The better of 2 evils?

We have decided to start setting Joshua into a routine of going to bed for the night around 8pm. There are 2 reasons for this decision.

1. We were getting so tired & worn out not going to bed til midnight or after. (especially Tom who had to get up at 6am & go to work)

2. We were getting absolutely no time together as a couple. Tom would leave for work while I was still sleeping & then the evening was spent taking turns walking around with Josh, before falling into bed exhausted.

The method we have chosen is a modified version of the controlled crying method & setting a before bed routine. So it starts at 7pm with a bath, then a feed, settling & into bed. If he wakes we go in, settle again without any talking or eye contact & into bed again. The difference between the normal controlled crying method & our is that there is no period of letting him cry, we go in as soon as he starts crying. We believe that this is better than letting him cry as it develops a sense of trust, rather than him feeling his needs are not met (based on the understanding that a baby cries to communicate a need). I won't go into all the theory here, but if you want to discuss/comment feel free to write to me.

So it's Day 2 of our routine (early day yet I know). The first night he didn't settle until 10pm with 4 or 5 resettlings. Then slept til 8am with feeds at 2 & 5, settling straight away after. Last night he settled by 8:45pm with only 1 resettling, but awoke at his 5am feed bright & cherpy & ready to start his day. He did finally fall asleep again after an hour or so & awoke again at 8am.

So so far I guess it seems to be going ok, Just hope he doesn't continue thinking 5am is time to start the day!! Will keep you posted on the progress.