Cry it out.

Well, we finally did it. Ella turns 7 months old in a few days. She goes to bed at 6:30 or 7pm and wakes up about 6:30am. But she does nurse twice in the night. Once around 11pm or so and once around 2am or so.

The 2am feeding was starting to make me wonder. She was feeding again after only three hours. She goes longer than that during the day when she's all active and such...and she goes for a good 5 hour stretch from when she goes to bed until when she wakes up to feed again. So we were thinking this 2am wake up was just out of habbit.

So we decided to finally employ the "cry it out" method. Many of my friends have employed this method and I'd heard it could be pretty bad. Actually, it wasn't for us....at least not last night. Sure enough she woke around 2am and we waited to see what she would do instead of just going in to feed her. She would fuss, fall back asleep, fuss...cry a little, fall back a sleep etc. etc. This went on for one hour and Jason went in and rubbed her tummy and gave her her pacifier back two times. And that was it. No screaming. No wailing. Not even any extended crying. Back to sleep soundly and woke at her regular time. So we expect to do this for another few nights and then our hope is that she'll sleep that long stretch on her own without waking up.

And last but not least. I know all the theories about parenting and you can theorize all you want that this method will cause trauma to a child. But I chose to look at the facts that I know and have seen with my own two eyes:

1. 1.) I know that five of my friends have used this method with their children. Btween those five friends there are 7 children between the ages of 2 years and 8 years old. All of their children are not only happy, secure, well adjusted children...but they are also children with really great sleep habits....which the benefits of are undeniable (sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions.)!
2. 2.) We've done small bits of "cry it out" method ever since Ella was little, letting her cry a bit before she falls asleep. We now have a child with predictable, healthy sleep habits that goes right into her crib and goes down for 3 naps a day (1 hour or more long) and bedtime by 7pm in the blink of an eye. 6-9 months old need about 15 hours of sleep between naps and night time and she gets a little more than that. She can sooth herself when need be and is blissfully happy.
   
3. 3.) And last but not least, evidence enough for me, is that Ella woke up even HAPPIER this morning than she normally does (and she always wakes up happy!).

We didn't do this method until WE were ready. I'm sure Ella was ready far before we were. But I feel so good about giving her the benefits of healthy sleep! I'll let ya know how it goes!