Last night was night six and it was pretty good. DS slept from 8pm - 5am, then cried with checks for 40 mins before DH caved and got him up for the day. I wish he would sleep in longer but I also hate having him start his day with an hour of crying after rather miraculously sleeping for nine hours straight. We've played with different bed times and 5am seems to be the latest he will sleep in, I'm hoping he just slowly starts to adjust because I know he needs more sleep at night.
@nicholemcm, he is so adorable! I am on night one right now. I am currently up and actually on the big computer and can see everyone's pics! The reason i am up and on the big computer is because LO woke up and i am doing check-ins. In the book, it says that if they wake up prior to the scheduled time, or even at the scheduled time, to do check-ins until they go back to sleep. Let them sleep for 15 min, then get them up to feed. I think that the point is that the book wants you to feed on your terms not the baby's. Like i said, i'm on day one, the crying is very upsetting, but i just see it as LO's time to learn. And mine. Not sure how naps will go. I wonder if others reimplemented dream feed worked, seems like it would. I know that our pedi said to keep a feeding in, that breast feed babys tend to normally get 5 hours on BM at this age. Maybe that is whats going on. Good Luck!
Anyone have trouble getting their LO to wake up for feeding? Mine was out out out. Talking, light shaking, taking his leg out of his Jammie's and a playing with his foot. Finally I had to flick some water on his head and blow on it. Forget about keeping him upish for the feeding. I don't even know if he ate or just using me as a pasi. Anyone else have this?
Oof. Charlie woke up crying and fussing motn after a week of no wake ups. After two check ins I decided it wasn't a normal cry, it was likely his teeth. I waited until he hit a calm ish spot and went in with some Tylenol mixed with two ounces. It's the only way he'll take it right now. Of course now he'd wide awake. I waited until the meds should have kicked it, kept him in the dark room with very little stimulation, and put him back down. Wide awake. I maybe in for a long one.
That said, he's been falling asleep on the bottle a lot lately but hasn't had any problems staying asleep or putting himself back to sleep in the motn. He's not quite making the minimum formula ounces the doctor would like on top of his solids, and no amount of playing with timing or amounts of solids has fixed it, so I can't skip the last bottle. Moving it up earlier means he gets fewer ounces because it's closer to dinner. Moving dinner up messes with everything. Sigh. He is capable of sttn after falling asleep eating, so I'm not hugely worried about that. Blergh. I hope he sleeps well after he finally falls asleep again now. Checking in soon.
Thanks ladies! I had a chat with DH last night about consistency and he hadn't realized how damaging he was being to the process, so we're on the same page now. I think I also needed to a reminder, as I was feeling discouraged myself.
I did end up doing a feed last night before going to bed and he slept through until I woke him up at 7. He was doing ok without it, but was waking up early. So I think we're back on track.
Question when it comes to naps does it count 1 hour from when I put him down or when he actually falls asleep?
we read a book quietly while holding a lovey, rocking and singing and into the crib - 25 mins of crying and 2 check ins, and now he's alseep.
*let me note, I haven't read the yet but in trying to fix his disaster naps I spoke to the daycare and they told me he falls asleep on his own but can't stay asleep. At home he can't stay asleep or put himself to sleep, so after rocking him for 30 mins him waking up everytime I put him down (and he's a heavy baby) I simply had to expirement this morning (especially since his morning nap is usually his best - a whole 30 mins).
Well he still woke up after 20 minutes, but at least he didn't wake up screaming and crying (like usual). He played and talked to himself for the rest of the hour. Although he's already yawning again. It's so frustrating knowing he's tired but refuses to sleep.
Did anyone else's LO struggle with being able to stay up the 2 hour/2 1/2 hours? DS was going down about 1.15 min before I read sleepeasy and he melts down at the 1.45 min mark. His naps weren't bad prior to starting but are now pretty hit and miss...maybe bc he's overtired? If your LO struggled, did they eventually adjust?? I think the time frame advised in the book makes sense bc this way he doesn't end up super overtired for bed...but he's overtired at other points in the day!
I have a vent, but I'm putting it here because it's sleep training related.
