Goodbye Pacifier (kind of)

Earlier last week we thought we hit our breakingpoint of getting up with Francis during the night to get him back to sleep. He had been doing pretty well for about a month of sleeping in his own room only getting up once or maybe twice to nurse. But then an occasional two times became 3, or 4, or more! What was the culprit? It seemed to be waking up with the pacifier fallen out. Ellie was, excuse me - is, a thumb-sucker, which I know will be a hard habit to break later on but at least she never wakes up not knowing where her thumb is! So I talked to the moms here, sent a few desperate emails to friends, and googled (of course) how do you sleep-train a pacifier-baby at 6 months? The answers varied. I prayed about it, strategized with Brian, vented to my mom, and decided that after our upcoming trip I would take the pacifier away and sleep-train him. Well that night he woke up about every hour, so the next morning I decided sleep-training was beginning that very day! 

As suggested by one of the sleep strategies in the Baby 411 book (love it!!), I put him down without the pacifier, said goodnight, and let him cry-it-out - I mean "self-soothe". I did go in once the first couple of nights after about 5 minutes of crying to let him know I could in fact hear his "protests" but I was not giving in, no pacifier, no picking up, just love from a distance. I did the same at nap times for the first 4 days. After 4 days, he was doing great at night only crying a few minutes when I put him down and not needing me for 10 to 12 hours. Naptimes, especially the morning nap, just weren't working with our schedule and being outside with Ellie or going to the store or Mass. So I reached a compromise, one that I thought wouldn't work, but it has been - at least for 4 days! That is he can take his morning nap in the stroller, and he can have his pacifier during that time and during noon Mass. So far, so good!! Daytime crying is minimized and he's still sleeping through the night with no pacifier!! 

But don't think we're getting too much sleep. Because as he's been sleeping through the night, this little lady has been getting up to say hello - or more accurately: tuck me in one more time, I need apple juice, I need a diaper change, ahhhh!! So next up on my plan toward everyone sleeping through the night is potty training or at least eliminating juice before bed and 2am diaper changes. 

But first we need to survive 8 nights in the same hotel room as we travel to Rome and Assisi with the Universuty students tomorrow. Sleep or no sleep, were excited! The trip is intended to be a pilgrimage so if you'd like prayers, message us! 

Sleep tight ;)