If there is any advice out there I will gladly accept it. I am trying to get Sophie on a “regular” schedule which would contain an afternoon nap. I have just started this process today, but I need to know if I am making the correct attempts at it. I am mainly feeding her then, whether she is asleep or not, putting her in her crib and walking out of the room. By the way, the room is dark, a fan is going and it is a good sleep environment. I come back if she really starts to cry, but I only stand by the crib, rub her tummy to settle her and I let her know she is alright but it is nap time. Then I walk out of the room and repeat the process. Today she finally feel asleep after 45 minutes of this and me finally picking her up and nursing her again. After that she slept for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Any advice? Am I on the right track? Or is this just crazy? Just let me know. Thanks!
Well, from my well of experience with babies, I would recommend…
Just kidding!
I just pretty much did what you guys are doing. After their “lunch” I would put them down & walk out of the room. Coming back if they really cried & reassuring them things are ok. Sometimes it takes a while for them to realize hey this is a daily thing & get with the routine..but they eventually did. I’ll check with Grandma to see if she has any other techniques & if she does…I’ll be back. =)
Thank you for the advice. The screaming is driving me nuts, but I think I can tolerate it until she gets that 1:00 is nap time. Of course, it might be 1:00 when I out her down and 4:00 when she finally falls asleep, but she will get it eventually.
Dr. Ferber would be proud (google him).
You seem to be doing it right. Karen suggested she might prefer no fan noise — she might like hearing you around the house, and I can tell you that a grown-up (Karen) who grew up with a fan for noise CANNOT sleep in a noisy house. Condition Sophie now…
Leaving her in the crib is the right idea. So is waiting to come in. We started “Ferberizing” Anna by waiting a few minutes the first time and adding time between visits over the period of a couple weeks.
Our rule of thumb about breaking any bad habit: If you can survive 2 weeks of living hell, the kid will eventually give up. Our friends who have a 7 year old who spent every night for 3 years in their bed wish they had put up with the crying for 2 weeks…