On Friday night, our process of ferberizing Kacey began. I was nervous to say the least. The idea that I just have to listen to Kacey cry and not hold her in my arms makes me sick to my stomach. I've heard that on the first night, some babies cry for hours. The mere thought makes my heart ache. I questioned if we were making the right choice for our daughter, but I continued to remind myself that on several occasions she had cried for period of time in the car when one of us was driving and were unable to do anything to console her at the time. I had to remind myself that we were doing this for all of us.
So, we gave her a bath and put her in her pajamas. Then Timmy took her into her nursery, turned the lights off except for her night light, swaddled her and gave her a bottle while listening to some calming lullabies. Then he laid her down, said goodnight and the waiting began. By the time he stepped out of the room, the crying had begun. We talked about what we were going to have for dinner and before I knew it, the first 3 minutes had passed. I went in, gave her her pacifier, soothed her by rubbing her belly and telling her we loved her and it was time for sleep now. Then I walked out. The crying continued. The next 5 minutes passed a bit more slowly as her crying showed no end in sight. After that passed, Tim went in and repeated what I had done previously and left her nursery. And the crying continued. This was getting harder. I had no idea how long it was going to last and now I had to wait 10 long minutes to go and soothe her again. Was i going to be able to do this? As the minutes ticked away, I tried to do what I could not to watch the clock, but it was hard. 7 minutes passed, then 8, then 9 and then something happened.
The crying stopped.
Just as I was getting ready to go in and comfort her again (while trying not to curse the evil Dr. Ferber under my breath), she fell asleep. 17 minuted has passed since Tim first laid her down. I was in awe. She was asleep in her crib and she did it on her own. While listening to her cry wasn't the easiest thing in the world, the intervals made it easier and it took MUCH less time for her to fall asleep then I had anticipated. It's only 8:45.
9:17- She's awake again. The crying starts.
9:20- Console and comfort.
9:21- Asleep.
That time it only took 4 minutes. She's getting better at this already!
3:14- Awake and crying (Yep, that's 6 hours without a peep!)
3:17- Console and comfort.
3:18- Asleep.
4 minutes again. Unbelievable...
6:08- Awake, but hungry.
6:30- Fed and back in her crib fed and awake.
6:31- Asleep.
She slept for another hour before waking up for the day. And this is the best part, she was full of smiles and seemed so well rested. It was like she knew how proud we were of her and she was proud of herself too. I'm in love and his name is Richard Ferber. Next up: Our Ferber Diary- Night 2: Can the magic continue? Stay tuned...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment