Starting the training wasn't easy, I've tried, then stopped, and tried again...each time, thinking that he's still too young. Then, the day came when he was 4.5 months old, and I figure it's as good of a time to start as any, let's do this for real. I also felt better about it after talking to my co-worker who said something every enlightening, and that is, my baby has outsmarted me! Of course he has, every time he cries, I pick him up to soothe him. He wins every time. Until I feel comfortable with him crying, ferberizing won't work. Often times, the only way new parents feel comfortable is when they've reached their limit with a given situation. In my case, it was that I wanted my nights back. As much as I love holding him while he sleeps so sweetly and peacefully, I don't want it to form into a bad habit. I'd also really like to be able to read before bed, watch tv sometimes, maybe do my nails, wash my hair and have enough energy to blow dry it perhaps, etc.
Anyways, I am happy to report that on Thursday, June 28th, I successfully ferberized Preston! It wasn't easy, and he cried for an hour, stopping to smile and coo whenever we go in to check and calm him down (which made it even harder because how you can you walk away from a sweet smiling baby when you know he's going to start crying again shortly after you leave?). The next day he got his 4 month shots and I felt bad having him cry to sleep again, so it was back to holding on Fri and Sat night. By Sunday night, I figured the risk of any shot side effects has passed, time to try it again! It was much like Thursday night all over again..sigh..but he eventually fell asleep. To my surprise on Monday night, he fell asleep relatively quickly after crying for 10 seconds and playing with his blanket for another 10 minutes. I consider that a success. The rest is history, Preston has been falling asleep on his own at bedtime and naptime the past whole week. Even if he falls asleep in my arms, I can easily put him down and as long as I give him his blanket, he'll quickly fall back to sleep. Typically, he sleeps through the night, hallelujah! Life's good right now, may it stay this way, please!
Another big milestone shortly after he turned 4 months is that Preston can lift his head while on his tummy now! He's always hated being on his tummy, he'll tolerate it for 5 minutes at most. I discovered this one day after giving him a bath, I put him on his tummy to lotion his back. Suddenly, he started lifting his head up and looking around (grunting and struggling). I was so proud, and even happier that I had the flip cam right there and captured the brilliant moment. Here's my baby demonstrating his newfound ability.
Jack and I also started feeding Preston rice cereal last weekend after talking to his doctor about it. My mom took it a step further this past week and fed him mashed up egg yolk because that's what they used to feed babies in China..sigh. Apparently, Preston liked it, but I need to get my mom to start with the basics. The main goal right now is to teach him how to eat from a spoon, so he's not getting full from this. In fact, he likes to spit out much of what goes in his mouth and sometimes, sputters his food all over his face and us. It'll take time, but each time we feed him, he's taking more in than the time before. We are making progress every day, and it's such a fun journey for all of us figuring out this little guy. It sounds fluffy but true, I love him so much and yes, the love continues to grow each day.
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