Baby Boot Camp!

Welcome to what I have officially called "Baby Boot Camp Week" in the Chao household. We are teaching Lucca how to sleep! The primary goal this week is putting Lucca on a nap schedule and teaching her how to sleep in her cradle/crib for naps. Since she was born, we have been on the GO-GO-GO! In the past few months, we have taken her to New Zealand, Los Angeles (many times), Seattle (three times).... She has been such a phenomenal lil traveler, but we have unfortunately taught her how to take naps in her stroller, in a car, or in an airplane, since we are always on the move.

Also, Mama was still working full-time for EA (from home!) for the past two months, so the stroller worked like magic to get Lucca to sleep. I would take Lucca on a walk (or even stroll her on our patio) just before a meeting, so she would sleep while I could work or get on a conference call. This has started to backfire because now Lucca expects to be walked or driven around while she sleeps, instead of napping in her bed :) Some days, it feels like I take 100 walks! Now that I am officially a SAHM (stay-at-home-mommy....yeah!!!!), I have time to re-train our baby girl how to sleep properly and on a schedule.

We are on day 2 of Boot Camp. Yesterday, Lucca took 2 naps in her bed. I'm trying out the "Cry it Out" method and it's HARD! When I put her down for her first nap, she cried for 20 minutes before falling asleep. I actually expected worse. For her afternoon nap, she cried for 45-minutes (FORTYFIVEMINUTES!!!!), which felt like an eternity, but then she finally fell asleep. You better believe I was standing right outside her door, ready to go in and pick her up...but I didn't! And we are making progress. Today she cried for 5 minutes before her AM nap, and only 2 MINUTES for her late afternoon nap! God must know it breaks my heart to hear that girl crying for too long.

Proof of yesterday's first successful daytime nap in the cradle: