Sleepy Head
Abel helped prove us right when it came to his sleeping habits.
I am actually talking about his tendency of not putting himself to sleep habits. We read the books, tried a few new techniques, but nothing worked. Since he was a few weeks old I could tell that he was not the cooing type of baby who just nursed and then you put him in his crib so he could nestle in for the night. It was always a battle. We tried the whole cry-it-out mess, which may "work like a charm" for some but Abel's temperment wouldn't allow it to work and my heart fizzled every time we attempted it. We sensed his dread and uneasiness about falling asleep by himself. I knew he just liked the comfort of one of us (usually me) helping him doze off. I didn't mind, except for the nights when it seemed we had a gremlin.
We stuck to it though and now Abel is older and wiser. I knew we could get him to learn about what sleep is and to like the idea of it. We started "playing" sleep. Laying his Elmo down on the floor and tucking him in and then laying next to him making sleep sounds. Then we started showing him how to fall asleep laying on our bed, this took some time. I am happy and proud to report that now, after all this time, Abel has his night time stories and we lay him in his crib with his cuddly friends and he curls into sleep. He no longer fears it and we are relieved. I am proud of us for helping him figure it out without resorting to tactics I didn't feel comfortable with.
I am actually talking about his tendency of not putting himself to sleep habits. We read the books, tried a few new techniques, but nothing worked. Since he was a few weeks old I could tell that he was not the cooing type of baby who just nursed and then you put him in his crib so he could nestle in for the night. It was always a battle. We tried the whole cry-it-out mess, which may "work like a charm" for some but Abel's temperment wouldn't allow it to work and my heart fizzled every time we attempted it. We sensed his dread and uneasiness about falling asleep by himself. I knew he just liked the comfort of one of us (usually me) helping him doze off. I didn't mind, except for the nights when it seemed we had a gremlin.
We stuck to it though and now Abel is older and wiser. I knew we could get him to learn about what sleep is and to like the idea of it. We started "playing" sleep. Laying his Elmo down on the floor and tucking him in and then laying next to him making sleep sounds. Then we started showing him how to fall asleep laying on our bed, this took some time. I am happy and proud to report that now, after all this time, Abel has his night time stories and we lay him in his crib with his cuddly friends and he curls into sleep. He no longer fears it and we are relieved. I am proud of us for helping him figure it out without resorting to tactics I didn't feel comfortable with.
posted by Tracey at 10:33 AM
3 Comments:
Good for you! Whatever works, man, whatever works.
:) You are doing a wonderful job raising an awesome kid.
My dad told my sister and I to pretend we were sleeping if we were having a hard time falling asleep. I still do it sometimes. So Abel is in good company. At least I think so. :)
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