Sleep Training Log Entry 1

I can't take it anymore. The sleepless nights, the constant nursing, the endless times that I get up to soothe my daughter. It has to stop. She has gone mental with the nursing. Instead of just sucking her thumb when she woke up (which she USED to do)...she searches for me and my breasts. When she can't find them, she screams.....and screams....and screams....and screams.  I have had dozens of women share their night-time tricks to getting their breast-fed babies to sleep through the night, but ALL of them have one lucky aspect working in their favor. All of their babies sleep in a different room. None of them are forced to be in a crib in their bedroom.  I have yet to get sound advice from somebody in this situation.  Even Dr. Sears has nothing for me.  You can only imagine how hard it must be for a little baby to see, smell and hear their Mommy just feet away and be unable to get to her....so she screams.....and screams....and screams...I am too exhausted to fight, so I give in.  This happens about every 1-3hrs.  It's been manage-able up until lately.  Lately she has been only hold onto sleep for less than 60min at a time.  We both get up exhausted in the morning and she is so fussy and tired.  This is no way to be.  Our mind, body and souls are being damaged.  So here is the first entry log in our Sleep Training Boot Camp.  Here is the plan: 

I am moving out of the bedroom indefinately.  The sofa will be my new bed.  Josie will remain in the bedroom with Daddy.  He is going to be the first responder to her wakenings and try to comfort her.  This will include long hours of crying-it-out.  But I know she will be safe and she will hopefully learn that she can soothe herself or allow Daddy to soothe her back to sleep.  I will come into the bedroom only twice to nurse her for the first few days.  I can't quit nursing her cold turkey, since she does get a majority of her calories at night.  This will dwindle to eventually no night nursing.  As Daddy is in the bedroom working out the crying times, I will be suffering on the sofa....earplugs in place, headphones ready, or whatever else I need to get through the agony of listening to my dear baby crying her heart out for me.        And here it goes.....