Sleep training and the crunchy mom

I am definitely what I'd consider a crunchy mom. I co-sleep. I like baby wearing. We use coconut oil instead of lotion. We're planning to do baby-led weaning. Etc, etc. Being a little more on the AP end of things, sleep training was WAY off my radar.

Until now.

Basically, our issue is that I was over-attentive to Rowan during the night. (So sue me...I'm a first-time mom.) He would start squirming around and I'd immediately nurse him back to sleep. I also often rocked him to sleep at night while nursing. This resulted in Rowan being totally convinced that he NEEDS to nurse to go to sleep. I wouldn't mind THAT quite so much, except that now he's also decided that if he wakes even the tiniest bit in the night, he needs to be nursed. A couple nights ago, I decided to keep track of just how many times that was.

-He nursed to sleep at 9:20
-Nursed again at 10:15
-Nursed again three more times in the 11:00 hour
-No waking during the 12:00 hour
-Nursed twice during the 1:00 hour
-Nursed a couple more times each during the 2:00 and 3:00 hours
-Nursed once each during 4:00, 5:00, 6:00
-Nursed once in the 7:00, and we got up around 8:00

Seriously, I was getting better sleep when he was a newborn. He also has suddenly decided that he doesn't like pacifiers (what the heck, kid?!) so only Mommy nursing him will suffice.

Momma don't play that game.

I'm hardcore opposed to CIO, even with babies who are "old enough", because anything that makes me feel sick like that and makes me ignore my screaming, sobbing child just is not a good thing in my book. So I looked for something that involved sleep training and was compatible with my crunchy mom ideals. Enter "The No-Cry Sleep Solution". Ahh, a plan. Hallelujah. It has great information about how to slowly, gently sleep train your child without making them cry it out. Just what we needed. She does say that it may take a few weeks to change things, but to be consistent and patient and you'll get there.

I can already see a difference in Rowan two days in. It's awesome! We're being better about starting his bedtime EARLY instead of just letting him go to sleep whenever. (Bad habit of mine...I just always would put him to bed when I was ready to go to sleep myself.) We're instituting a bedtime routine to help wind him down at night. He slept from 7:30 last night until 11:00 in his own room, and then I brought him into bed with me. (I'm not totally ready to give up co-sleeping just yet...I love waking up to his coos and smiles in the morning.) We're still working on the using-Mommy-as-a-paci bit, but we're getting there. Slowly but surely. If you're an AP or AP-ish mommy and you're having sleep issues with your kiddo, I highly recommend the book. For now, at least. If we haven't gotten anywhere in a couple months, I may take it back. Hah.

I'm so much less cranky when I've had some sleep!

EDIT: I realize this post seems in direct contrast to the last one. I should clarify...that putting him down to sleep on his own? That only works when he'll take a paci. And since he's decided they're teh debbil, that ended pretty quickly.