Tough Love

It's day 3 of sleep training for Gabriel. I've been advised by a couple of medical professionals to get him on a regular schedule. That means meals, playtime, naptime all are to be scheduled. And then for bedtime, a bedtime ritual must be set. The way it was explained to me is that babies take environmental cues, to let them know where they are in their day and what to be doing. The catch is, it has to be consistent. That means, 7 a.m. is wake up time for baby and me every day. Even Sundays.

So, I've had 3 days so far of leaving little Gabriel in his crib alone during naptime to let him cry on his own. No picking up, no cuddling, no nothing. Just teach him that it's naptime--go to sleep.

It's hard to listen to your baby scream and cry all day, looking for you or some sort of comfort. But, if I ever want him to quit with his resisting naps and screaming from fatigue, this is what I've got to do. I've decided I can either:

a) bite the bullet for a week and break my heart listening to him cry for me. Get it over and done with.

or

b) continue to spoil him and let him wake me all hours of the night, watch him resist more naps and scream all day, and kill myself from exhaustion.

There is obviously a clear decision for this. Really, if I continue with the non-routine that he was on, I wouldn't make it much longer. And if mommy is tired and stressed and exhausted, mommy can't be a good mommy.

As much as it hurts me, I'll continue to push on with this sleep training. I hope it works soon...very soon.