Sleep Update (for my future reference)

So, it's been long enough that I feel confident that Ella's refusing-to-sleep phase is over. I prayed very specifically for God to show me what I should do to help Ella sleep. A friend reminded me that God knows Ella and what she needs better than I do so why not ask Him for a specific answer? That very day I picked up a SuperNanny book Chris bought me when I was pregnant and it described exactly what Ella was doing (whining, screaming, calling us and then waiting for a response and then getting louder and crying more until we give in and come take her out of bed). It confirmed exactly what I'd been feeling-that this is one of the earliest forms of manipulation kids learn-wearing you down until they get what they want. I knew it felt wrong to let her "win" this battle every night and the Super Nanny's advice gave me the confidence to stand my ground. So, we followed the Nanny's "controlled crying" technique.

1.Talk up the going to bed process and all the steps involved during the day
2.Go through her normal bedtime routine
3.Lay her down in her bed and tell her she needs to put her head down on her pillow and close her eyes and go to sleep. Leave the room.
4.Go back in every 10 min, then 15, then 20 but don't pick her up just remind her that you're still here but that she needs to lay down and go to sleep

So, it was rough to hear her cry but waiting for the timer to go off made it easier to handle. Plus we'd pretty much ruled out that she was in pain or anything. The first night it took an hour before she went to sleep but that's less than 1/2 the time it had been taking for almost 2 weeks!! The next day at her nap it took 30 minutes. The next night she cried for 5 minutes and was out! That was over a week ago and now she's going down like the old days with no crying for naps and bedtime. PRAISE the LORD!!!