Seven Months, Sleep Training and Green Beans

Last week little man turned seven months old - we can't believe what a big boy he is becoming!

For a while now, we have battled sleep issues with R. He has never been a good napper and nighttime sleep has been spotty at best. Well, I finally had to do something more drastic - it got to the point where I was holding him for all of his naps (and he still wasn't sleeping very long), and then he started waking up often at night as well! My poor little boy had circles under his eyes and was grumpy when he was playing during the day :(

We started sleep training last weekend. Basically, from everything I read, we had to start putting him down in his crib for sleep drowsy (but awake). The thought is when we'd rock him to sleep and put him down, he might wake up and then be confused/upset that he was no longer being held. In essence, he needed to learn how to fall asleep on his own, in his crib. Rutherford, of course, resisted and would cry.

Instead of just letting him "cry it out," and leave him for an hour to wail by himself, I chose to stay right with him while he cried in his crib. I patted his back, sang him songs, and just generally let him know I wasn't leaving. Eventually (after about 30 minutes), he fell asleep.

Since then EVERYTHING has been different. He's been taking naps on his own, in his crib, for at least an hour (sometimes two). Previously, a 45-minute nap was a success for us. His nighttime sleep has been much improved, and he's even slept through the night once this week. He is happier, looks healthier and I'm regaining some of my sanity. He sometimes grizzles a bit when I put him down, but now doesn't cry for more than a minute or so. Unbelievable!

Sleep regression does happen, but at least we have a method that we're comfortable with that has worked. Yay for Rutherford!

In other news, last night he tried green beans for the first time! He seemed to like them OK - had several bites, but we'll try them again tonight and see. It's a beautiful day here, I think we'll go to the park after lunch!