To cry it out or not to cry it out? That is the question!

    When your baby isn’t sleeping, do you let him “cry it out?” At 5 months old it sure seems as though my son should be sleeping "through the night." How do I make that happen? I’ve had many people tell me I just need to put him in the crib, close the door, and let him “cry it out.” It just seemed so wrong on so many levels! I just kept thinking my baby’s cry is designed to let his parents know he needs something. His cry could be signaling a number of things: exhaustion, fear, pain, hunger, panic. I can only imagine his thought might be, “Mommy, where are you? I need you! Why aren’t you coming to help me? I’m scared! I don’t feel safe.” Whatever the reason for the cry, I’m not okay with letting my helpless 5 month old cry it out. Sleep is very important to babies, but there MUST be a better solution.  The good news is, there is! My sister recommended a book called the no-cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley. 

    Elizabeth Pantley is a mother of four and writes not only as a researched expert, but also as an experienced mother of four. The book is designed to educate the parents on safe sleeping, how babies sleep, normal sleep patterns, required hours of sleep, realistic sleep expectations, and how to teach your baby to adjust his circadian rhythm.  The secret is creating a routine. The book is exquisite, because she allows each parent to create her own sleep plan based on your baby. Although I believe this is an effective way to sleep train your baby, it will take time.If your baby takes a long time to fall asleep, wakes up frequently, takes cat naps, and you both need your rest, I highly recommend getting this book! It is a quick read and it can't hurt to try right! 

We have started our first day of sleep training, so I will keep you posted on our success. Our first night was as follows:

Time Awake	How put back to sleep	Time Asleep
7:00pm He went to bed
8:54pm	Rocked, walked, layed with him, and finally let in to nursing him	9:29
11:00pm	Gave him his pacifier	11:10
11:19pm	Gave him his pacifier, patted him	11:25
11:30pm	Gave him his pacifier, and rocked him standing up for a minute	11:31
2:00am	He cried but was still asleep
3:17am	He was ready to eat	3:40
5:50am	He was ready to eat again	6:20

Total times he woke up: 7

Total time he spent awake: approximately 1.5hours

* I am not being paid to promote this book in any way! This is the best thing I have found to help me and my son get better sleep.