Let him cry

Let him cry? Ha! Being told this at the Dr. on Monday was almost funny to me. As soon as the Dr. said it, literally, it went in one ear and out the other. How could I ever possibly just let my son cry in his crib all alone needing me? By now you obviously know that I am the mother that as soon as he so much as makes a peep in the middle of the night I am there. I run (really) to his room, pick him up, cuddle him, change his diaper, re-swaddle him, rock him, and put him back to sleep. Well, at 6 weeks, Micah was sleeping through the night and taking at least 2: 3 hour naps a day. But then, I refused to ever let him put himself to sleep or settle himself down so by 8 weeks, he was waking up multiple times a night (try going from 0 to 5) and waking up a few times in the middle of his nap. And of course, every time he woke up, I was right there putting him back to sleep. I never put him down until he was in a deep sleep. As I am explaining this to the Dr. on Monday, I can see all over her face that she knows exactly what is going on. “Now, when he wakes up, do you ever just let him put himself back to sleep?” she asked. “You mean, let him cry???” I questioned. “Well, yes. It is ok to let him cry and soothe himself.” She told me. That brings me back to the beginning of my story. Back to the ha.

By Tuesday, I went back in my head to that appointment thinking she may have had a point. I was tired and tired of waking up when I knew that Micah was capable of sleeping for more than 3 hours straight. The Dr. had explained to me that babies at his age typically wake up on their own and are restless and they have to learn to put themselves back to sleep. She told me it is ok for him to cry and it won’t hurt him. She also suggested putting him down drowsy but still a little awake. So, I decided to start at nap time. I put him down for his morning nap on Tuesday (knowing that he would wake up about 30 minutes in) and I was ready. Sure enough, he woke up… and cried… and cried… and cried. I then called the nurse (Cheryl, who I talk to almost every day) in tears for reassurance that it was ok that he was crying and had been for an hour. She reassured me that he was fine as long as he was pausing and taking breaks (which he was). I decided I would let him cry until 10 when it was time to eat again. At 10, he was still crying so I went to heat up his bottle. Warm bottle in hand, I go to get him (he is quiet, but I assume he is taking a break) and he is asleep! He put himself to sleep! He then slept until 11. Since then, I put him down for his naps awake, and he puts himself to sleep. Isn’t that amazing how quickly they learn? Last night was the first night that we let him cry at night. He only woke up twice and he cried so little that we never got out of bed and were able to sleep right through it. All it took was that one torturous day during nap time (probably more torturous for me than him) and he learned! We are so blessed to have an amazing baby!!! Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength to make it through the crying!