BREAKING NEWS: ANGIE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Hello hello, this is me bright and cheery in the morning because... Angie now sleeps through the night!!! And I am not talking about just 6 hours at a stretch type of thing. She sleeps from 8pm to 730 am, with nary a whimper in between. The first time was two days ago, so I wanted to make sure it was not a one off thing before posting this entry. And it is not! She did it again last night!

Mark and I were hopping around in ecstacy the first night. Could it be?! We are finally going to be well rested! We can finally sneak off at night if neccessary for a little while at least. Frankly, Mark and I view this "sleeping through the night" as one of the most important milestones in our kid's life, more so than sitting up and crawling... ahahaha.

It's has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage and we are glad that it has paid off. Many of you might recall the difficult time that I had with Ally. (Ally's Sleep Story) and how we had to let her "cry it out" in the end.

Well, we were determined not to let Angie cry it out since it is terribly heartbreaking while it is being done.:) So, from 2 months, we made sure she had a very regular nap and bedtime routine. The general rule of thumb according to Dr Weissbluth (sleep guru) is to start putting the baby down for a nap after about one and two hours of wakefulness. Sometimes, you have to just watch the baby for signs that she is sleepy - namely a dazed look..( ahha,) yawning, laying head down on your shoulder and general quietness. That is the cue to start soothing her to sleep. Once she starts crying and arching her back, you've crossed the key moment and it will be difficult to put her to sleep. As for her bedtime, we made sure she slept at 8pm after her bath, like Ally, sometimes even earlier if we feel she is tired.

Of course, we had plenty of missed cues, especially when different caretakers took over or when Mark and I were just too tired to follow the schedule. But 85 per cent of the time Angie took her naps at the right time and went to bed at the right time. THIS regular routine definitely paved the way for the " sleeping through the night"

I have to admit something though. The turning point came four days ago. We still let her cry it out.:)

She's been a relatively good baby waking up maybe once or twice a night. But four days ago, Mark and I were both sick so even those few times was tiring for us. So Mark just lay beside her cot on the floor and let her cry. She cried for 10 mins and then SLEPT till the next morning. We were pleasantly surprised and decided not to pick her up the next night. You know what, she cried for 5 mins and slept through again. Next day, she slept all the way and the rest is history (crossing my fingers!)

Letting her cry it out was much easier though, as compared to Ally. Her cries were more like whimpers and there would be breaks in between. Ally cried till she vomitted. She could cry nonstop in a very frantic way for up to an hour. She could call Mama too. I think it was because she was a good 2 months older and was used to sleeping with her parents on the same bed. Angie has been sleeping in her own cot since birth ( because she's a roller and it is very irritating sleeping with her" :)" so she had less of an adjustment to make.

Ah well. Hope this helps all sleepless parents out there. Mark's friends Irving and Beth recently let their son cry it out too after he started waking up every hour. After three days, he now sleeps through the night. It is very effective and better for the child since he can now get his much needed sleep. Trust me, the baby is seriously happy the next day.

So regular routine is a must and "cry it out" if neccessary.