I’m afraid to jinx myself by saying anything. But, I know I have responsibilities to you, my silent and invisible friends. I know you’ve been on the edges of your seats, waiting for an update. And I don’t want to let you down.

If you remember, Operation Save our Nighttime Sanity has been in effect for 3 days. For the past 3 days, conditions have been ideal for implementation. No more snotty noses and no more funny rashes. No fevers and no teething. No, we could find no excuses not to start, so we started on Thursday. Here is a summary of the events.

Thursday: Cedric puts the Baby to bed, drowsy and quiet, but not sleeping. If you remember, I did this for the first time on Wednesday. I am told Loulou woke up crying at least 4 times, and Cedric repeated the strategy each time. After the initial protest, we didn’t hear from him until 12:30. At that time, I brought him to bed to nurse. After nursing, he slept right on until… 7 am! A record for our child - only one nighttime wake-up. He stayed in our bed for the second half of the night. But, I tried to stay far away from him, so I didn’t accidentally touch him and disturb his sleep. Result: Baby practically sleeps through the night and I sleep about 5 uncomfortable hours.

Friday: Less successful, he woke up every 3-4 hours. Cedric had some difficulty getting him to sleep on his own. He spent about 4 hours in his crib.

Saturday: Baby goes down awake without a single protest. He sleeps until 1am. This time, I nurse him, and put him back in his crib. He sleeps again until 5 am. I think he may have slept longer if I hadn’t picked him up so quickly when he whimpered a bit at 5. After 5, he stays with us until wake-up time at 7. Result: two night wake-ups, but 10 hours spent in his crib.

So! Progress has been made. Since I must give credit where credit is due, most of my ideas came from Elizabeth Pantley’s No Cry Sleep Solution. The crucial step has been putting him to sleep still awake, because now, he is learning to go back to sleep on his own. And it is possible to do it without torturing yourself and your baby, with some persistence. Soon, I am going to move the crib away from the bed, and then, down the hall. And hey, maybe there is hope for having this sorted out before Christmas.

Ouaaaaah ! Vivement la suite !