Sleep Training Clara, Ferber style, Day 6-7

If you haven't been reading over the last few days, the links below will bring you up to speed on our sleep training experience this time around. . .

Day 1
Day 2
Days 3-5

Day 6 {30 min; 35 min; 40 min; 40 min (subsequent waits)}

8pm - Bedtime - She was so tired at bedtime that she was falling asleep as she was taking her bottle. Laid her down and she was out cold. Then, she woke up all. night. long. I think she woke at least six times during the night. The third time I assumed she was actually hungry so I went in and gave her a bottle. She took it all quickly and then fell asleep again. Only to wake up three more times. The night was such a blur, I don't really remember all the details, but she was able to put herself to sleep several times before I had to go in her room, so that was good! I know I can't expect perfection every night. It's all about baby steps!

7am - woke her for the day.

8:45am - Nap - No crying or fussing at all. Put herself right to sleep.

1:00pm - Nap - No crying or fussing. This nap was super short. (I haven't really been focusing on sleep duration for naps this time, but it seems that Clara's afternoon nap, which before could easily have been 2-3 hours, is now 1 hour tops, and usually more like 30- 45 minutes. Did anyone else experience this at around 6 months?)

4:20pm - Nap - Earlier than normal due to her super short afternoon nap. No crying or fussing.

Day 7 – {35 min; 40 min; 45 min; 45 min (subsequent waits)}

8pm - Bedtime - went down with ease as she was really sleepy. She woke at 8:40pm and that is when the craziness began. She cried for nearly 2.5 - 3 hours. I think she finally fell asleep, for good, again around 11:30pm. We went in several times and at one point gave her a bottle and the Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets. She also got a diaper change. I'm really not sure why she was so worked up. Brandon suspects it was maybe a little reflux, since her cry was a little different. More like she was uncomfortable and not just "I want to be awake, pay attention to me." Every time we went in the room you could tell she was SO tired, like she wanted to be asleep, another reason we suspect she might have been uncomfortable. Once she finally gave up at 11:30pm she slept, solid, until morning, waking at 6:30am.

8am - Nap - No crying at all!

1pm - Nap - No crying at all!

5:30 - Nap - Fell asleep in car on our way home from an errand (bad timing on my part) so I transferred her to her bed when we got home and she stayed asleep until I woke her a little bit later.

*All three naps today were awesome - long and thus some good consolidated sleep. I had to wake her from each nap today!*

8pm - Bedtime - She cried for ten minutes when I left her room, and then woke up about two hours into bed and cried for a little while, but not long enough where either of us had to go in to console. She stirred some in her sleep, but for the most part, slept solid until 6:30am. *edited to add - Brandon just informed me that yes, she did cry long enough that warranted a check. He handled it as I was apparently passed out in bed. Oops.*

So there you go. Seven days of sleep training, again. We are very pleased with how she responded to the Ferber method and would recommend this style to any parents out there that are ready to help their kid sort out their sleep habits. While I was hesitant at first to try Ferber's approach (for several reasons of which I will address later), I will admit that this style makes me feel more comfortable as going in every so often to check on your baby only reassures you that, despite some tears, they are in fact ok. And if they are not, then you can deal with the issue right then and there.

I'm sure this sleep documentation bored some of you to tears and thus you are probably not even reading todays post. Like I said, I really wanted to have this all documented for our own memory. For those of you that followed along, thank you! I might write a reflections post here soon, comparing the two methods we have tried and things we learned along the way, or tips for other parents out there that are considering sleep training of some kind. We will see...

Our sweet Clara has finally, and hopefully once and for all, sorted out her nights and days. This is not to say some nights won't be rough or that we will never see a regression in her sleep; we know that parenting, and all the issues that come with it, are rather fluid, always changing so to speak. We are fully prepared for set backs here and there. But, I think she has this sleep thing figured out!! Which makes for a happy baby, and a very happy momma.

9 comments

AjaNovember 17, 2012
Yay! Go Clara--love that little picture of her sleeping! And my guess is that some of her disconfort might be teething, like you said. i lnow it majorly screwed with Aedans sleep some nights. I really like the hylands teething tabs too! hopefully she continues to sleep well!!

Until he got sick a few weeks ago, Aedan had been sleeping great. Since then, he's been waking up a lot at night. Last night I talked to him about what to do when he woke up, gave him a pillow and his lovie and 3 pacis and he slept until 830am. Yay! And for some reason that made me think of y'all! Glad everyone's getting a little more sleep now, ha!
GillianNovember 17, 2012
Yay for Clara and you guys!! Many babies drop to two naps around 6 months of age, so just keep an eye out for any patterns you notice regarding one or two of her naps becoming consistently shorter. That's usually a sign they are reading to cut one out. But, teething could be a part of it too. That's the joy of parenthood... it's always a guessing game!

Just some cautionary advice... my pediatrician cautioned us against using Hylands Teething tablets as they contain an ingredient that can cause hallucinations in babies. Supposedly they aren't regulated by the FDA since they're a "homeopathic" remedy, so she just cautioned us to use advil or tylenol instead. Though, if you're against medicating, then forget everything I just said and do what you are most comfortable with!

Congrats again! I think it's amazing how every baby responds so differently to different methods. So glad you figured out what works for Clara!
KatieNovember 17, 2012
We experienced the sometimes-shorter-PM-nap at that age. Sometimes we had a day with 2 longer naps (~1.5-2 hours each) and 1 catnap. Sometimes we had days with 1 longer nap, and then 2 shorter (45-60min) naps. It seemed to work itself out.

Around 8mo (which, heads up, is often a VERY chaotic age for sleep), almost all days became 1 longer and 2 shorter naps, and sometimes she wouldn't take the late PM catnap. By 8.5mo, we dropped to 2 naps, and after 2 solid weeks of going by a by-the-clock nap schedule (for both time down and time to get up), we had 2 beautiful, long naps every.single.day. It was heaven. :)

Then she hit 11mo. :)
marieNovember 19, 2012
Continued good luck as I know this can be a frustrating and tiring time. Just keep with it and all will work out eventually, you just have to show em' who's boss :)
Mallory BakerMay 05, 2014
Hey! I found your blog via the Google machine. We're starting the Ferber method tonight (yikes!) and enjoyed seeing your blog post on how you sleep trained Clara. Our little one (five months) was sleeping close to 11 hours a night starting around 3 months, getting up maybe 2-3 times during the night. We'd go in to put her paci back in and she'd be fine (no middle of the night feedings either!). Then a few weeks ago 'ish kind of hit the fan and she started waking up almost EVERY HOUR! Eek!! My husband and I are barely surviving right now, so we just decided that something has to be done. We're taking away the paci and seeing how it goes. We've always put her to bed awake but drowsy (including naps), but only with her paci in. I'm terrified that it's going to go horribly, but we'll give it a shot!! Hope all is still going well with your little one. She must be really big by now!