As most of you know, if you are on Facebook, Savannah has a double ear infection. We went to the doctor and while we were there, I began to discuss with the him my concern about her sleepless nights. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I went into all the fun details. From the time frame that she decides to wake up during (2 and 5 AM) to how she sounds when she wakes up (screaming bloody murder). The doctor's response was what I expected. Since she has this double ear infection, of course, her ears are probably bothering her, at night more so. She has two top teeth that have broken through and those could also be the reason for her restless nights. So basically we have 2 legit reasons for her sleepless nights. My concern then turned to when she doesn't have ear infections and is still continuing to wake up. In case you haven't noticed, I am seriously worried about this. We CANNOT keep waking up EVERY NIGHT to comfort her. Call me a bad mommy if you want to but we just can't do it. The doctor then began to explain a method we should try. It is a cry it out method but this is how he told me to do it. He said that once Savannah was well (no ear infections, cold, etc.) that if she wakes up crying, wait about 5 minutes then go in and check on her. Now, when I go in to do this, he said I should not immediately pick her up but instead to feel her and make sure she doesn't feel feverish, talk to her in a sweet voice, maybe check and see if she is wet, if so, change her diaper, give her a hug and kiss and leave the room. If she is still crying after 30 minutes, he said to go back in basically do the same thing. Keeping it simple, by just making sure she is ok without holding her and cuddling her. If she is ok, leave the room and if she cries, then just let her cry. Don't go back in no matter how long she cries for. That is the hard part for me. I can let her cry but then she will get so worked up she will start choking and then I feel bad, so Aric or myself will go in and check on her. Another hard part about letting her cry, once we realize she is ok, is going back to sleep. We don't have the biggest house in the world, so when she cries, it is crystal clear and at that point we CANNOT go back to sleep. So if she were to cry for 2 hours, well then, we might as well pop in a movie and hang out. (not funny, but you know what I mean?)
We have tried just letting her cry it out, but I am hoping and praying that by doing it this particular way will truly help Savannah get back to a normal night sleeping pattern.
I am going to have to wait about 2 weeks before we start so I can be sure that her ear infection is completely gone. I will post an update once we get going on this "5-30" method going.
The doctor claimed that he has told other parents to do this and it has worked. Now, only time will tell.
Have a wonderful afternoon and stay warm because, BRRRRR! It's cold outside! :)
God Bless,
Emily
2 comments:
I have used a modified version of this on a few occasions. After Ethan would have been waking up during the night for a while due to a cold, teething, etc (legit reasons) he would continue this waking out of habit. Not fun!! I would do a 5-10-15-20 min. method. Once I got to 20 min. I would keep checking on Ethan every 20 min until he stopped crying. Usually he would fall back asleep before the second twenty min. I would not pick him up any of the time, but instead rub his back and if he was standing up just lay him back down, maybe sing for a short bit and the walk out. After a couple of nights the waking up habit was broken. I know it's hard and not fun, but mommies can't have sleepless nights- we are just to busy!! :) I'll be praying forSavannah to feel better! :)
Emily dont feel like a bad parent Preston and I went through this and typically i can judge by his cry if its worth getting up. Once i realized its a habit and that nothing is wrong i started letting him cry. Now the first few nights were really hard because he like Savannah would scream and cry and work himself up but i would turn off my end of the monitor ( or mute it if you have the option) and eventualy he goes to sleep. It has definately worked for us. However me going in and checking on him only makes it worse. When i go in and check on him he cries for longer. But i would try what the doc said first. I hope it works for you!
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