I HATE Dr. Ferber

UPDATE 2: Night #5 - Henry has been crying since 9:36 PM. It is currently 1:39 AM. He needed a diaper change at 12:00 AM then went to sleep until 12:40ish AM. Lovely, he got a little nap in so now he can cry even longer. How long will this go on? Do I really have to stay up all night? Can I stay up all night? Am I do emotional and psychological damage? Having him sleep in my bed sounds so wonderful right now. Who's going to win this battle?

UPDATE: The wedding is off!! Henry has been crying hysterically for the last 2 hours. I picked him up after the first hour. I had to go with my mommy instinct. Now he's crying again. Dr. Ferber, you suck. Henry is sleeping with me tonight. There is nothing in the book about what to do if "this" happens.

Did I tell you I am in love with a new man? His name is Dr. Ferber. I know, he isn't my type and he's older than my father, but he's genius. He got Henry to sleep through the night!!!

I am not sure I've really expressed how terrible of a sleeper Henry became during the night. It all started during our trip to St. Louis. I thought it was just a change in his schedule, but it NEVER got better. I was exhausted, Henry was exhausted and Brian and Spinner were tired of sleeping in the guest bedroom. So, I took the advice of a great friend and mother, Christina (Chases's mom) and tried the Ferber method. I read up on sleep association and knew that was Henry's problem.

It goes something like this: Imagine whenever you fell alseep you woke up somewhere else. Alone. You'd wonder, how the heck did I get here?! I wasn't here when I fell alseep! So, every night you would keep waking up to "catch" the person that moved you after you fell alseep.

This is what was happening to Henry. I was letting him fall asleep in my arms after lots of cuddling and rocking, then I would put him down. He only knew how to go to sleep this way and assumed when he woke up he'd still be in my arms. Far from the truth.

So, on Sunday night we gave Ferber's method of "crying it out" - gradually - a go. I fed Henry and put him in his bed drowsy, but not asleep. He cried and cried like I have never heard him cry before. I checked on him every 2, 4, 6, 8.... minutes but didn't touch him or pick him up. I only spoke to him quietly assuring him I was still there. Then I'd leave the room and cry myself. I was a wreck. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I knew I needed to do it. He feel alseep after 22 minutes of hysteria. Then woke crying at 1:00AM- the longest stretch we've had in a month - where I discovered a HUGE poopy diaper - all over him and his bed. Poor guy never cried so hard, he push everything out.
I changed him and put him down again and he cried a little bit, then fell asleep. He fussed again a little around 3, but I didn't go into him. Then woke up at 5:00.

The next night I was a nervous wreck again. The thought of letting Henry cry was breaking my heart in a million pieces. But I didn't want to undo what we had already done. So, I followed the same routine - eat, little rocking and then put him to sleep drowsy. And he didn't utter a peep! He fussed a little at 3:00, but put himself back to sleep. And then slept until 5:30!

Last night was the winner. We put him to bed at 8:45 and he didn't wake once until 5:30. My little man is now a baby that sleeps through the night. And so is mom!

So, as you can see, Dr. Ferber has stolen my heart. I'll keep you posted on our wedding plans.