Where The Wild Things Are

Yesterday, I let Cát Tiên cry until she fell asleep. She wiggled her way around her crib, and cried with vigor. I wondered what she was thinking about.

Update, Saturday, 5/2/09
This afternoon, I tried again to let her cry herself to sleep. She started to pull herself up on the crib rails, and then sat up and cried. Because she seemed to be wide awake after 20 minutes, I picked her up and let her stay awake.

Update, Sunday, 5/3/09
We let Cat cry herself to sleep on Saturday night. She slept very well and woke up at 4 AM. We let her cry again, and she fell asleep by herself. At 5:45 AM, she woke again. This time she cried for 20 minutes, then pulled herself up by the window next to the crib. She grabbed one of the blinds and started to chew on it. I picked her up at that point, assuming she wasn't interested in sleep.

Update, Monday, 5/4/09
9:30 AM: Cat is wriggly and irritable. Put her in her crib. She drinks another ounce of her milk (she had already drunk 4 ounces in the morning). She pushes the bottle away, and kicks. I let her lay in bed alone. She cries for 20 minutes. Take her out. She's still rubbing her eyes. I bring her downstairs. Hold her and pace back and forth singing "In Out Deep Slow." Have to hold her arms down. After five minutes of crying and struggling, she closes her eyes and relaxes in my arms. I lay her down. She drinks another ounce of milk while asleep.

At 1:00 PM I put her in her crib downstairs. She was awake, but irritable, and hadn't slept since waking at 10:40 AM. She cried for a half hour. She walked herself around the crib the entire time. Finally, at 1:30 PM, she lay down and fell asleep. She was breathing hard from all her exertion.

It's unclear to me if she's ready to just be left on her own.

Update, Tuesday, 5/5/09
9:30 AM Bà Nội tried to get Cat to sleep, but she fussed and cried. Bà Nội said this was unusual, that she's usually able to put her in the crib and get her to sleep quietly.

I wonder if the last few days of letting her cry herself to sleep have actually led her to anticipate the process of falling asleep with stress.

Bà Nội got her to sleep at 10 AM and she slept for two hours. She woke midway and Bà Nội coaxed her to sleep again. Cát Tiên seems amenable to multiple methods of getting to sleep.

Update, Thursday, 5/7/09
On Wednesday night, Christina said Cat fussed a lot while falling asleep.

She woke around 11 PM. I had to pick her up to help her get back to sleep. At 1 AM, she woke again, and I put her in bed with us since she wouldn't lay still in the crib. She fell asleep. I moved her back to her crib about an hour later.

Thursday afternoon, I played with Cat between 2 and 3 PM. She wouldn't take a bottle while she was busy playing. After an hour, I lay her on the couch, and fed her. She didn't resist and fell asleep promptly. I transferred her to her crib.

Update, Friday, 5/8/09
On Thursday night, Cat fell asleep coming home in the car. She slept until 2 AM, then stayed awake until 3:30 AM. During that time, I took her downstairs and let her play. She wasn't willing to lie still in the crib, and was agitated when I tried to hold her. At 3:30, I held her in a way that she could freely move her arms and feet, but her torso remained stationary next to my stomach. I walked back and forth and sang "No Coming No Going". She quieted down within five minutes, and in another five minutes was fast asleep.