Operation Single Sleeper, Phase Two

Camille doesn't like sleeping by herself.  -_-

At Mommy & Me group on Wednesday, I asked the other mommies what they did to convince their baby that sleeping alone in a crib is fun and wonderful. I told them that we had Camille in her bassinet next to the bed because I'm still uncomfortable with her in a completely different room.

"Well," said one. "She's probably too big for the bassinet."

I assured her that Camille fit fine in the bassinet, and even had several inches to spare.

"No, that's not what I mean," she said. "Some babies sleep a whole lot better when they're in a big crib or big bed. They like the openness."

This sounds like Camille, so I'm hooked. Camille doesn't like being restricted; she HATED being swaddled.

"I agree," piped another mom. "When I put my baby to sleep in her crib, she slept soooo much better than when she was sleeping with us. And she sleeps, like, 10 hours."

10 hours?! Fuckin' A!

"Babies will wake up more when they're in the same room as their parents," someone else said. "They hear you move and it gets them up. Also, they can smell your milk, so if someone has to go into the nursery to put her back to sleep, it should be dad. Babies don't associate dad with food."

Camille is more like Wolverine every day. She has claws and super-smelling. What next, super regeneration!? She better not start smoking a cigar or grow sweet muttonchops.

So I came home and informed Jake that we should put Camille to sleep in her own bed.

Also that he should be the one to put her back to sleep if she wakes up, to which he responded:

But he's a trooper, so that night, we put Camille down in her crib and Jake prepared to be the one who would put her back down if she got up.

Well, ladies and gents, let me tell you... IT WAS A NIGHTMARE.

Neither of us got any sleep because Camille screamed ALL NIGHT. Around 2am, we caved and brought her into bed with us. She slept solid for the next 5 1/2 hours, and then she got up super happy and wanted to play.

Meanwhile, Jake and I are frickin' exhausted. Jake got up and went to school, and I got up and tried to play with Camille. Not much playing occurred.

So last night, we tried to make her sleep alone once more, only this time, I said I would be the one to get up. Apparently, though, there is some truth to what I was told at Mommy & Me group. I tried to put her back to sleep a bunch of times, and she just kept crying. Jake goes in there once, and after like 5 minutes, she stopped crying and fell asleep. Bah!

She slept for one-hour increments until about 2am (again), and then I brought her to bed. I intended to feed her and then put her back in her crib, but I fell asleep while I was feeding her and woke up at 8 with her next to me. She was awake and cheerful, and I was, once again, hella tired.

But tonight, we're going to put her to bed in her crib again. We have to keep at it until she sleeps by herself. I mean, she can't sleep with us forever, and she's got to learn to sleep alone somehow. She's taking a nap by herself right now, so why not sleep at night alone?!

I Googled sleep strategies for babies, and it was suggested to start a bedtime routine and do that every night before you put them to bed. Great! I'll do it! But what is the #1 suggestion? A bath. We don't give Camille a bath every day, because if we did, she'd have such awful raging eczema that she'd be up all night itching.

So I've put together a nighttime plan that we're going to start tonight. Apparently, it's supposed to get the baby to sleep all night within 4 to 7 days. If we start tonight, we'll have at least two weekend days to recoup lost sleep. I feel bad for our neighbors.

Step 1: naps during the day. Camille takes one nap at 10:30 and another around 2-3 ish.

Step 2: go to bed at the same time every night. We're bad about this one because I get home so late on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. My classes end at 8:50, so sometimes I don't get home until 9:30. But as of right now, I want to set her bedtime to 9:00. Jake can put her to bed if I'm not home yet. It's OK, I see her all day.

Step 3: bedtime routine. It will involve a bath (if it's her day to have a bath), some lotion (for her eczema), a bedtime story, and one last bottle/boob. Put her to sleep while she's nodding off but still awake.

Step 4: cribtime ditching strategy. Take her to her room, place her in her crib, pat her gently, say "good-night," and skedattle on outta there. If she cries, wait at least 5 minutes before heading back in. Repeat patting and "good-night," then leave again. Wait five minutes. Repeat until she stops crying. Hey, she's got to fall asleep eventually, right?

Step 5: wait at least 5 minutes to check on her if she wakes from sleep later in the night. If we have to go in, it will just be to pat her and say good-night again.

Step 6: repeat this strategy the next night, but increase time from 5 minutes to 6 minutes. Add a minute every night.

Step 7: ?

Step 8: PROFIT