I don't understand people who don't sleep train their babies.
Whew. There, I said it! I feel better now. ;-)
Even before I got pregnant with Charlotte, I didn't really get it. I mean, who doesn't want sleep?! I know I sure do! And once people close to me started talking about BabyWise and doing BabyWise (though it isn't the only method), I understood even less. Now? Now I don't understand at all.
Maybe it really doesn't work for everyone. I don't know. I don't know everyone's kids. Maybe some people would just rather sleep with their babies in their bed/room. I don't know! I certainly don't claim to know everything!
But I really do feel bad for people I see posting on FB about their kids' sleep...or lack thereof. Meanwhile, mine is snoozing away, has a bedtime of 7pm and gets up around 7am. Her first nap is around 9, second around 1, and the occasional third is around 4:30/5. This happens every day. It's not rocket science, and I know what to expect from her.
Ah, look how tiny she was just a few months ago...!
I honestly feel bad for parents whose kids don't sleep through the night. Because we had a few weeks recently where Charlotte was getting up in the middle of the night...or early in the morning. And I really felt like I was going to lose my mind. She was cranky, over tired, and mostly inconsolable. Naps sucked. Everything sucked. She was clingy, yet into everything. If I took something away from her, we entered Meltdown City. If I tried to put her down for a nap? World War 3. I felt like I had lost my happy, independent, sleeping baby.
And then, one day... She slept. And angels sang. ;-) Well, they sang in my head, anyway!
And then I felt even more terrible for my non-sleep training pseudo friends on FB. {They're pseudo, because who really talks to ALL their friends on FB? Come on, now. Be honest.} I now know what it's like! Kind of. It sucks! I want sleep! My baby is cranky without sleep! How do they do it?! Over the holidays, one of my friends told me that "every day is different" with her daughter - as far as her sleep goes. Honestly? I can't imagine! While Charlotte does wake up anywhere from 7-8am on a normal day...our schedule is still pretty much the same. Not only does her daughter not sleep through the night, but she has no idea what her day will be like?! To me, that's just nuts.
I mean, yeah. Sleep training is kinda hard. You have to really stick with it. Your "job" isn't over when they start sleeping through the night, although that is a fantastic benefit and milestone. I still have to "train" Charlotte that 3 naps is okay, that she needs to sleep a certain amount of time during the day. And sometimes...that includes crying it out because she needs sleep. And that part? It really, really sucks. I hate it just as much as the next mom. Just because I use CIO doesn't mean I like it.
I suppose, to some degree, letting her pass out whenever she felt like it would be easier. There's less work involved, that's for sure. I just don't think I could handle it. Not knowing when the next nap will be? Not knowing when bedtime is? Not knowing how long she'll sleep at night? No, that I could not do.
This picture still makes me laugh!!!
So. As for me and my house, we will sleep train. And we will love it. ;-)
