3 days on..Josh now sleeps in a bed!

[MummytoJosh]

Just had to say that I am a proud Mum today. Read toddler taming 3 days ago, took up the controlled crying bit, and last night he slept ok, woke only once and slept till 8.10am this morning! Now, when you compare that to Sunday ( started cont. crying on Monday)he woke about 4 times, then came to our bed, then woke 6am. It is a MAJOR breakthrough in our household. I cant believe it you know! I felt so good doing it the 1st night, I did not get angry, as I knew I was in control, not Josh, I knew i was doing the right thing, it was hard, at one point I was in tears in the other room, but we hung in there, and 2 hours latr he shut up!The longest 2 hours of my life I may add.
Tonight he is still fast asleep. He woke with a wet nappy, I changed him, and yes..he went straight back to sleep, I just walked out and he went to sleep! That was unheard of in this house untill Monday.
Josh is special. He is adopted and has a hole in the heart. We tried for our own baby for almost 20 years b4 having Josh last September. We were told not to let him cry too long due to his heart, so I was scared to do the controlled crying bit to be honest with you. But I knew we had to do it to bring peace to our lives as we had started to argue, me and my hubby that is. We cut the time down to leaving him for 2 mins, then 2+abit mins, etc, etc.That way I knew it was safe to leave him cry.
I cannot express how pleased I am that I read Dr Green's book. It has made me feel I am not alone. As a new Mum to a one year old ( he is now 2)at the age of 41, I had felt I was alone with how I felt, that I was the only one who felt they were not in control. Now, after reading the book ( my Bible!) I feel I am not on my own anymore, that I am in control, and that things can only get better from now on.
This site is just the best ever, you are all a great bunch! Thanks for helping me out with my questions about kicking the dogs and running out of every door the other day that I posted on here folks.
One more q's if you dont mind....is there a chat room that you can use, or is it just about posting messages on here? I am new to all this you see!
Thanks Dr Green for giving me back my sanity.

Hi Mummytojosh, what a lovely story. I too am great fan of Dr. Green's book.
Wellcome to mumsnet. It is a great site. There is not a chat room but it has been known for the boards to get used almost like that of a late evening! There are several "older" mums here so you are not alone.
If you post your comments or questions you will usually get a response, although it is quieter at weekends.

Well done - you are right to feel pleased with yourself - it is hard isn't it - I have done this a few times with getting my two to sleep properly and giving up their dummy. Once you have set your mind to do it, as you say, you feel more in control of your family life.

MummytoJosh, dh and I are fans of Dr Green too. We did controlled crying with ds at 14 months - it was very hard, but it definitely saved our sanity! We have never had problems at bedtime since (he is now just 5).

Mind you, reading the thread about 8-y.old bedtime problems, I'm not going to be too complacent just yet .

Josh sounds very special, and I can see your concerns about him. however I think you're doing the right thing - despite the hole in his heart he is a normal little boy, and IMHE all small boys need to know who's in charge! All our children are so precious, and with a child like Josh it's probably tempting to let him have his way a bit, but in the end it probably doesn't do the child any favours if they end up spoiled (not that I'm suggesting that this would have happened to Josh ).

Good luck with your lovely little boy, sounds like you're getting on top of this motherhood thing (as far as any of us ever do ).

Well done - It's nevr easy being 'cruel to be kind' and doing controlled crying - but in the long run ds will be so much happier for being well rested - never mind how much happier you and dh might be!