a month or two of it taking 10-20 minutes to get Hyrum down without resorting to full-on crying, a month or two of waking up repeatedly in the middle of the night, a month or two of not knowing when I'll just be able to put him in the crib and have him fall asleep completely on his own.
But I think it's worth it. Though it's a month or two, I don't have to do 3-5 days of listening to my baby cry and wondering when it will end. That much crying might feel like longer than a month or two in the moment so really, maybe I am making the more time conscious choice? Who knows...
For now I just keep reminding myself how much this is teaching ME. There are so many things we want right here, right now. And frankly, most things in this life that are important are worth waiting for. In this case, getting my baby to sleep for longer stretches at night and being able to fall asleep on his own are my goals. It means I can't just resort to my easy methods of just nursing him to sleep when he's grumpy. It works in the moment (oh, how it works!!!) but in the long run, it's not helping him.
So, here we go...patience Amy, patience.
Definitely be patient. What I have found as a new mommy is that if I am the one that has to help my baby to sleep, it could take a whole year to get him to fall asleep on his own--not just 2-3 months. But everyone is different. If you can't stand to hear your baby cry, then by golly, give him ways to fall asleep with your help! But if listen to his crying and think that it is leading to a skill that will help both of you, that could also be good.
ReplyDeleteI happened upon your blog from facebook--the binky post. It is very interesting! There are so many parenting philosophies out there, so do what you feel is best.