Tonight I sshhhed a baby to sleep for the first time. I'm pretty proud of myself. As is our regular routine she had been nursed and rocked to sleep. But kept waking up. Again and again and again. Armed with the knowledge that she couldn't be hungry I decided to try and leave her where she was and sshh her. It took a few tries but there is now one baby sleeping soundly in her own bassinet at the foot of the bed.
I'm starting to learn that in baby land persistence is the name of the game. If five minutes of rocking in the afternoon doesn't help her nap then try ten. If a few sshhhes don't put her to sleep at night keep on sshhhing.
A big part of the no-cry sleep solution is helping her learn how to put herself to sleep (a skill this baby was most definitely born without) and so tonight is a step in the right direction. Since finishing the book we've developed a sleep plan but its implementation has been admittedly spotty. In hindsight her going to bed whenever she fell asleep (sometime between 11pm and 1am) was pretty convenient - as in conveniently also my bedtime.
Despite periodic lapses in sticking to a regular bedtime and bedtime routine her sleep has improved a bit. No one's well rested around here just yet but I think we've moved beyond her waking every two hours. Some nights she'll go three and some nights four and one night there was even a five hour (hallelujah) stretch.
Baby steps ...
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