I know you are all going to have loads and loads of fun laughing about our crazy parenting techniques, but we have struggled for some time with getting Parker to go to sleep on his own. We weren't quite sure what to do about it and we were still feeling a little bit unsettled about the whole cry it out method. Steve and I couldn't stand to listen to him cry and I had sat through too many lectures in developmental psych about that topic. And let me tell you we researched researched researched! Finally we decided to speak with the pediatrician about it at Parker's 15 month appointment. He gave us a step by step conditioning plan to follow. And we all know I had learned plenty in school about conditioning! :) We put Parker down that night in his crib with one of his bears and let him cry for 5 minutes. At the 5 minute point we went in to check on him and to reassure him that we were still there (only stayed in the room for 40 seconds tops) and then left. Of course he decided that he was so angry with us that he needed to throw the bear out of the crib. But we persevered! Then we let him cry for 10 minutes...checked on him...let him cry for 15 minutes...checked on him...20 minutes more of crying...you get the idea just added an extra 5 minutes every time. By 30 minutes into the process he was out! Our doctor said that we would have four to five bad nights and low and behold on the sixth night Parker caught on and hasn't been a problem since. Per the doctor's instructions we initiated the nap time plan a few weeks after and success with that too! Every nap time and night time we now go on a hunt to find Night Night Bear and Parker just immediatly cuddles up to him in the crib. We know that the whole method we used may sound funny, but we were comfortable with it and it's what worked for us.
I know you are all going to have loads and loads of fun laughing about our crazy parenting techniques, but we have struggled for some time with getting Parker to go to sleep on his own. We weren't quite sure what to do about it and we were still feeling a little bit unsettled about the whole cry it out method. Steve and I couldn't stand to listen to him cry and I had sat through too many lectures in developmental psych about that topic. And let me tell you we researched researched researched! Finally we decided to speak with the pediatrician about it at Parker's 15 month appointment. He gave us a step by step conditioning plan to follow. And we all know I had learned plenty in school about conditioning! :) We put Parker down that night in his crib with one of his bears and let him cry for 5 minutes. At the 5 minute point we went in to check on him and to reassure him that we were still there (only stayed in the room for 40 seconds tops) and then left. Of course he decided that he was so angry with us that he needed to throw the bear out of the crib. But we persevered! Then we let him cry for 10 minutes...checked on him...let him cry for 15 minutes...checked on him...20 minutes more of crying...you get the idea just added an extra 5 minutes every time. By 30 minutes into the process he was out! Our doctor said that we would have four to five bad nights and low and behold on the sixth night Parker caught on and hasn't been a problem since. Per the doctor's instructions we initiated the nap time plan a few weeks after and success with that too! Every nap time and night time we now go on a hunt to find Night Night Bear and Parker just immediatly cuddles up to him in the crib. We know that the whole method we used may sound funny, but we were comfortable with it and it's what worked for us.
4 comments:
A belated Happy Birthday to you Tara. We are excited to hear how the housing works out. Hope you had a great Birthday!
If you can get Parker to go to sleep on his own, that is a great accomplishment. Way to go. The night, night bear looks friendly enough that I'm sure Parker loves him. I think the pictures of your new house look great. I hope you will be really happy there.
Isn't it a great feeling when they just go to bed without a big fuss! Way to go. Sounds like you used the "Ferber" method. Did you read the book or just follow the short version from your doc? How's the house going anyway?
Didn't read the book just followed what our pediatrician said to do. The house is going great! We close on the 21st!
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