Sleep training has been a fraught process with each of our three kids, both in terms of teaching them to get down to sleep at bedtime and then getting themselves back to sleep without bringing them into our bed when they wake up in the middle of the night. We’re just at the latter stage with Kara.
Having been away at a work do the previous night when Heather decided to bite the bullet and lay down the law, I was happy to do my turn and take over when Kara kicked off at 11:00 last night with a prolonged series of piercing screams which would have drowned out even a horde of banshees armed with a Spinal Tap-style turned-up-to-11 amp.
To be honest, I can deal with all the screaming. I can tune it all out and still fall asleep even when she’s going full tilt. (Hey, I once snored undisturbed through an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale – I can sleep through anything.)
It’s not the volume that gets to me. It’s the accompanying combination of advanced emotional manipulation techniques that Kara employs that is heart-breaking. She’ll make a great interrogator one day – she could break even the most hardened of criminals.
The following series of tweets – typed over nearly an hour while sitting at the foot of her bed waiting for her to calm down and nod off again – pretty much sums up the experience.
Sleep training tonight. Kara can go from 0 to 100 decibels in 0.36 seconds. Pass the earplugs, please
— Slouching Thatcham (@thatchamdad) February 7, 2014
If short-track speed shouting was a Winter Olympic sport, Kara would be a gold medallist …
— Slouching Thatcham (@thatchamdad) February 7, 2014
They say good things come in small packages. If by ‘good’ they mean ‘ear-splittingly loud’ then yes, absolutely #sleeptrainingnightmares
— Slouching Thatcham (@thatchamdad) February 7, 2014
I can cope with the crying & toy-throwing, even the plaintive wails of “Daddy!” It’s when she switches to “Mummy!” that she breaks my heart
— Slouching Thatcham (@thatchamdad) February 7, 2014
50 minutes later, and it’s blissful silence. Well, blissful snoring, anyway. Night night, baby girl. Sweet dreams 🙂
— Slouching Thatcham (@thatchamdad) February 7, 2014
Anyhow, the important thing is that it did eventually work and things are heading in the right direction, which is all you can ask for. Round three tonight.
One day we’re going to make it through an entire night without any of our trio of non-sleeping beauties demanding a place in our bed. One day …