Our littlest bedbug has made bedtime a nightmare again. She immediately goes into hysterics which has resulted in her falling asleep in our bed the past two nights. The problem is, it's hard to give tough love if your partner is completely unwilling and rushes in to "save the day" for our little one after less than 5 minutes. Tonight I took control and we are trying again.
When I say "cry-it-out," I don't mean that I lock her in her room and let her scream until she falls asleep. I let her cry, but I check on her periodically to let her know I'm still around but that she's going to stay in her room at least, if not her bed. When I go in to check on her, the recommendation is to soothe/comfort but exit again in less than 2 minutes. I try to get in and get out in less than 30 seconds to prevent working her up even more. She's so high strung, the situation actually seems to worsen the more often I go in.
I set the CIAO Baby app to go off after 4 minutes for the first check. Each subsequent check is twice as long as the previous, for a maximum of 32 minutes. You can start with as few as 2, but I prefer to start with 4 since she's older. Here's how it went down tonight:
Wait #1 (4 minutes)
0 minutes - The fit begins and she cries hysterically as Mommy shuts the door. The timer is set @8:07:00 PM
4 minutes - Still hysterical, she claws at Mommy when comforted and returned to her bed.
Wait #2 (8 minutes long, total time: 12 minutes)
8 minutes (half-way through 2nd wait time) - silence
12 minutes (seconds before the 2nd wait timer went off) - The hysterics began again, she clawed at Mommy when comforted and again returned to her bed.
Wait #3 (16 minutes long, total time: 28 minutes)
22 minutes minutes (halfway through 3rd wait)- Silence (Daddy comes upstairs to tell Mommy the reason Kailee won't go to sleep is that it's still light out; sorry, Daddy, Mommy's not giving up so easily)
24 minutes (with 8 minutes left in the 3rd wait) - The hysterics begin temporarily but last less than 10 seconds, this happens periodically for the rest of the wait. We have a VERY stubborn, headstrong little girl--I wonder where she gets it ;)?
27 minutes (almost done with 3rd wait) - She really gets worked up again briefly and then silence for the rest of the wait.
28 minutes (end of 3rd wait) - It's quiet in her room, I debate about going back in at all... I decide to set a new timer and if she cries again, I will go in regardless. If not, I will check to confirm she is in fact asleep in 32 more minutes.
Wait 4 (32 minutes long, total time: 60 minutes)
32 minutes (4 minutes into 4th wait) - She fusses a bit. I stay out
33 minutes (5 minutes into 4th wait) - She gets hysterical again so I go in. She's sitting in her glider with her "bankie." She jumps out of the chair, runs to me and gets VERY upset when I put her in bed. She screams as I walk out, but then, silence...
38 minutes (10 minutes into 4th wait) - Kailee gets all worked up again briefly. This continues to happen from time to time for the next several minutes.
44 minutes in (halfway through 4th wait) - Silence...
47 minutes in (13 minutes left in wait 4) - The hysteric outbursts begin again
49 minutes in (11 minutes left in wait 4) - Daddy comes upstairs and threatens to be the knight in shining armour. At that point, I give up, go in and hold my precious baby. If anyone gets to be the "good" guy tonight, it's going to be ME! It took 5 minutes to calm her down.
55 minutes in (5 minutes left in wait 4) - Kailee and I are sitting on the couch, finishing up this post, about to go to bed in Mommy and Daddy's bed.
With checks included, it's been 1 hour of HELL. This is the worst she's fought me and I totally FAILED! When I've done CIO in the past, she was out in less than 30 minutes. Of course, she could not get out of her bed then...
GRRRRR!
XOXO,
Oh no! That takes me back!! Zach was very stubborn and would actually make himself throw up in less than 10 minutes so cry it out was tough. We got strict when he started throwing himself head first over the furniture in his room. One night he slept in a little bit of throw up. His daddy also would rush in (usually in the middle of the night) with a bottle! I feel your pain.
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