Over a week ago my partner and I came back from a short visit to London with our son.
It was only 5 days but it felt like two weeks. Initially I knew 5 days would be enough as it was our first trip with Nakoa and even though I wanted to make it longer it was a good thing I didn't. Not long before going to London he was starting to eat solids, he still wasn't sleeping and my sleep deprivation was really getting to me. Eventhough he had a routine and a bed time I didn't know how to make Nakoa go to sleep. During the day I would only put him to nap if he rubbed his eyes and that didn't always work, which meant he had very poor naps. He would sometimes wake up from me moving him and then I would have to start the whole process again.
While we were in London Nakoa seemed to be teething from the symptoms; but as his teeth still haven't come through I wonder if it was something else that was making him irritable. This made daytime napping a no no and nights were very difficult. He was waking up some nights every hour. I was shattered, cranky but wanting to do everything at the same time. We stayed with our friends who were well and truly prepared for us, (they have a child and knew how to help us), they were amazing. It was nice to be back seeing my old friends but it did take it's toll on my moods.
One morning towards the end of our holiday I was with my friend with the T,V on in the background. Jo Frost the "Super nanny" was on talking about sleep deprivation. My undivided attention went onto the programme but it was ending.
Fortunately my friend had the +1 channel option which meant we could continue chatting and watch the repeat in an hour. I needed this for my health and sanity. I was so tired and at my wits end. Nakoa finally started napping that day which meant I could lap up as much of what Jo Frost had to say. My friend then told me about her programmes and I knew she used some of the techniques and they seem to be going well for her and her daughter.
It was only 5 days but it felt like two weeks. Initially I knew 5 days would be enough as it was our first trip with Nakoa and even though I wanted to make it longer it was a good thing I didn't. Not long before going to London he was starting to eat solids, he still wasn't sleeping and my sleep deprivation was really getting to me. Eventhough he had a routine and a bed time I didn't know how to make Nakoa go to sleep. During the day I would only put him to nap if he rubbed his eyes and that didn't always work, which meant he had very poor naps. He would sometimes wake up from me moving him and then I would have to start the whole process again.
While we were in London Nakoa seemed to be teething from the symptoms; but as his teeth still haven't come through I wonder if it was something else that was making him irritable. This made daytime napping a no no and nights were very difficult. He was waking up some nights every hour. I was shattered, cranky but wanting to do everything at the same time. We stayed with our friends who were well and truly prepared for us, (they have a child and knew how to help us), they were amazing. It was nice to be back seeing my old friends but it did take it's toll on my moods.
One morning towards the end of our holiday I was with my friend with the T,V on in the background. Jo Frost the "Super nanny" was on talking about sleep deprivation. My undivided attention went onto the programme but it was ending.
Fortunately my friend had the +1 channel option which meant we could continue chatting and watch the repeat in an hour. I needed this for my health and sanity. I was so tired and at my wits end. Nakoa finally started napping that day which meant I could lap up as much of what Jo Frost had to say. My friend then told me about her programmes and I knew she used some of the techniques and they seem to be going well for her and her daughter.
I watched her, I liked her demeanour and what she had to say, so I wasn't going to stop there. I needed to learn more to teach my baby to self soothe and give us all a bit of rest. As soon as I got back to Spain, I searched the net about her and her techniques and found out about the Controlled Timed Crying Technique and It has worked wonders for us.
Here is what I wrote after the unforgettable first night.
Day 1 April 2017
I managed to read Jo Frost's sleeping method, the 'controlled timed crying technique' and I just tried it out. The advice was amazing but it was really distressing hearing him cry like that, I read over the main bullet points several times as he cried as it really helped to settle the nerves and that adrenaline feeling. He has finally fallen asleep.
I checked on him and put the bedding on him again. He was still angelic as usual.
Two minutes later he cries once and falls to slumber.
I know he will wake up several times tonight and I need to continue this method for at least a week. She guarantees it will work by then.
Fingers crossed.
Two minutes later he cries once and falls to slumber.
I know he will wake up several times tonight and I need to continue this method for at least a week. She guarantees it will work by then.
Fingers crossed.
My problem was getting him to know it was bedtime without falling asleep on my breast and waking up after 1 or 2 hours. He used me as a dummy and I couldn't continue to make that conscious mistake.
After 8 days I can tell you that it has worked. When bed time arrives after story time and some milk, as soon as I put him down into his crib, he knows it's bed time and he may moan a little bit when either of us leaves the room but he then falls asleep. The moaning seems to be the way he soothes himself.
The first night was the worst and I was ready to give up straight away, however, after that night it did only get better. The crying turned to moaning and they got shorter. He would fall asleep in 8 minutes and now it has gone down to maybe 1 or 2 minutes. There are times where he may just lay there now and not say a word and then he eventually falls asleep. The fact is, he has learnt to self soothe which means nap times are also better too.
Nakoa's eating was also getting better and before bed I added a bottle of milk with cereals as well as my breast milk so he goes to sleep on a full tummy and that also helps in getting him to sleep through most nights. It didn't seem to work a few months back when we first tried but now he seems to enjoy it.
He has given us a few uninterrupted nights of sleep and it has been amazing. Strangely, I still feel really crappy and don't know if it is because I have a cold coming on, (Nakoa has one), or it is my body reacting after not sleeping properly for over 7 months and is feeling crazy with all this sleep. Nonetheless, the method worked for us and I'm really happy. I had tried other ones that didn't work for me and this came to me like a gift. If it hadn't been for me watching morning t.v with my friend I wouldn't have learnt about Jo Frost or the technique.
No comments:
Post a Comment