A report on the sleep-training

[nlazarus]

So, we had a big debate about sleep-training, when I started it with Elizabeth a few months ago. We decided to sleep-train her because I found that I was spending the vast majority of the day putting her down for naps or bed, and then getting her up when she cried, letting her play a bit and trying again. Putting her down involved cuddling and

Comments

Re: 2/3

[nlazarus]

So, I don't know. I do know that part of our job, as parents, is to figure out the personality of our child, and respond accordingly, doing what is best for her. My baby is happiest with a pattern she can rely on, some active stimulation, and a lot of time each day left along to explore on her own. She likes to play with me and cuddle and tickle, but soon she's squirming to get down so she can chase the cat or eat crayons or play with her toys. She loves books, loves to turn the pages for me, and she always tries to rip open her pop-up and special effects books to see how they work. At 14 months she can accurately identify specific animals on a page or body parts on herself. She likes to sing, loudly, and off-key, with no discernable melody. She likes to clap her hands, and wobble her hand over her mouth while she sings, making an intermittent noise. She likes to put things into other things, and then take them out. She's extremely patient when learning a new skill and has intense concentration. She likes to put her books away on the shelf after we've read them. She likes to put her toys away, too, but then takes them out again right away. She at least tries every kind of food I give her, although she has her preferences. She likes to feed me her half-gnawed food bits. She likes other babies and kids, and leaves, and she _loves_ dogs and other animals. She spends a lot of time staring at things and people, as the tiny gears whir and spin in her head. She loves to dance, and loves music in general. She loves to play with shoes; her shoes, my shoes, doesn't matter. She likes to carry them around the house. I have no idea why. She doesn't pay a lot of attention to the TV, but has one show she really likes, and comes running whenever she hears the theme song to it. Once the theme song is over, she tends to wander off again. She cheerfully waves goodbye when I go out, and all her babysitters rave about how easy she is. She doesn't like having her diaper changed, because she finds it boring to lie on her back while I do it, but if I give her a toy she's patient with me. She's very tolerant of me taking things from her that she's not supposed to have, and doesn't cry when I do, but, the moment I'm distracted, doggedly goes after them again. She likes to lie back against me, her head next to mine on my shoulder. She likes to be upside down. She's spoken ten words; "Hi", "Food", "Good", "Mum", "Dada", "Corwa" (our room mate's name is Corvyn), "Seezie" (our cat's name is Suzie), "Yes", "Up" and "All done". She's started signing "Thank you" and "Please" this week.

And, she goes to sleep cheerfully, sleeps through the night, and wakes up cheerfully, in the morning, all by herself.

That feels far more right to me then letting her cry for a few nights felt wrong. So, I've got to count the score at Brain: 1, Feelings: 0 on this one.