PROBLEM: So after my Paci Poll, I found that it is NOT normal that we have to wake up every 20-60min many nights to re-insert our DD’s precious paci. We have to tackle this or I will go nuts…nearly lost it last night. We have used this same method to solve other problems like to sleep on her own at 5days, in her own room at 7wk, and to fall asleep when put down awake at 15wk. (LO is now 16wk)
SOLUTION: At first we were going to start phasing it out when she’s awake, then naps, then nights, only using it to help her fall asleep. However, she is doing fine without it when awake, so we moved to not replacing it during her naps. Well, I now decided we are just going to go cold-turkey and only using it to fall asleep or if she’s sick or hurt or having a particularly bad day because she has already proven to be a really quick learner. (Thought it would be hard to move her from being rocked to sleep every time to falling asleep after being put down awake in bassinet and when she was ready, she did it on the first try and has ever since).
METHOD: After reading several baby sleep parenting books, we have kinda devised our own method…a mix of soothing by us, and CIO, and pick-up/put-down. We position her on her side to fall or get back to sleep so that her fingers are right in front of her face. When she cries for her paci, we go in and place a hand on her and shush her and jiggle her bassinet while she wails. If it gets out of control we pick her up, she immedietely stops crying and then put her down. Eventually she starts to quiet down in between wails and uses her fingers for soothing (we kinda guided them up there the first few times to show her). This continues until she falls asleep and every time she cries for her paci.So it’s kinda a CIO but we are right there with her to work through it so she doesn’t feel abandoned.
RESULTS: Going really well so far, but WOW so hard! She’s on her first nap with no paci…normally a 1.5-2.hr nap. She slept for 30min, then woke for paci. Took me 30min to get her back sleeping, she woke after about 15min, took about 20min to get her back down, woke after 15min and so one, now it only taked about 2-5min to get her back down. Nap is technically over, but trying to get her a lil more sleep since it’s been a traumatic nap haha! Dug out my womb-sounds bear from when she was first born because I got tired of shushing for 30min, but once the 45min cycle on that was done I just let it stay off (last thing I need is a womb-sound dependency lol). In just this 2hr nap, she’s gone from not understanding she should put and keep her fingers in her mouth to soothe…to putting them in right away once we come in and place a hand on her when she cries and falling asleep immedietely. So far, so good!
Unwind My Mommy Mind... 