Go to Sleep.....PLEASE!

So, I decided a while back that when the time came, I wanted to try to sleep train Layla beginning on a Thursday night. I knew that it would mean little sleep for us for a few nights and I didn't want to face an entire work week completely sleep deprived. Well, the night has arrived. Layla has been a pain in the butt when it comes to sleep, waking up earlier and earlier each night. Last night she was awake before 8:30. She's been ending up in our bed earlier and earlier in the night, too, which I am not a fan of. If I didn't have to be up for work at 5:30 it might be different. Or if we had something bigger than a full size bed it might be different. But as things are, she HAS to learn to put herself to sleep. Enough of us rocking her completely to sleep and then hoping we "stick the landing" as we transfer her to her crib.

And so we're Ferberizing. Dr. Richard Ferber works at Children's Hospital Boston and is famous for his method of sleep training babies. Now....I used to work in the office next to Ferber. The man is a jerk. I would be in mid conversation with someone and he would come up and start talking to them as if I was completely invisible. So I don't like him. But, his method (supposedly) works. That is, if you can stand a few nights of screaming.

When I say *we're* Ferberizing, I should actually say *I'm* Ferberizing. At least for tonight. Chris conveniently is on a business trip in Newport, RI where he's currently at some restaurant watching the Sox game. So I may be silly to try this for the first time without his support. But I really wanted to start on a Thursday and so here we are.

Layla has now cried for 3 minutes. I went in to comfort her but didn't pick her up. She cried for 5 minutes. I went in. She's now been screaming for 5 additional minutes. In 5 more minutes I'll go back in. And I'll go in every 10 minutes until she's asleep. Then I'll do it all over again when she (almost certainly) wakes up later tonight.

This will not be fun. But hopefully in a few days Chris and I will be getting more sleep and Layla will have learned that it's ok to fall asleep even if you aren't cradled in Mommy's or Daddy's arms. That's the plan, anyway.