Aubrey Anne Finn

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

No Sweat!

It is now January 4th and I find myself asking, "Where did the holidays go?" We were anticipating Aubrey's first Christmas so much and it feels like it just flew by. Quick as it may have been, it was wonderful. Aubrey traveled her way around the state as she spent time with family in St. Pete and friends in Jacksonville before coming home to Miami. The poor thing was pulled in every direction and each nap was in a different crib or pack n' play. She fared pretty well until New Year's Eve when she decided it would be more fun to ring in the New Year at Tom and Kit's than go to bed.

Now that we're home, something has completely overshadowed the warm and fuzzy feelings that were lingering from Christmas...SLEEP TRAINING! Aubrey's pediatrician is pretty extreme when it comes to sleep. According to Dr, Bennett, at four months I should feed her, give her a kiss, put her down awake and DO NOT GO IN! I guess this is also known as the famous "Cry it Out" method. He told me at her last appointment that I could either go through the agony of hearing her cry now or continue to complain about sleep issues at every checkup. He has five children of his own and I know he speaks as a doctor and a father. Now I am pretty good at tuning out noise... I taught fourth grade for 6 years after all. But when it is my own baby screaming, I would rather be driving nails into my arms.

Monday was the first official day and the first couple of naps were a little torturous... for Aubrey and me. There was screaming, hair pulling, ear tugging and she flailed around her crib so much I think she really thought she could climb out. She eventually cried herself to sleep as I wondered if it was all worth it. Bedtime came and all was well until 5 AM. She woke up and I'm sure she expected me to rush in and rock her back to sleep. But this time I stayed in bed, unless it was to take a turn going into her room to make sure she wasn't choking from crying so hard. The misery ended at 6:30 and she slept peacefully for another hour.

We are now on our third day of this sleep training business and I have to say things are definitely looking up. There is still a bit of fussing in Aubrey's part, but she is really learning how to fall asleep on her own (her routine consists of the new found fascination of her feet and trying to stuff them in her mouth). Pre-motherhood, I would have rolled my eyes at someone feeling so triumphant at such a small task and the thoughts in my head would have started out something like, "Well, when I'M a parent..." But now I really think all parents who have gone through this deserve a medal. So for any parents-to-be out there if you need any advice, just call us. As I've told several people this week, we've got this parent thing down!

posted by Keena at 12:10 PM | email this post | 3 comment