throwing rules out the window.

Okay so I need you to close your eyes and try to imagine a type A person who also happens to be a laid back (we won't say type B because that is a bit of a stretch) mom.


That's me. Crazy organized, an avid researcher, and a little very structured BUT with an ability to go with the flow. I know it doesn't make sense. It's possible, I promise.


I am a new mom and I am learning. I research, research, research, pick what I think is best, try it out and if it doesn't work go to Plan B. When I find a plan that works, I stick with it and try to keep anyone who may "babysit" to do the same. (Can you hear the type A oozing out?)


With that being said, once said "babysitter," whether it be a teacher, nurse, grandparent, etc. understands our plan, I start to trust their opinion if said plan isn't working. Get it? Probably not... We'll move on.


So sleep training. Yes, that is referring to training your child to sleep. They say... (haha there is the researcher again...)


They say that babies have to be taught how to sleep. Healthy sleep habits, they call it. So after weeks, even months of letting Cooper do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted (while mommy secretly, patiently waited, was dying for a schedule) we realized it just wasn't working (thank God). Some days he would barely sleep during the day and then be up all night, but those days where he took a few naps he slept better.


So here is the sleep training we came up with, which we pulled from various sources.


1. Establish a bedtime routine and complete it about the same time every night.
Ours is basically bath @ 7pm, bottle @ 7:30pm followed by book time and bed @ 8pm. We also sing some lullabies if he isn't interested in the books or if we finish reading early, etc.


2. Day sleeping is as important, if not more important than night sleeping.
Babies need naps. One thing I read said to limit naps to no more than 2 hours each and babies need about 12-14 hours of sleep per 24 hour period. Cooper started to naturally sleep an 8 hour stretch at night, which meant he would need about 5 hours of day sleeping (3 naps at no more than 2 hours each = 2 2-hour naps and 1-1hour nap). Gradually he started sleeping more at night and eliminated his 3rd nap, all on his own.


3. Put him down awake.
It is important for babies to be able to self soothe and put themselves to sleep. We don't do this every night in order to try and encourage flexibility. This is where the crying it out came into play. We started it once we got into a good sleep routine and found that there was very little crying. He was ready for bed at bedtime and because we were using a consistent bedtime routine, he knew what was next- bedtime. Nowadays he doesn't have to be woken up at the 2 hour mark, he wakes up on his own. And if for some reason he misses a nap, he puts himself to sleep a little bit early for bed and gets back on track the next day. It is wonderful. Another benefit of sleeping training is they wake up happy (not screaming).


And then they get sick. And whatever plan you had (bedtime routines, crib sleeping, even eating habits) doesn't matter. This can be something small like congestion (which Coop doesn't know many days without) or something intense like an ear infection. 


And just when you okay, fine me, because we are obviously talking about me... Just when I think I am beyond type A, my sweet baby gets sick and the type B shines through and all the rules and research is out the window, as it should be. But the beauty of it all, because I kept him on a schedule, he falls right back into it all on his own.