Throwing in the Towel

How do you know when it is time to throw in the towel and cut your losses?

My husband and I have been working with our son trying to help him learn how to fall and stay asleep. My son is a finicky sleeper at best. Rocking him to sleep did not work because it just became a two hour wrestling match. Patting him to sleep did not work because he thought it was a game -- and even if he did settle down after 25 minutes of patting and shushing, he would only get madder when I stopped.

We have been letting him cry (mainly fuss) himself to sleep -- with our supervision, of course. Neither one of us believes a little one should be crying hopelessly in the dark alone. When he goes to sleep I check on him every 10 or so minutes. He is usually asleep in 20 - 30 minutes (only 3 checks). I can live with this. I can live with the fact that he now takes two naps a day with minimum fuss. What is getting hard to live with is the 3:00 a.m. waking.

He wakes up and cries. I go in there after a couple of minutes to make sure there is nothing serious, tuck him back in, and leave. We then begin an hour of fussing and crying -- at least we hope it is only an hour. Rocking, patting, etc. does not work (see above). So, I end up with a stressed out family in the wee hours of the morning.

I have been trying to avoid another bottle during this time. My son is in the 97% percentile and does get plenty of calories during the day. Any child who can eat 12 TBSP of cereal, 15 oz. of fruits and veggies, 1-2 oz. of chicken, and 30 oz. of formula during a day is not starving. Tonight I tried giving him a little water, but he is still crying and I am writing a post.

I am out of answers.

I am frustrated.

I am tired.