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SLEEP TRAINING (Continued from Page 13) have to get sleep in order to be both a mother and do your job." Co-sleeping and beyond During Edwin's first few months, I didn't think much about sleep training or even a schedule; I got sleep whenever I could, prioritizing bonding with my new baby. But after three months of feeling permanently jet-lagged, I started to realize that things were not going to get better on their own. I was co-sleeping with him in a sidecar-style bassinet, but even that was not comforting enough for him, so I started bed-sharing for part of the night. This enabled my son and me to get more sleep (and bonding time) for the first several months of his life. It's 14 Hudson Valley Parent n not for everyone, though, and it isn't a permanent solution, unless you're comfortable with the idea of a 7-yearold sleeping in your bed! 'Cry it out' Throughout those months, I also referred to Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Sleep Solution, hopeful that Pantley's gentle techniques would help eliminate Edwin's night wakings as we transitioned him to a crib in his own room. Unfortunately, his night wakings increased again, and I started to feel as if I'd never get a full night's sleep. One night, I was rocking him, and when I thought he was totally asleep, I put him down. As often happened, he woke and began to cry as soon as his head hit the mattress. I picked him up again and looked into his eyes. His expression became suddenly clear: it was as if he was saying, "Mommy, I want to go to December 2013 Leanne Sowul tried everything from co-sleeping to crying it out to get Edwin to sleep. sleep, but I don't know how." Desperate, I did what I'd never imagined I'd do: I read Dr. Richard Ferber's Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems, and, impressed by the science behind it, decided to try letting my son "cry it Hudson Health Plan health insurance medical