Summary of little J's progress with sleep training for naps

Weeks 5 - 8:

Joshua: Hard persistent cries... "Mummy, I don't want to sleep!" or "Mummy, I don't know how to sleep by myself!" or "Mummy, please carry me to sleep".....

Dad/Mum: Go into his room on and off, pick him up to help him burp, then put him back until the next feeding time. Sometime in week 8, we realised it was not a good idea to go in too much because he would cry even louder, decided to lengthen the intervals and sometimes not go in at all.

Week 9:

Joshua: Sleeps 20/30/45mins (one sleep cycle) by himself and hard persistent cries after waking up... "Mummy, I have slept on my own and woken up, come pick me out of the baby cot, nap time is OVER!"

Dad/Mum: After he awakes, continue to leave him in the cot and only pick him up occasionally until the next feeding time. "No, no, nap time is not over :("

Week 10:

Joshua: Sleeps 20/30/45mins (one sleep cycle) and little hard crying thereafter, just long whimpers and whines while attempting to sleep some more but not often successful. "Mummy, I slept on my own and I have woken up, I am trying to get back to sleep again but it's hard :("

Dad/Mum: After he awakes, continue to let him try learning to go back to sleep another cycle or 2, sometimes he fails and whimpers till the next feed, sometimes he succeeds in sleeping somemore.

It's been a tough journey.. but as we look back and now analyse our boy's progress, we are thankful that he has been learning and till now, still making progress. We are now waiting for the final phase of the training to be completed i.e. when he succeeds in getting himself back to sleep after one sleep cycle for all naps. Though he gets the idea bit by bit, we are grateful for whatever progress he has made. While going through Joshua's training, I have come to realise how difficult it is for children to learn to take longer naps.

I love this promise from God in Isaiah 54:13:

¹³ All your children will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be their peace.