Here's the report on CryFest 2009:
I fed him at 10:30. I got in bed at 11:00. He started crying at 11:15. I whimpered and thought out loud, "He is ALREADY crying?" Heaven help us, it's going to be a LONG night." The Hubby {bless his dear soul} answered with soft snoring. For the next few minutes I coveted his gift of sleeping through the pain and then I felt relief as I realized the crying had stopped. Then I cautiously drifted off to sleep.
The next thing I knew, it was 1:02 and the crying was loud and constant and heart wrenching. I had to fight my impulse to jump out of bed and go to my baby. The cry would escalate and Ollie was speaking to me - "Mom, aren't you going to come and snuggle me and nourish me?" Then the cry would change, becoming more intense as if he were saying, "Have your forgotten me? Abandoned me? Where are you?" I lay there in the bed feeling helpless and miserable. I am not good at this {which is why none of my children have slept through the night before nine months}.
The Hubby awoke and asked me a two word question: "How long?" My reply was three words: "Only six minutes." But everyone knows that in sleep training time that is about an hour. He continued to cry for 23 minutes {STT = almost 4 hours}. He stopped at about the same time as a tear slipped out of my eye and rolled down my cheek onto my pillow. After a few minutes of silence, he started again, but this time for only 10 minutes. He was not heard from again.
The alarm woke us at 6:45 and the Hubby brought my little Owl to me. He was grinning from ear to ear and I loved all over him in the happy realization that he was okay and Oh! how I had missed him. The only guilt I am feeling this morning comes from the fact that his little hands were like ice cubes on my warm body.
CryFest Part II tomorrow!
10 comments:
Hillarious! Glad Owlie Potter is on his way to sweet slumber! You too for that matter:-) Stick to it!
When you're at the beginning of sleep training, it's all you can think about .... you are just wondering: what will tonight be like?!
I resorted to ear plugs for the first part of the night (only for the hours when the hubby was still awake, of course.)
This is just too close to home, tears and all! I'm soooo cheering you on from afar! You can do it!!!
I'm also considering myself part of your cheer squad from afar. You can do it! I know from experience that sometimes the second night is worse, so just in case, hang in there. I, too, will be letting Claire cry it out starting tomorrow night when Ryan goes out of town. Like Travis, he has a gift for snoring through the crying and I figured maybe it would be best to tackle it while he's gone.
It is hard to go through, but you will be so glad you did in the long run!
I always end up crying too :( You are strong! You can do it!!!
This is why you were so concerned for Emma's well being that night so long ago...
I know of this room waaaaaaay down in your basement where you might not hear him so much. ;-)
Sleeping through the night rocks. Mommas become much better mommas.
Sleep training always makes me feel cold and heartless. But I'm always so much happier once my baby is sleeping through the night.
Good for you! Don't give up (or in) and he'll be sleeping thru the night before you know it!
Oh how sad. I believe am about to have to do the same thing. I didn't have to do it for my other babies. They were good, they slept through the night early on and all by their little selves. It breaks my heart to let my little one cry...just breaks.
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