[IamMom]

....not my Nora recently. Little miss thang developed some bad habits while she was sick since we had to have her up doing breathing treatments and taking a bottle every 4 hours...well this coupled with her increased ability to play, move, squeal with excitement, etc. has made Nora decide she's going to try to be up at night doing what she wants to do. I never thought I'd have to do it with her because she slept so good from the beginning but I did it...three nights ago we started CIO! See mommy is smarter than Nora and I am not falling for this act...Harrison tried it too! HA!

The night I decided to do it was Monday night...after being up two hours trying to get her to go back to sleep (leading up to this it would take me mere minutes to get her back down and usually only one wake up a night since being sick a few weeks ago) after the third time she got up - I finally had it. It was 3:00. I put her back in her crib - said goodnight - kissed her - and walked out. 42 minutes later (after going in to pat her one time) she was asleep - slept till 7:30

Tuesday night - woke up at 1:15 - went in patted her, said good night - walked out - 38 minutes crying/whimpering - asleep until 6:50

Last night - woke up at 1:30 - didn't leave my bed except to grab my healthy sleep habits book ( i have to read it to be distracted and to remind myself that this is good for her) 14 minutes whimpering - back to sleep on her own - slept until 7.

Let's hope tonight no waking up - I think it'll happen.

She doesn't cry really very hard - not near as hard as Harrison - no weird choking sounds so that's good (I can't take that and give in then) and actually last night it sounded like she was yelling at me and not really crying HA HA! She wakes up smiley and happy so I think she still loves me !

Is anyone else sleep training at this moment? What is your method? How is it going?

Jack cried himself to sleep for a nap today. I dare someone to say something bad about that! Haha. No seriously though, his sleeping has taken a dive the last 2 days. I get him to the whimper/tired cry stage and we do a modified cio at that point. If he is screaming loud though, neither of us can take it and I end up rocking him or something. Luckily, he doesn't sustain that sort of crying for long. I think CIO in some form or another is impossible to avoid unless you co-sleep. If you have ever left your baby's room with them screaming in the background while you tried to prevent yourself from sticking forks in your ears, you have used CIO. Better then the alternative, I say.

[bittersweet]

Wow, looks like you have her back on track! I'm glad that book works b/c I just bought it.

My baby is 6 weeks today (but she was 2 weeks early), so it is too soon to do sleep training. But I plan on implementing techniques as I can.. For now, I focus on not letting her get over tired and attempting to get her to nap if she's been awake going on 2 hrs in the day.

As of this week she has really turned the corner with sleeping better. So far, so is sleeping from around 7pm-12am/1am straight, then she wakes up again around 3ish. She is up for the day around 6-7am. In her night wakings, sometimes she goes right to sleep after feeing, sometimes there is a lot of fussing and work involed. I'm really happy with this for now.

[LisanAndy]

We do the EXACT same thing as you. Rylie was a great sleeper and she's just started waking once (sometimes twice!) a night again so it's back to doing the exact same CIO method as you LoL!

So I may need this tonight ... can you lay out exactly what you are supposed to do and for how long, etc. in this CIO method?

[IamMom]

Oh I'm so glad I'm not alone right now! I know its the right thing to do for us but it still stinks that the babies can't just know they are suppose to sleep! Lisa, Michelle....can we all skype or get on and chat or something tonight while we're listening (or poking our ears out with forks) to our little ones cry. Michelle honey first buy this book by Dr. Weissbluth "Healthy sleep habits, Happy Child" (is this the one you have Erin?) cause you need to read it during the crying to know that others have been there and done thse techniques and their children are okay and it is okay! There are three main methods in the book....I'm doing pretty much the "extinction" method. It's the toughest for parents but gets the quickest results and I'm all for efficiency....KWIM! Actually when I laid her down tonight she woke up about 10 minutes later and wailed while I was reading to Harrison and after 2 minutes she was asleep again ...I ignored it and didn't go in.....see she already knows it'll do no good to cry and she needs sleep! Extinction is where you do not go to them at all - you let them cry for an indefinite period of time.....I did a bit of the graduated extinction (go in and pat them every 5, 10, 15, then 20 minutes) the first night by going in once and the second night by going in that first time but the third night no going in - and that's what I plan to do from here on out (if I even need to) Harrison was fine by three or four nights of this - and 14 minutes last night leads me to believe we'll have no problems tonight! Now of course if your child vomits or whatever you are suppose to go to them..but I've never had my kids get that worked up so I don't have any advice for if that happens.

