Cracking down on Sleep Misdemeanor

In between the move, the sicknesss in our household, and maintaining the schedule of an active pre-schooler, Madison's sleeping schedule has quietly slipped through the cracks. When it finally dawned on me last week that Madison is four months old but still woke at night, and that her naps never lasted longer than 30 minutes, I knew it's time to buckle up and execute some serious sleep training.

I felt a mixture of guilt and wounded pride: I regretted sacrificing Madison's need for a regular sleep routine to suit our family's, and mostly, Luke's schedule, and mourned over the fact that I once did a great job turning Luke into a sleep poster child while failing to deliver the same results this time with Madison. With my mind made up, I refrained from outings and canceled play dates for the week, holing up in our apartment for an intensive sleep retreat with my little babe.

The efforts were well-rewarded in the least if not miraculous. On Monday, I monitored Madison's sleepy cues like a hawk and put her down with no rocking or swinging (she's a desperate swing addict). She didn't even make a peep while falling asleep almost instantly - and slept for 2 hours for her first nap! I was flabbergasted. The success was repeated throughout the rest of the day, and she slept through the night. This is too good to be true, I thought. Tomorrow she'll probably scream and it will be hell. I was also bothered by the possibility that she's actually so overtired that now finally when her mother's doing something right and considerate, she had to seize the opportunity and make up for all the sleep she had lost.

To my relief, there was no hellish days that followed. The rest of the week went by quite smoothly, with a few protesting cries here and there, which in turn helped Madison locate her thumb so she can soothe herself to sleep. Now Madison is napping well and sleeping through the night. I feel incredibly lucky (I still think it's a bit too good to be true) and hope that it is a done deal.