Sleep training part 3...

The first night of sleep training was torture. The second night wasn't as bad and I could see the glimmer of success. The third night started much like the previous two. But this time my son only got up once after I put him in his crib. I was relieved and proud when he stayed down and fell asleep. In the middle of the night he got up a couple of times. I didn't attempt to sleep on the floor this time. I just sat in the rocker so he could still see me but I would have an easier time getting out of the room without making noise. He got back to sleep very quickly and I settled into the chair.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up, stiff as a board in my chair. He was fast asleep and I hobbled back to bed and saw that it was an hour and 40 minutes later. At least he was getting a good night's sleep.

He did wake a couple more times but it was no more than a minute. And I noticed that now he wasn't standing up. If he woke, he would just whine but stay down.

The fourth night, I did the same thing. I fell asleep in that chair for a couple of hours. I literally must fall asleep as soon as I sit down because I don't even remember falling asleep. He slept better still.

The fifth night started out perfect. He went right down in his crib and I was able to get out of his room in a minute. He woke twice that night but this time I waited. When I heard him moving and heard him cry out, I just stayed in my bed listening. In less than a minute he was quiet. He had fallen back to sleep. The second time he woke, it was even less time. I never left my bed. In the morning when he woke up for real, I went into his room and he was standing there, waiting. I scooped him up and gave him big hugs. He seemed to realize that it was time to get up and was distinguishing between when he should stay down and stand up.

It took five nights. Now we have been sleeping through the night for a week. He still wakes up a good 20 minutes before my alarm is set to go off. But I don't mind. I use those minutes to cuddle with him on the couch. I may have been desparate for him to sleep through the night again but I still need my cuddle fix.