As one of my IRL friends pointed out on Facebook (hi, Meredith!), I’ve never really summed up what worked for us as far as sleep training. There are several reasons for this: I don’t want to jinx his good sleeping, I didn’t realize I hadn’t told you, and oh yeah I really have no idea what worked. Here’s my best guess.
1. The heating pad. It seems like such an inconsequential thing, but it makes a huge difference. He goes from my warm embrace to a nice warm bed which makes the transition easier.
2. Consistency in the nighttime routine. We always read the same book, we always sit in the glider, we always nurse. It may not always be at the exact same time, but he knows that if he’s sleepy and we go to his room, he’s going to bed.
3. The sound machine and the box fan. Using a box fan consistently means he sleeps well at home and when we’re away (like right now, when I’m sitting on my mom’s couch).
4. Ferber. I think I should send him flowers, but I’ll settle for a public apology on my meager blog. He has been grossly misrepresented (guilty!) and his techniques are not extreme at all. He advocates consistent limits based on scientific research that encourage independent sleeping while maintaining a strong mother/child bond.* Who can argue with that?
5. Andrew. I think he was ready to sleep on his own, he just needed the tools and parents who didn’t suck.
*Do you think I might have a future writing blurbs? I heart blurbs.
