Ferberizing

This man is our new hero. : ) His name is Dr. Richard Ferber, and his method of sleep training has worked wonders for Avery. Avery had gotten used to waking up twice a night and drinking from the bottle to fall back asleep, even though he no longer needed to be fed at night (no good, I know). On only day 3 of his "progressive waiting" approach, Avery slept through the night. He has done so each night since then, as well. Now, I will try not to get too excited too soon...in case we have some regression here shortly (you never know). You have to admit though, results so far are pretty impressive.

Now, for the record, I am not a proponent of cold turkey crying it out (no judgment though if you are!), and this method is quite different (and more gentle) than that. You just :

The first night you attempt the Ferber method, put your child to bed as you normally do. Your baby should be tired but still awake when you put him to bed, so that he is left to fall asleep on his own. After you leave the room, the baby will inevitably start crying. Allow him to cry for about 5 minutes, then re-enter the room to console him. It's important that you stay in the room for only a short time - even if he is still crying - and that you don't pick him up or rock him. This second time you leave the room, wait 10 minutes before returning in the same manner. The third time wait 15 minutes, and set this as a maximum wait time for the rest of the night.

Every time thereafter, enter the room briefly and then allow your child to cry for 15 minutes. Eventually, he will fall asleep on his own during one of the 15 minute intervals in which you are out of the room. The second night, you should begin with a 10 minute wait before re-entering the room, followed by 15 and then 20 minutes. In a similar fashion, increase your initial and subsequent wait times by 5 minutes each night.
Follow a similar bedtime routine each night.
- sleep-baby-sleep.com

I like how you are still able to console/soothe/let them know you're there, though you wait a certain amount of time in between and do not pick them up. It was hard to listen to him cry and not scoop him up, but he didn't cry near as long as I thought he would, and now he falls asleep in minutes. It was harder on me than him, I'm sure.

Avery with his binkie and "transitional object" (the dog blanket)

Here's the book if you're interested:


Although we initially got all our "Ferber info" online, we are now ordering the book as a reference and for more detailed advice on naptime, etc. Hopefully Avery will keep up the good work, and we'll get to enjoy many more fabulous nights of uninterrupted slumber. I'll keep you posted. ; )