Sleep Training: Day 1

After last night, I`d finally had enough.  After the usual bedtime attempts, crying it out, and the usual shenanigans, Brielle finally settled down at 1 a.m. Before that, she slept for 20 minutes here and there. Well between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., I was still up 3-5 times with her. Nathanael woke up at 6 a.m. and would not go back to bed. I probably got somewhere between 2 and 3 hours total sleep (not consecutive). This pattern has gone on for far too long. Though I`ve read 5-10 books about sleep training, today I was on the search for a sure-fire solution. I am desperate. I found one more book I had not yet read. The Sleep Sense Program. I bought the ebook version of it and spent most of the afternoon reading through it,  or at least through the most relevant parts. Honestly, it`s not rocket science. It pretty much the same thing I`ve read before, just packaged a little differently. It`s more straight forward than most of the books I`ve read, though. It`s a little more...here`s what you need to do, here`s what to expect. It`s a no-nonsense approach. Less theory. She says it like it is. It gives numbers, as in the number of minutes to do this or expect that. It gives me an idea of what`s reasonable. I like that. I need that. I have a good feeling about this one.

Tonight is Day 1. I`m preparing myself for a bit of a tough night. I`m hoping I`m stubborn enough to not resort back to the old ways of eventually becoming so tired that she ends up in bed with us at 4 a.m. The plan is to wean her cold turkey. No more co-sleeping. No more all-night-buffet. No, that does not mean letting her cry it out all night long. If absolutely necessary, I will feed her one time in the night, but only if absolutely necessary. I`m actually hoping to instead give her a bottle in the night if I have to. Even my trusted pediatrician has assured me that she only needs one feeding in the night (if at all) once I have her on solids. I put her to bed quite a bit earlier than usual (6:40 pm) tonight. It took only 20 minutes for her to fall asleep tonight after our bedtime routine. She woke up again 20 minutes later, though, and we were off to the usual protesting. Eventually we got her back to sleep on her own (without me nursing her). It took a long time, though. It will likely be a rough night. I *think* I`m mentally prepared for it, though.  I have a plan after reading the book. Insert self-talk. Okay...I can do this! I need to do this!