We were so fried by the end of this week that I took Benj to the pediatrician just to make sure nothing was wrong. Basically, we can get him very calm and sleepy with his routine but the minute his eyes close and he is about to fall asleep, he'd start angry screaming!
The doctor said that he is fighting sleep because he wants to hang out with us. So, he doesnt hate us. He loves us :) She also suggested lettiing him cry himself to sleep and learn to self- soothe. How is crying soothing? I understand he'll reach the point where he is too tired and will just give up and go to sleep, but I'm not convinced that is the right approach for Benj. He is very strong willed and will cry for over an hour in our arms, so I dont think he'll fall asleep in his crib after 30 mins like the doctor said would happen.
We are going to take gradual approach (from the No-Cry Sleep Solution book). Its gonna take a few weeks, but honestly, we can't take a week of crying (the dr said itd take about a week). It involves gradual tactics like not letting him nurse to sleep, giving him a favorite teddy bear to associate with sleep, having key sounds (shh, or the words go to sleep), a bedtime routine, consistent naps and eating enough during the day. We started a log of his naps and night wakings on thursday and will do it again after 10 days to note progress. Then, you adjust your tactics and do it another 10 days.
As far as the not wanting to fall asleep in the first place, its probably because we are away at work all day and he wants to hang out, so we will probably let him stay up until 9pm when he normally gets sleepy and bring him bedtime earlier in the next few weeks.
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