For about three weeks now, 5:30 is the time Charlie wakes up. Pre Charlie, at 5:30 am, I was waiting for the sun to rise so I could ride my bike to the pool or gym before work. Now, I ain't got no job, and riding my bike to the pool? Ain't nobody got time for that!
Charlie goes to bed at 8 and sleeps for 9 hours. That's a really great improvement, considering he was waking ever other hour to nurse before that. For 7 months.
It's because we Ferbered him. That's one of those methods where you let your baby cry for a while before checking on him, so he learns to put himself to sleep.
Before 7 months, if you told me to Ferber my baby, I would have cried. But just like everything else with this motherhood thing, there is a magic moment when I suddenly feel comfortable with a change - like giving Charlie formula, letting him eat food, letting him stay the night at his grandparents, putting shoes on his feet. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but there is a moment where I suddenly realize, "Oh, shoes won't kill him. Bring on the shoes."
So this is how we got to Ferber. Pres got the book on his iPad and started reading. Seriously y'all, the examples sounded just like us, like Ferber used his time machine to spy on us as research for his book that he wrote lots of years ago. This is what made us more comfortable with the decision to use this sleep method.
I thought it would feel like we were doing something wrong, but it actually feels like parenting. It took one night for him to adjust. I think he just didn't realize how totally awesome it is to sleep.
But even with 9 hours of downtime, it would be so cool to wake up at 7 am, or even 8 am. Do I feel ungrateful for thinking that? Maybe, but if there is one thing Paris Hilton has taught me, it's to never settle for anything less than perfection and tea cup chihuahuas with diamond studded collars.
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