So, DH and I had a chat last night about making sure to be consistent with sleep. We're on day 11 of bedtime training and 7 of nap training.
I woke up with lo at 7am and let DH sleep until 11, and handed lo over to have a cat nap myself. I told him lo was due for nap at 1230 and he could either wake me up to do his wind down (not due for feeding before this nap) or simply do the routine and put him down himself.
I woke up on my own at 1:30 and come out to find lo asleep on DH's chest. I asked him if he put him down to nap and he said no, of course not. That he was trying to let me sleep (crib is in our bedroom) and didn't think it was an issue to have lo sleep on him. I made the point that it may not end up being a big deal, but he doesn't understand as he's not been the one struggling with nap training. When I told him this, he got up and put lo in his crib. So lo wakes up right away screaming, of course, since he's already been asleep for over an hour. Luckily, lo went to sleep at his nap time, but I'm afraid his third nap is going to be a nightmare.
Oh, and to top if off, DH decided to leave for work at 2 when he's not due there until 730.
@camag I don't have any advice on this point DD didn't get her first tooth until 8 mo and teething never bothered her. But, if she was in pain, we would comfort her and do some motrin.
Why is it that my husbands answer to everything is to overfeed the poor kid? Up for a while at 1:30 and won't go back down, so he offered to feed him. Fine. Apparnelty he fell asleep after four ounces but woke up during the transition to his crib. So he fed him another two ounces, same thing happened, except now we have a congested baby with an overfull tommy to boot. I finally got him to sleep at 2:45 after a giant burp and some spit up. He's in his bouncy chair. Tomorrow is going to suck balls.
Why is it that my husbands answer to everything is to overfeed the poor kid? Up for a while at 1:30 and won't go back down, so he offered to feed him. Fine. Apparnelty he fell asleep after four ounces but woke up during the transition to his crib. So he fed him another two ounces, same thing happened, except now we have a congested baby with an overfull tommy to boot. I finally got him to sleep at 2:45 after a giant burp and some spit up. He's in his bouncy chair. Tomorrow is going to suck balls.
FX he's over this sickness soon! Also, I feel like most people equate baby crying to being hungry. I have no idea why.
Did anyone else's LO struggle with being able to stay up the 2 hour/2 1/2 hours? DS was going down about 1.15 min before I read sleepeasy and he melts down at the 1.45 min mark. His naps weren't bad prior to starting but are now pretty hit and miss...maybe bc he's overtired? If your LO struggled, did they eventually adjust?? I think the time frame advised in the book makes sense bc this way he doesn't end up super overtired for bed...but he's overtired at other points in the day!
Yes, but as DS got used to the new routine it got better. Also, the book does say as they begin to sleep better at night they seem more tired at first.
Hang in there everyone, this stuff is HARD! We finished day two, though we are doing a reset. I was basing my times of dream feeding off DHs experience of when LO was getting up at night. I was missing the mark. So last night I documented all of the wake ups and figured out which ones were feed need and which were comfort needs. I am feeling optimistic. With the methods of this book we are nipping the comfort needs in the bud, he doesn't even need an intervention by us and is putting himself back to sleep! The feed needs I have a time on. We will keep one per pedi and ween the second one! So feeling good about tonight and think I finally go DH to understand what's going on (aka, quit taking the crying baby out of bed) lol. He's on board. Naps have been going better. He is napping in his crib which he has never really done that before. Well keep up the good and hard work everyone! It will be worth the work in progress.
I tried last night and failed miserably. She cried all together for over 30 min , DH couldn't take it and told me that I'm torturing her. She was up 4 times at night . Ugh. I'm just so tired. DH sleeps like rock and goes to work early so he'll not be participainting in sleep training but still we are not on the same page. Sorry , had to vent. Maybe I should just wait another week until my mom gets here, I'll have some support.
Please give me the courage to start sleep training! DD really needs to sleep more and so do I. I just know that I'm probably going to cave if she starts crying a lot.
