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Baby's Perspective on Sleep Training
						
				
				
						OK, here's my situation. My Mummy has had me for almost 7 months. The first 
						few months were great
				
		
		
				‐‐
				I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or 
		
		night. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying 
		to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is 
		only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty 
		common after Mummies have had us for around 6 months. Here's the thing: 
		these Mummies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have 
		
				had some 30 years to sleep
				‐‐
				they just don't need it anymore. So I am 
		
		implementing a plan. .. 
		
				I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this: Night 1
				‐‐
				cry every 3 
		
		hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your 
		Mummy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, 
		
				it's for her own good. Night 2
				‐‐
				cry every 2 hours until you get 
		
		
				fed. Night 3
				‐‐
				every hour. Most Mummies will start to respond 
		
		more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mummies are more 
		alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mummies ay 
		
				stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh
				‐
				ing. Don't give in. I 
		
		cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep 
		through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! 
		But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change. If you 
		have an especially alert Mummy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, 
		just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry 
		again. It WILL eventually work. My Mummy once stayed awake for 10 hours 
		straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to 
		decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I 
		could come up with: My sleep sack tickled my foot. I felt a wrinkle under the 
		sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I burped, and it tasted like pears 
		
				(I hadn't eaten pears since lunch 
				‐
				what's up with that?) The dog said "woof" (I 
		
		should know. My Mummy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.) Once 
		I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in 
		
				the other room. Too hot, too cold, just right
				‐‐
				doesn't matter! Keep crying!! It 
		
		took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 
		3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to 
		reset your Mummies' internal clocks. P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool 
		you, no matter how long you suck on them, NO milk will come out! Trust me.
		
				
						Sent in by Cecile’s patient