at last...

I think we've gone far enough that I can make this announcement without jinxing it:

Cole is sleeping through the night!

(Trumpets play, Hallelujah chorus commences)

Oh yes, friends, at just two weeks away from turning one, my little mister has decided that his Mama needs sleep or will end up in the mental hospital.  I kid you not, less than two weeks ago we were still struggling through 3-8 wake-ups per night.

So here's what finally worked for us:

Now, this book probably won't work for everyone.  It does involve a little bit of crying, which as any parent can tell you is pretty much the worst. thing. ever. 

But we got to the point that it was either Cole crying for a few nights, or Mama crying A LOT (from lack of sleep). 

And here's what else we tried:

The Ferber Method

• This so totally did not work for us.  I just could not handle hearing my little baby cry and not do anything about it.  We tried this over and over again, with no improvement, so we tossed this method in the "not working for us" pile.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

• This one was, in a word, CRAP.  I found it very poorly organized (NOT a plus for a sleep-deprived and busy mama) and was basically a verrrrrryyyyyy long-winded way of saying LET YOUR BABY CRY UNTIL THEY FALL ASLEEP STANDING UP.  Not cool and definitely not for us.

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

• Interesting, but not super helpful.  I actually was given this book years ago and chucked it when we moved when Cole was 3 months old (thinking, "Oh, he's a great sleeper! I totally don't need these sleep books!" HA! famous last words), so I got this out from our library.  The author has some great ideas on the importance of routine for a baby, but not much helpful information on sleeping.

What to Expect the First Year

• Yeah, don't even waste your time looking up "sleep" in this one.  Super un-helpful one paragraph.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

• My blogger friend Morgan of the -Ing Family recommended this book and I really loved it.  Simple, well-organized, and quick to read, it had a lot of really great ideas.  Unfortunately, after trying this method for three months, we were no closer to a full night's sleep then when we started.  I think my little man is just a little too stubborn for all of these methods to work (stubborn? now where did he get that trait from...probably his dad).  However, I will be keeping this book as a first resource for my next child, if needed.

which brings us to The Sleep Lady.  I am not kidding when I say we had one rough night (I picked a night when Chris was home to help out - sorry honey!), and it was all better from there.  Literally a week after starting this program Cole had his first full night's sleep. 

My mother-in-law and I were commenting that we used to put Cole down in his crib (even sometimes just holding him out to start to put him in his crib) and he would immediately wake up and start crying.  Or we'd get him lying down asleep, only to have his eyes pop open as soon as we started walking out of the room and the wailing would begin.

Now, my heart still stops when he peeks in between his crib bars as I leave the room, but he just blinks at me and falls asleep. I used to spend upwards of three hours a day rocking Cole to sleep - now I spend less than 30.  And we are all much better rested.