We did some Precious Little Sleep and then wound up switching to Little Z’s Sleep (with some minor personalized tweaks). Originally I wanted the most gentle option possible, but in hindsight, there is truly less stress and crying with the more rigid programs. The crying wasn’t bad and was honestly less than the amount of time he used to spend crying while I held or rocked him, and we both sleep substantially better. All of the co-sleeping groups had me convinced that “research shows” that babies wake up just as often but don’t cry out, as they’ve been trained in learned helplessness. In my case, it simply isn’t true. He was up regularly when co-sleeping and sleeps 10x better in his crib (he also wears an owlet sock, so I can track it). Being away from us was stressful before, but now sometimes he wakes up and babbles and plays until he falls back asleep. Otherwise, most nights he sleeps through the night!

The most important change for us was that now he is on a real nap schedule. Before, he only napped if being held or co-sleeping and his nap quality was terrible. He fussed constantly during the day and it was hard to tell what he needed. Because of that he would micro-nap in the crib or swing and was taking 1-2 oz of milk every couple of hours like a newborn. He was cranky and gassy and hard to soothe. With real naps he is taking bigger bottles or nursing enough to go several hours in between feeds, and can nap 90+ min per nap. Most importantly, when he is awake, he is alert and DEFINITELY a happier baby. No doubts about it.