Ferber Convert Recap: Day One

We did the Ferber Method all day yesterday. The naps went well, Taryn cried for about a minute each time, then slept well, the first for about 1 hour, the second for 3 hours. Normally I wouldn't have let her sleep so long, but I had to finish my cookies so... you know.

But putting her to sleep for the night was an entirely different story.

I think I was spoiled that her naps were so easy, I expected the same for her bedtime. When we first put her down, she cried just about 5 minutes then passed out. And I, in my overconfident way, started dancing around the house, singing praises to Ferber that I would sleep more than a 2-hour stretch that night.

But 20 minutes later, she started crying again.

So after the 5 minutes, I went in, calmed her a bit, told her I loved her, and left. And she cried until the next 10 minute mark. By that time, I was sitting on the bed, hands clasped together, counting down the minutes until we could comfort her again.

So then it was P's turn, he went in, and when he came out, he looked seriously distressed.

I went downstairs, sat on the couch and started bawling. I tried so hard to be strong, but her pitiful wails broke my soul. After a couple minutes, P came downstairs and held me, while we both counted down until we could go back in to her.

She only lasted 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. We realized her wails had subsided, so we un-muted the TV and gave each other a shaky smile, unsure if she'd be up again to rip out our hearts and crush them to a pulsing mush with her cries.

But she didn't, and we both felt lucky that she's a quick learner, even if a touch stubborn. I really don't think I could have done that for 2 hours, like Dr. M warned might happen the first night. And I hope to God it's all downhill from here.

On a brighter note, she finally passed out around 8:30pm. I woke her up at 10:30, before I went to sleep to feed her. And she slept until ...

Wait for it ...

6:30am. Can you believe that? 8 FN hours straight.

I, on the other hand, was still waking up every hour or so, looking at the clock, checking for cries, then going back to sleep. She did wake up once, cried for about a minute, then went back to sleep.

I'm hoping with a few more nights of this, I might turn back into a regular person who doesn't live off coffee and take 3-hour naps at lunchtime to ensure I won't break down at Pampers commercials.

Cry Counter:
December 20, 2006 - 39 minutes total.