I'd tried everything. I'd looked to everyone I knew for advice. I'd done the routine every night. She only took one nap, and she was already able to go to sleep without a bottle in her mouth! Which was a huge accomplishment. But STILL! Nothing!
Still... Every. Three. Hours.
I called a friend, as a last resort. I didn't know what I was doing wrong, or not doing. Why was my baby unable to sleep through the night like every other baby I know! Even the ones that are far younger than she.
I owe this girl lunch someday, seriously. She just suggested a couple of things. Feed her an oatmeal bottle right before bed. Another friend suggested a cold bottle when she wakes up. And don't pick her up. If you have to change her, leave her in the crib. Which I'd tried briefly before, but didn't seem to make one lick of difference, so I stopped.
The first night, when she woke up less than 3 hours after I'd put her down, I texted Ed, bawling. Here I was, trying so hard, doing everything I can possibly think of to do... And I can't even get 3 hours! Are you kidding me?!
I was so discouraged. So frustrated. But my friend, Shawna, and Ed talked me down. Encouraged me to keep it up...
That night, after she woke up, she slept for 7 hours straight. The two nights after that, it was 6 hours. Then, last night, it was 9 hours!!
Hall-AY-FREAKING-lujah.
I had gone to bed early, so therefore, when she woke up at midnight, I was unable to succumb to slumber for another 3 hours. But when I finally did, I ended up getting 6 straight hours of sleep. SIX. As in, an almost normal amount!*
After 8 months of waking up at least once every night (even when I didn't have her.), I finally have a child that sleeps all night. I mean, would 10 or 12 hours be better? Of course. But as hard as I've fought for 6 or 9, I'm taking it!
My advice to any mother is don't wait to sleep train your baby. I was struggling with depression. I wasn't strong enough to sleep train her months ago, and it was that much harder for me when I was strong enough. She was set in the habit of waking up, and of course, breaking a bad habit is harder than setting a good one.
*Sorry for all the exclamation points in this post. You just have no idea how long I've waited for this.
