Results of Baby Bootcamp, Week 2

Read Results of Baby Bootcamp Week 1, and then just picture the opposite. That was how Baby Bootcamp Week 2 went. Not good!!!!!!!! Actually, in reality, it wasn't all bad. There were some positives, and some overall improvements, but it was much MUCH rougher than the last week. This actually FELT like bootcamp.

So I haven't actually ever even described to you what Baby Bootcamp consists of, besides just the fact that we're implementing a set schedule now. A big component of it is getting Gunnar to take two naps a day, in his crib, having put HIMSELF to sleep (versus me rocking him). This is important to me for many, many reasons, including (but not limited to):

- I believe that babies need structure, and they need naps. I also believe that they get better quality sleep in their crib, versus in a swing, in a car, in a stroller, etc.

- I believe it is important for babies to learn the art of soothing themselves to sleep, so that they are not forever dependent on someone else to help them go to sleep.

- I need set periods of time to myself during the day, in order to get things done.

So, in order to accomplish those objectives, I am using a "cry it out" method. I know many will argue that letting a baby cry in their crib for extended periods of time without coming to their "rescue", will make them feel abandoned, neglected, like their needs are not met, etc., and for a while, I struggled with wondering if that was true. However, I came to two big realizations that made me decide that I was ok with letting Gunnar cry it out:

1) Gunnar's needs ARE met. Always. His needs are met every second of the day that he is not in his crib, his needs are met prior to being placed in his crib, and his needs are met immediately upon being retrieved from his crib, after the designated napping period is up. If he has any immediate needs (dirty diaper, too hot, too cold, etc) while IN his crib, those needs would of course be met as well. He receives what is probably a ridiculous amount of hugs, kisses, and cuddles all day long, so his emotional needs are being met as well. Therefore, I do not believe that the reason he cries when I put him in his crib is because his NEEDS aren't being met....it's because he WANTS to keep playing, WANTS to be held, etc. Which leads to my next point.....

2) What Gunnar WANTS is not always what is best for him. I'm sure that as Gunnar gets older, he will WANT lots of things that are not always in his best interest, that Nason and I will have to say "no" to. Us saying "no" may make Gunnar mad, sad, upset, etc, but it doesn't mean we will change our minds, if we know that our decision is truly what is best for him. This is going to be (well, already is) a HARD lesson for me to learn, because I am a people-pleaser, and so my natural tendency is to want to make people happy, all the time, and ESPECIALLY when "people" = my baby boy. I don't think the goal of parenting though is to always make our kids happy. So besides just being convinced that napping is good for Gunnar, I am using this whole napping thing as a lesson for me, on how to parent according to principles, versus just pure emotion.

So anyway...all that being said, this week was kind of a failure, in the sense that Gunnar regressed from last week, and refused to take an afternoon nap every day except for one, but it was a success, in that I stuck to my guns, and put him in his crib at the designated nap time each day, and made him stay in there, until the designated time was over. Nevermind that at one point, that meant I was sitting in the living room crying too, as I listened to him on the monitor, and that at another point, I had to go sit out on the backporch for a while, because I knew I was on the verge of caving, and going to get him.

We are going to add one more week to our Bootcamp, and I hope to be able to report next week that Gunnar has made the decision to surrender to the Nap God.