Parents, read on. Anyone else, you can read on if you want, but I doubt you’ll make it far.
Teyla had her nine month checkup today. She’s absolutely perfect in every way: 90th percentile in height; 75th percentile in weight; 50th percentile in head size. Her acid reflux is almost COMPLETELY GONE and she is (or should I say, I am) officially relieved of the expensive-ass special formula she was on to curb the barf effect.
I didn’t get to leave without a lecture, though.
As you all know from my incessant Twitter ramblings, Teyla still isn’t sleeping through the night. Her pediatrician is very much NOT okay with that fact. I am to start “Baby Bootcamp” as quickly as possible… meaning, no more feeding & rocking her to sleep. No more getting up with her at night every time she wakes up. And mostly, no more holding her all night when she refuses to sleep by herself.
In short, she will be “Crying it Out”.
As you all should ALSO know… I’m a sucker for this kid. She’s got her daddy and me wrapped very tightly around her tiny little fingers, and she knows exactly how to play us. Mostly, we just can’t stand to hear her cry. I’ve tried the CIO method for naptime before, with no success whatsoever. I cave too easily, and end up crying more than she does. Hell, just typing about it right now is getting me all choked up. I cried in the doctor’s office. Fuck, here I go again.
I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN DO THIS. I know it’s in everyone’s best interest. And it’s not the lack of sleep that we are sure to suffer while we go through this process— I am used to living with little if any sleep. It’s picturing her face all screwed up, purple, covered in tears and snot because all she wants is her mommy, but mommy is ignoring her.
*Sobbing now*
I want to give my baby girl everything. Including the independence to fall asleep on her own at night without being coddled. Everyone I’ve talked to swears that it’s the right thing to do (with one exception). They all say that our lives will be so much better in the few days it will take for this to work. They PROMISE me that she will still love me in the morning, and won’t hold a grudge.
She’s asleep in her crib a few feet away from me right now and I want so badly to go pick her up and cuddle her just for planning this tough love on her.
Is it so wrong that I want to make her happy? I know I have to do this, and I am determined to go through with it. But… I don’t have to like it… do I?
It hadn’t occurred to me until today that by forcing her to cry herself to sleep, I would have to do the same.
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that a pediatrician told you to let your baby “cry it out” irks me. i’d seek a second opinion. i may be out of line, and i apologize if i am, but i would never ever let my baby “cry it out”.. my first daughter had problems sleeping and our pediatrician at the time did not recommend letting her just cry until she fell asleep. he advised me to pick her up after about 5 minutes, 10 minutes top. that was even difficult for me. sometimes in the 5 minutes, she’d fall asleep. sometimes she did not. i’d pick her up and rock her to sleep.
i am sorry you are going through this. i wish you the best of luck.
I have no fucking clue how to just REPLY to you so I’m reblogging the reblog… you’re not out of line at all. If I hadn’t wanted feedback, I wouldn’t have posted it. Right now I need advice from every angle if I’m going to make a decision and stick to it. This doc was actually my second opinion. She’s not her regular pediatrician, but they are both in agreement over it. Anyway. Just wanted to say thank you for replying. Whatever we decide, you will hear allll about it! lol.
