First of all thanks, still can't believe that after all these months he is sleeping. So if my message will help at least one parent - I will be delighted!!!
So Dr Richard Ferber (director of Sleep Laboratory and the Centre for Paediatric Sleep Disorders and paediatrician) talks in a book in general about sleep: REM (rapid-eye-movement sleep) and non-REM. I am not going to go into it but the only thing I would like to mention is that I noticed myself before that after finally I did settle my baby and he fell asleep he would sleep without interruption first 4-6 hours and then will be up every 40min-1 hour. Dr Richard Ferber explains that first we fall into very deep sleep which last approx until 11.00-12.00 then it is very light sleep, during which we dream and then eventually near morning we fall into deep sleep again. That explained to me why he was up more during this specific time.
As regarding to the technique Dr Richard Ferber advices the following (brief):
Summary
Day 1stWait 2ndWait 3rdWait SubsequentWait
1......5........10......15........15
2......10.......15......20........20
3......1 5.......20......25........25
4......20.......25......30........30
5......25.......30......35........35
6......30.......35......40........40
7......35.......40.... ..45........45
1 The chart shows the number of minutes to wait before going in if your child is crying at bedtime or after night-time wakings
2 Each time you go in to your child, spend only 2 t 3 min. Remember, you are going in briefly to reassure him and yourself, not necessarily to help him stop crying and certainly not to help him fall asleep. The goal is for him to learn to fall asleep alone, without being held, rocked, breast-fed, or using a bottle or dummy.
3 When you get to the maximum number of minutes to wait for that night, continue leaving for that amount of time until your child finally falls asleep during one of the periods you are out of the room
4 If he wakes during the night, begin the waiting schedule at the minimum waiting time for that day and again work up to the maximum
5 Continue this routine after all wakings until reaching a time in the morning (usually 5.30 to 7.30) you have previously decided to be reasonable to start the day. If he wakes after that time, or if he is still awake then after waking earlier, get him up and begin the morning routine.
6 Use the same schedule for naps, but if your child has not fallen asleep after 1 hour, or if he is awake again and crying vigorously after getting some sleep, end that naptime period
7 The number of minutes listed to wait are ones that most families find workable. If they seem too long for you, use the times shown on the chart below (I am not typing this chart but if anyone wants it, let me know and I will type it)
8 Be sure to follow your schedule carefully
9 By day 7 your child will probably be sleeping very well, but if further work is necessary, just continue to add 5 minutes to each time on successive days.
First night my DS cried after 5 min, 10 min, 15 min and fell asleep on the second 15 min. He woke up again that night at 12am and again cried until second wait of 15 min and fell asleep until was up at 6am. He cried until 6.30 and I got him up for the day.
Second night it took us the same to put him to sleep (he fell asleep during second wait of 15 min) and slept until 6am.
Third night he just went to sleep and slept until 6.30am.
I was braced myself for the worst but to be honest it was not that hard. He normally did cry anyway when we were putting him to bed and to be honest it was taking us longer to get him to sleep.
Hope it will work for you aswell!!!