There's the graduated extinction and "check and console" if you want to tend more to your children and not leave them alone to cry as much. But these take longer to work cause the babies still know you'll come in eventually.

You can do it Michelle! I'm anxious to hear tomorrow how everyone's LO's do!

[ShannonMVT]

I really think we need to do some sort of sleep training but I need to get my Dh on board or he will ruin it. He doesn't want to let Matthew cry for very long. And I admit he is going to be a tough case and I honestly think he may be one of the babies who CIO doesn't work on. Once he gets totally worked up, he is screaming and crying and coughing and doesn't even begin to settle even after 15 minutes, it just gets worse and worse. We do let him whimper and fuss but typically I go get him if he starts full on crying. And he doesn't calm down unless I either nurse him or Dh takes him out and lets him play (which I totally do NOT approve of).

What do you do if you think they do still need to eat at night? There was one night Matthew only woke up once (glorious night!) and I could tell he was just ravenous when he nursed!

If only I could force my Dh to read that book...

[Resi]

Glad she is getting back on track. I never did CIO with Oliver except while in my arms and that is him fighting falling to sleep. Kari,.. haha you would think I'm nuts if you spent the day/night seeing how things go around here.

I have done CIO several times when watching other babies. I guess I don't have a problem when it's not my child. The almost 9 month old I watch will wine/cry for maybe 5-10 mins before he falls fast asleep for his nap. I watched another who cried for about 45 mins but his mom told me to or he would never take a nap. Come to find out he takes a binky and his mom forgot to tell me and pack it. The next day it only took him about 15 mins to fall asleep with his binky.

Oliver has me trained so very well. But I don't mind so I guess it's okay.

Oh and I wanted to add Oliver has only been waking up maybe 2 times to roll over and nurse lately. This is great because he was waking every hours on and off because his first molar was coming in. At least I think that is what was going on. When he wakes he doesn't really wake up.. just rolls to me to nurse.

Keri that sounds intense! But it seems to be working for you which is great. I would totally chat tonight, but amazingly he went down without any fuss tonight. Makes me nervous. His naps were just awful today. I will definitely check out that book. I am glad I have others doing this too!

Shannon, maybe you could have someone like your MIL send your DH an article via email that talks about how sleep is so important for development. I am not sure if such an article exists, but hopefully it does. Then after that mention the book and he might be interested in reading it? That is the best trickery I can come up with.

Maybe now I can get some action since my hubby is home HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!

[ShannonMVT]

Once Dh makes up his mind about something, he is a pain in the arse. I'm going to talk to him about again soon but right now we're having some other issues and I don't really want to get in any more fights.

If nothing else, worst case scenario, the **** will hit the fan when Matthew weans. That may still be a long time from now but it will happen.

[bittersweet]

Keri- Yes that is the book I have! Someone recommended it in my PR and it makes complete sense. I really hope my baby becomes a great sleeper with its help.

[IamMom]

Originally Posted by ShannonMVT

What do you do if you think they do still need to eat at night? There was one night Matthew only woke up once (glorious night!) and I could tell he was just ravenous when he nursed!

If only I could force my Dh to read that book...

well shannoon I am not doctor but most of what you'll read that doctors have written (and if you ask your pedi) they will most likely say that there will never be a night when biologically he needs to eat....he will only WANT to eat and that is a big difference...that's why as parents we are smarter then them.. HA! But you could make sure he eats well enough all day so that the chances of him "feeling" hungry at night will be reduced. Let Matthew prove you wrong and he'll show you he can do it - its worth a try - if it doesn't work at least you'll know you tried everything!

and Michelle - yes there are plenty of articles by reputable doctors that will explain how necessary sleep (and good unbroken continuous sleep) is for developing babies/children....for their all around growth. Now if your baby wakes up at night and you go to them and do whatever you need to do they will still grow up to be fine people of course! But probably everyone in the home deep down wants to sleep all night without interruption....right!

speaking of which - SUCCESS! Nora cried for about 2 min after I put her down last night and then NOTHING...well a little babbling at 5 am but I have a 6:30 (sun up) rule with my kids so I ignored it - and I got up at 6:30 and she's STILL asleep and its almost 7:30 - GLORIOUS RESULTS! Oh wait I think I hear her...gotta go - I'm excited to see her smiling face

Erin....I hope it works for Jenna if she needs it! It sounds like you already have a little good sleeper on your hands...sounds like she'll be like Nora - easily back on track if she goes astray!

