For those of you uninterested in CIO, Ferber, and all things sleep training, here’s a link to one of my favorite Onion articles! Hope it gets a ROFL out of ya.

This post is a follow-up to our Sleep Training Adventure with Noob Baby. I’d like to share our results for the noob parents out there who have similar sleep troubles. I know when I was considering sleep training, I was searching everywhere for someone’s play-by-play. I’m anal like that. So here’s my play-by-play with a big Noob Mommy Seal of Approval.

Note: Noob Mommy is a self-proclaimed softy pretending to be a hard ass. So, for all you softies out there, the training IS hard to bear (think Chinese water torture), IS going to make you feel like the Stalin of parenting, and IS totally worth a shot if you want your baby to be a happy, independent sleeper.

Night 1
Cried for 31 min. at bedtime before finally falling asleep.
Slept through the night until 6 am. (10 hrs nighttime sleep)

Day 2
Nap 1: Cried for 45 min.
Nap 2: Cried for 25 min.
Nap 3: Didn’t sleep.
Bedtime: Fell asleep after bottle.
Slept through night till 6:30 am (11.5 hours nighttime sleep)

Day 3
Averaged 15 min. of crying for all naps & bedtime.
Woke at 4 am. Cried for 1 hr. Woke for the day at 8:00 am. (11 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 4
Naps 1 & 2: No crying. Fell asleep within minutes.
Bedtime: Cried for 8 min.
Woke at 5:00 am. Cried for 45 min. Woke for the day at 7:00 am. (10 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 5
Naps 1 & 2: Cried for 5 min. Played in crib for awhile, then fell asleep.
Bedtime: Cried for 20 min.
Slept through night till 6:30 am. (11 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 6
Nap 1: Cried for 45 min. Didn’t sleep.
Nap 2: Cried for 5 min.
Nap 3: No crying.
Bedtime: Cried for 25 min.
Slept through night till 5:30 am. (9.5 hrs. nighttime sleep)

*After Day 6, significant improvement! Much less crying at naps & bedtime.*

Day 7
Naps 1, 2 & 3: Cried for 10 min.
Bedtime: Cried for 5 min.
Slept through night till 6:00 am. (9.5 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 8
Naps 1 & 2: Cried for less than 5 min.
Bedtime: Cried for 25 min.
Woke at 4 am. Fell back asleep at 4:30. Woke for the day at 7 am (11.5 hrs. nighttime sleep)

*After Day 8, biggest improvement! Noob Baby plays and falls asleep on her own in the crib*

Day 9
Naps 1 & 2: No crying. Averages 20 min. of playing in crib before falling asleep.
Bedtime: Laid in bed for 5 min.
Slept through night till 5:30 am. (10 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 10
Naps 1, 2 & 3: No crying. Averages 15 min. of playing in crib before falling asleep.
Bedtime: Laid in bed for 5 min.
Slept through night till 6:30 am. (11.5 hrs. nighttime sleep)

Day 11
Naps 1, 2 & 3: No crying. Averages less than 5 min. of playing in crib before falling asleep.
Bedtime: Laid in bed for 5 min.
Slept through night till 5:30 am. (9.5 hrs. nighttime sleep)

At this time, we set Noob Baby down in the crib fully awake with her pacifier (which she uses only at naps & bedtime). She normally plays for a few minutes, then rolls over and falls alseep on her own. No more fussing, rocking, or middle of the night waking.

While this sleep training isn’t designed for all babies, it’s worth trying for at least a week if you notice tiny improvements each day. Please don’t try this for babies younger than 4 months old. Good luck!

Happy Sunday! Back from the trenches of Ferberland. Just when Noob Daddy and I were starting to get a little bit cocky that our Noob Baby might be above the curve on sleep training, she decided to wake up at 4 am and cry-it-out she did! With passion, might I add. Poor thing…