Weaning Sariah from her nightly water bottles has been easier than I thought!
Here's the run-down:
Saturday night: She protests only mildly when I tell her "BaBas are sleeping." She goes back to sleep almost immediately each time she wakes. But she does wake ALOT. Even more than usual. Toward morning wake-up time, she is especially restless. She wakes up earlier than usual and won't go back to sleep, so we end up getting up.
Sunday night: A repeat of Saturday. No huge tears or anything, but she's waking up MORE. She's obviously missing her babas. But overall I'm thinking this is WAY easier than I expected, and I'm psyched to keep going.
Monday night: A setback. She wakes up SCREAMING for her baba. All of the encouraging words of the nights before do nothing this time. Finally, Daddy takes over. He lays down with her. She is still MAD as anything about not having a baba, but Dad sticks to it and she falls back to sleep after awhile. I do feel badly, though. She has a cold, and I know a drink would feel pretty nice. But we've made such progress, and to turn back now would be the end of it.
Tuesday night: It's up for grabs! Will we have a repeat of Monday? Thankfully, no. We go back to the routine of the first two nights. She is still waking so much, though. I tell myself it's because of her cold... her nose is bugging her... she'd be waking up anyway. I have a bit of a cold myself, and the lack of sleep is getting to me. But I can see the end in sight, and I'm determined to see this through!
Wednesday night: Another screamfest. But this time, it's only that she wants Mommy instead of Daddy. Once I go in and lay down with her, she stops crying and goes back to sleep. In spite of the meltdown, she does not ask for a baba the entire night. This is huge!!!
Thursday night: She only has one major waking! And she doesn't ask for a bottle AT ALL! Oh, joy, we are seeing huge progress! (She does wake a couple of times later toward the morning, but only asks for her blankie. NO BABA!)
Once again, I have learned that when a child is ready for something, it can go so smoothly. I felt in my gut that it was time, and she was ready, and (fingers crossed!), we are almost there!
It's amazing how much Sariah's sleep patterns and needs have been different from Dallin's, but with each child, as we have tried to tread carefully, not pushing when it wasn't time, and gently pushing when it was time, things have just worked.
Here's the run-down:
Saturday night: She protests only mildly when I tell her "BaBas are sleeping." She goes back to sleep almost immediately each time she wakes. But she does wake ALOT. Even more than usual. Toward morning wake-up time, she is especially restless. She wakes up earlier than usual and won't go back to sleep, so we end up getting up.
Sunday night: A repeat of Saturday. No huge tears or anything, but she's waking up MORE. She's obviously missing her babas. But overall I'm thinking this is WAY easier than I expected, and I'm psyched to keep going.
Monday night: A setback. She wakes up SCREAMING for her baba. All of the encouraging words of the nights before do nothing this time. Finally, Daddy takes over. He lays down with her. She is still MAD as anything about not having a baba, but Dad sticks to it and she falls back to sleep after awhile. I do feel badly, though. She has a cold, and I know a drink would feel pretty nice. But we've made such progress, and to turn back now would be the end of it.
Tuesday night: It's up for grabs! Will we have a repeat of Monday? Thankfully, no. We go back to the routine of the first two nights. She is still waking so much, though. I tell myself it's because of her cold... her nose is bugging her... she'd be waking up anyway. I have a bit of a cold myself, and the lack of sleep is getting to me. But I can see the end in sight, and I'm determined to see this through!
Wednesday night: Another screamfest. But this time, it's only that she wants Mommy instead of Daddy. Once I go in and lay down with her, she stops crying and goes back to sleep. In spite of the meltdown, she does not ask for a baba the entire night. This is huge!!!
Thursday night: She only has one major waking! And she doesn't ask for a bottle AT ALL! Oh, joy, we are seeing huge progress! (She does wake a couple of times later toward the morning, but only asks for her blankie. NO BABA!)
Once again, I have learned that when a child is ready for something, it can go so smoothly. I felt in my gut that it was time, and she was ready, and (fingers crossed!), we are almost there!
It's amazing how much Sariah's sleep patterns and needs have been different from Dallin's, but with each child, as we have tried to tread carefully, not pushing when it wasn't time, and gently pushing when it was time, things have just worked.
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