Resi - I would not think you're nuts! I truly believe every baby and every mama needs to do what makes them happy - and it sounds like the routine you and Oliver have makes you happy, and he's a happy and healthy little guy!!!!....now when he's 3 or 4.......it'll be interesting

[Mars]

I haven't tried it but sometimes I get so tempted to. Recently Amara's been sleeping through the night a lot so it's goteen way better for me.

Good luck with tonight. It seems like she's going to settle again really soon.

[**jessie**]

That sounds like a great book. I think I may check that out.

I am going to start sleep training at 6 months... which is very soon! We have been lucky to have a great sleeper from the beginning, but I have tried my best to encourage good sleep habits early on. He only wakes up once for a feed everynight (the last time he woke up twice was at 4 wks old, and he has never woken 3x), but I feel he could STTN and the waking is more habit than anything.

So, I have a couple questions for you Keri, or anyone else who has done this. How do you know when a baby doesn't need to eat during the night? Do you just assume 6 mo? And how long is it reasonable for a baby to go without eating?

He goes down at 7:30pm, and I give him a 'top up' of milk before I go to bed at 11. He wakes for the day at 7am, so, I am not sure if 8 hrs is too long to go without a feed. He only drink around 3 oz at 4 am, which I consider to be more of a snack than a meal.

[IamMom]

Jessie - They say at at least 6 months of age they can go as long as 12 hours fine and by they I mean doctors....there are alot of good suggestions in that book on how to tell if your baby is getting enough to sustain throughout the night, like if you let them go all night and diaper is still wet in the morning - they are getting plenty...its kind of a gut thing I think in the end....most babies just "feel" hungry out of habit and don't really need to eat for like biological or "sustanance" purposes at that age thru the night. I would read up on that Jessie or ask your pedi (if you trust them) that question and they should make you feel better about letting them go 12 hours without food. Definintely by 9 months like my Nora no food is needed throughout the night!

[**jessie**]

Thanks Keri. I found that book (in English!) on Amazon and will order it. I have the No Cry Sleep Solution that I found at a thrift store, but it seems to be geared more for older kids. I hope Miss Nora decides to sleep great for you tonight!

well, Jack woke up at 12, 4 and 6 AGAIN! I fed him at 12 and 4, and dh put him back to bed at 6. I am going to stuff him today during the day and see what happens tonight

[ShannonMVT]

Yeah I know he doesn't NEED the food, but I think I read that since it's a habit they FEEL hungry even though they don't need it. I guess I am just a softy and I feel bad that he would be feeling hungry and I was refusing to nurse. Trust me I try to load him up during the day but he it's hard to get him to eat! He only eats a couple ounces of food at each meal and sometimes not even that. And it drives me nuts that mealtimes take FOR-EV-ER. Especially if I try to get him to eat any finger foods.

But yeah, unless I can get Dh to come around I'm just working on putting him down awake as much as I can and also trying to figure out a better routine/schedule (everything has gotten crazy lately with daylight savings plus he's at this stage of trying to go one nap but he isn't quite ready) so that he doesn't get too overtired.

[freesiangel]

I use the same book and followed the extinction method. It worked fabulously!

Shannon, my Xander was the same way with the getting worked up bit and I didn't think CIO would work with him. Night 1 was horrible, but it only took him 47 minutes to fall asleep! Night two he only cried/fussed (no screaming) for 21 minutes and that was that. He'll still occasionally whine for a few minutes, but I think he's just winding down for the night, kwim?

[IamMom]

Jack's got you by the ga-nads Michelle....I think its time for some crying....did you see that last night Nora slept her longest no waking up and crying sleep ever - even when she STTN she never slept in till 7:30! It works I tell ya - and she was happy as can be when I went to get her this morning!

Shannon (you softy HA HA HA!) - you really do need DH on board for it to work...I'm sad for you that he's not....hopefully he'll come around eventually if you decide this is what you want and have to do.

Jessie - yeah for getting the book! I have the no-cry sleep solution as well....but you're right that kind of method works better when you can reason with your kids a bit more. If Miss Nora does what she did last night mommy will be a very happy lady!!!