Sleep Training Cont'd: Expectations

Yes! Yes, I would consider myself a successful sleep trainer.  However, in my case I think that is VERY relative to what we needed from the training itself.  We were looking for a more manageable sleep cycle that allowed us to get the rest that we needed so that we could function the next day.  I don't care what any college student says, going multiple days without adequate sleep is NOT at all cool.  Please, we are so far from college I don't even know why I brought that up. 

Below are some realistic expectations that you can set when sleep training. It may differ from you  as I am coming from the perspective of a dad with twins. 

I. You will still get less sleep.  

You think that a perfectly sleep trained baby means that the baby will get 12+ hours of sleep most nights, so you can definitely fit in a good 8 hours and be fine. Sike!  Actually it would be true if you could go to bed when the baby did, but in reality (and in NY, at least) that is definitely not a possibility.  The thing is that after you get home and while baby is awake, it is incredibly hard to get things done (with twins). What that means is that your chores wait until they are down for the night. Between dishes, cleaning, eating, financial business, side hustles, "bedtime activities" and tv you will probably get to sleep between 10:30 and 11:30. At that point you are only really getting like 6 hours at best.  My wife and I plan a night where we go to bed early just to refresh, but when we wake up then nothing is done and we scramble to get it done before going to work.

II. They will still wake up.

Ha! You really thought that a sleep trained baby doesn't wake up.  Well you are sadly mistaken.  They are baby humans not baby robots; they don't just sleep because you expect them to.  For the best trained babies this may mean that something is wrong (i.e., poopy diaper, too hot/cold/humid, etc.) So be sure to check, but always be ready to revert back to your sleep training method when necessary.  

III. You will feel like a horrible parent, but you aren't...most likely

During the first weeks of training, it was less about managing my crying babies but more about managing my crying wife.  Be better than me and be sympathetic to your spouse's feelings but understand that everyone benefits from a well rested baby.  Saying things like "man up" when she's sobbing is not the right move... trust me!

IV. Things Change

These are human beings and they are ever-changing, which means that every week there is a new challenge.  Part of parenthood, I'm learning, is being adaptable.  My boys have been trained, changed cycles and trained a few more times.  

Hopefully, these common expectation help you along your way.