Cry It Out

At the end of Farrah's 6th month she would not sleep in her crib.  She would only sleep if she was being held or if she was in our bed with us.  She would not even sleep in her swing.  This was very strange for her because she had been sleeping in her crib in her room since we brought her home from the hospital.  Another new mom I know told be she had the same problem with her daughter at around the same age.  She used a cry it out method and had great success. I knew I could not continue to hold Farrah during her naps and let her sleep with us, so I decided to give it a try.  I did a little online reading and set up my plan. {Put Farrah in her crib, once she starts crying I will go in every 10 minutes to giver her her paci, rub her belly, tell her it is nap time yada-yada-yada.}  I had even gotten out my notebook that I jot things down in to do a blog post on later.  I was ready.  Farrah's first nap time came around and I put her in her crib.  She didn't cry or sleep for about 30 minutes.  She just kinda laid there looking around.  Then she rolled over and began to cry.  So, I went in, rolled her back over (she could not roll herself back over at this point), gave her her paci, told her it was nap time, and left the room.  She started crying as soon as I shut her door.  I waited my 10 minutes, went back in, and did the same routine.  Once again she started crying when I shut the door.  I was doing okay with the crying.  The friend I mentioned earlier had warned me that the crying was "put your iPod in" bad.  She was right, it was horrible!  We spent almost her entire nap time with me going in every 10 minutes to comfort her.  The last time I went in (30 minutes until her nap was over) my heart just broke.  Farrah's face and sheet were soaked with tears, her nose was running, and her little face was so red.  Hearing the crying I could handle, seeing that poor little face I could not.  I picked her up, told her I was so sorry, dried off her little face, and held her for the last 30 minutes of her nap.  I learned at that moment that I was not cut out for CIO.  So, I gave up.  That is actually what I wrote in my blog notes "9:00 - GAVE UP".  I have read and heard many success stories with CIO, but it just isn't for me.  Am I still holding Farrah for every nap?  No.  Luckily she has gone back to sleeping in her crib.  I would put her in her crib at nap time and she would usually sleep about 30 minutes, then cry and want to be held.  I would get her and put he her in the swing.  She would not sleep in the swing, but I figured it was still some calm time for her.  Then the next nap I would hold her figuring she needed to sleep.  After about 2 weeks, she went right back to normal.  However, night time is a different story.

The first few nights Farrah slept with us, my husband and I hardly slept at all.  We were so afraid we would roll over on her or something.  Then we started to like having her there.  It was so sweet and special.  But, we know she can't sleep with us forever.  We decided to start putting her back in her crib and night when our monitor started to mess up.  We have a video monitor that I have been absolutely spoiled by.  I LOVE being able to look in on her anytime I want.  I just wake up sometimes during the night and look at her.  The "parent" part of the monitor can be used while plugged in an outlet or you can charge it and make it more portable.  I went to charge it one day and it would not charge.  It would not even work while it was plugged in.  Our house is really not even big enough to need a monitor.  Farrah's room is probably all of 10 steps from our room.  But, I have gotten so used to the monitor that I just can not put her in her room to sleep at night without it.  So, Farrah is still sleeping with us at night until we get the monitor working.  I keep forgetting to check the warranty on it.  Maybe I should do that now...