It's official. Our baby has had his first "real" night! Not that he's ever been an awful sleeper, but on the third night of Ferberizing we have seen amazing success. Rowan went to bed at 8:30pm (no crying at all, even though he was laid in the crib awake) and woke up at 5:00am. The only middle of the night fussing was less than five minutes total, requiring only a brief stop in by me to fiddle with the swaddle. And, lest you not grasp the full extent of what Rowan has accomplished in just three nights, these "Ferber" nights have been pacifier-free, too!
Yesterday it dawned on me there was a very appropriate rearrangement that needed to be made in the daytime schedule to make nighttime life easier. See, normally Rowan took a bath around 7:00 and then took a "nap" from 7:30 until 9:30 or 10. At that time he usually woke up to eat or I messed with him until he woke up to eat (so I could go to bed). But I realized he was essentially "going to bed" at 7:30 not just "napping", because he only barely woke up again to eat and then went right back down for the night. With this realization, it became obvious that bedtime should be scooted a little later to avoid what was essentially a new middle-of-the-night feeding (which I certainly hadn't thought of that way before, but to Rowan it surely must have seemed like it). Anyway, last night we did everything we could to keep him awake with a goal of the final feeding being at 8:30. We walked the dog, took an extra-long bath, even breaking out some bath toys. I think I had to tickle his back or blow on his neck about 30 times to keep him awake and get those 6 ounces down him, but boy was it worth it!
I would say let's embrace this newfound rest with caution, but the truth is I know Tom and I have read enough and are disciplined enough to help Rowan stay in a great nighttime routine, possibly even stretching the morning until, oh, a lazy 5:30? But we'll work on that later. :-)
I guess our baby-free friends who read this might think "Your baby woke up at 5am and you're writing about it as a triumph?" To them I reply, abso-freakin'-lutely! Even at that early hour when we could so happily stay in bed, those kissable cheeks are bait enough to lure even these reluctant fish right out from our resting spots.