CIO

Gavin slept with us in our bed until he was 4 months. I enjoyed it, but definitely knew he needed to be in his own bed. So I did my own little version of getting him used to sleeping in his crib for naps and bedtime. Eventually, it worked and he was doing great. He was only waking up twice a night, and if we were lucky, he would only wake up once. He did great at nap time too. I really couldn't be happier.

I didn't want to do the CIO, because I thought he'd just eventually grow out of waking up so much. He is now almost 7 1/2 months, and is waking up at least twice a night. Worse than he has ever done. It is wearing on me. Especially because if I feed him when he wakes up then put him back in his crib, he won't go or stay asleep and will just cry. It has been too much lately. I have given in a few times and have brought him in bed with us. Bad idea now that he is so huge. I am right on the edge of the bed, and I have to move my pillow off of the bed, because he doesn't like it, and I worry that his nose will press into it making it hard for him to breathe. Oh botha.

Long story short {ish} we have begun the crying it out. It was something I never wanted to do. My siblings have talked to me about their experiences with CIO, and their kids have turned out just fine and happy. Their kids feel loved and important. I have also learned that I do not know everything as a parent, and sometimes it might actually be as they say it is. {humbled}

Last night I let him cry for 15 minutes before I went in to soothe him. It was not easy that's for sure. He then fell asleep and slept for 8 1/2 hours straight! That is the longest he has ever slept without waking up. It was awesome. Tonight, I got him all ready for bed, and fed, and he cried for 20 minutes. I didn't go in to soothe him at all, and he is sound asleep! YAY! Let's just hope that it's because he's learning, and not because he didn't have very good naps today. Let's also hope that he does even better tomorrow night. Fingers crossed!