The Ferber Method, Night 1

When Aidan was 3 1/2 months old, we used a sleep training method called the Ferber method to help him learn to fall asleep on his own in his crib. You establish a bedtime routine to follow every night and then put them in their crib to sleep. After a couple minutes they usually protest and you wait 5 minutes before going in to comfort them briefly. Then you wait 10 minutes and repeat the process, adding 5 minutes to the wait time until they fall asleep. It took Aidan 4 nights before he fell asleep with no crying at all. It was awesome and he continues to be a good sleeper and a kid who likes his bed.

Now Olivia is 3 1/2 months old. And it's time for her to sleep in her crib and learn to fall asleep on her own. So last night we started the Ferber method with her too. At first, her protest was very loud. Let's just say she was a little peeved. But, after about 30-40 minutes, she was quiet. I couldn't believe it. I peeked in on her to check and she was very close to sleep if not sleeping already. When she got up for her night feeding (which we are down to one or two, depending on the night) she went right back to sleep. So, she was up at 1a and then again at 6a then slept till 8a. I'm hoping that tonight will be as easy. Aidan cried for 1 1/2 hours his first night so I was ready for a really tough fight with Olivia. Julien and I were both surprised that it wasn't a knock down, drag out fight. Don't get me wrong, her cry at first was fierce. But it didn't last as long as Aidan's steady pitiful cry did. Either way, I'm looking forward to being able to just put her to sleep in her crib and sleeping through the night. Once that happens I think the days will go a lot smoother for us all.

Update on the Ferber Front. It's been an hour since Olivia was put to sleep. She cried off and on until about 8:40. So about 40 minutes, give or take. And there was a few periods of quiet before you would hear her fighting sleep. So I am hopeful this process will go quickly. I'll let you how it goes.