All - Thank you for this wonderful thread and keeping it going. I am a lurker, but sleep deprivation has finally got me moving. I am a STM, but had a different sleep experience with DS. DD is a little over 5 months/23 weeks. I've read the book (as much as possible) but I have a few questions. I'm waiting a bit to start sleepeasy, want her to be closer to 6 months, for me to get a few days at home and for her to bulk up a little more over the 15 lbs recommended.
She goes down easily for the night, but some days wakes up after the first sleep cycle, needs to be nursed to bed. Other days she wakes up after 2 hrs and then it continues all night long. Some good days, I get one 3 or 4 hr segment. Her night wakings are random but definitely 4 times, so I still don't have a handle on which feeds to keep and what to eliminate.
Do you follow a set bed time and wake up time? Are your naps at the same time each day? What do you do on a day of short naps, move the whole schedule up or stick to the established bed time?
@sisaw Yes. Bed and wake up time are set. Wake up is 11 hrs after bed time. They can go longer, but no more than 12 hrs.
It's normal if naps are short at first, but they need to stay in the crib for an entire hour. Then your countdown to the next nap starts after that hour. So really, there won't be much movement of the schedule.
Thank you @nunzchucks & @CharSamm. I realize I am over thinking this. I'll start the program and be prepared to make adjustments.
Another question: When my DD cries, she takes in a lot of air and needs to be burped till she can get comfortable again. I hesitate to let her cry when I know she has a burp stuck. I guess she'll be able to get it out if she rolls on her belly, but she hasn't mastered rolling yet. Has anyone faced this? I wonder if I can modify the check in to quickly burp her in that 30 secs or will that be too confusing?
@sisaw I advise against picking her up to comfort. The book allows for some light patting if you really can't just check in. If you pick her completely up, she's going to have to settle all over again. I'm also not convinced she absolutely has to burp just because she's crying. DS burps every time I pick him up whether he cried or not.
Please give me the courage to start sleep training! DD really needs to sleep more and so do I. I just know that I'm probably going to cave if she starts crying a lot.
I was hesitant to start too because I was worried he would cry a lot and hate me.
We gave it a shot because we were at our wits end - he was crying all the time from being tired and we were keeping him from figuring out how to sleep on his own. And after going through it, I have a happy baby who smiles every time he sees me and is learning so much (just in the past week he's sitting up, playing with his feet, and figuring out how to crawl!). Plus on a selfish level, my house is fully clean for the first time since LO was born and I'm getting tons of work done for school/thesis. We are so glad we switched and are recommending this method to everyone
Talk to me about moving the last bottle up so baby isn't falling asleep on it. We are essentially retraining motn wakeups because he hasn't been falling asleep in there, and after two or three nights sick and with us to simply get him to sleep, he's a mess. He's on 45 minutes of crying with this wakeup after four smaller ones that didn't need checking.
Right now he has a snack after nap around four, solids about six and another bottle around seven. Bedtime is 7:30.
Talk to me about moving the last bottle up so baby isn't falling asleep on it. We are essentially retraining motn wakeups because he hasn't been falling asleep in there, and after two or three nights sick and with us to simply get him to sleep, he's a mess. He's on 45 minutes of crying with this wakeup after four smaller ones that didn't need checking.
Right now he has a snack after nap around four, solids about six and another bottle around seven. Bedtime is 7:30.
Can you feed him sitting up? How about doing a book after the bottle?
We feed all bottles sitting up because of his reflux. I can try waking him up after his bottle to read the book. I don't know. His cry last night was so different. I don't think he was in pain, and we have him Tylenol just in case, but it was awful.
We feed all bottles sitting up because of his reflux. I can try waking him up after his bottle to read the book. I don't know. His cry last night was so different. I don't think he was in pain, and we have him Tylenol just in case, but it was awful.
The book recommends that when you see them start to fall asleep on the bottle, that you do your best to keep them awake. Check page 56 "Do your bedtime routine"
Talk to me about moving the last bottle up so baby isn't falling asleep on it. We are essentially retraining motn wakeups because he hasn't been falling asleep in there, and after two or three nights sick and with us to simply get him to sleep, he's a mess. He's on 45 minutes of crying with this wakeup after four smaller ones that didn't need checking.
Right now he has a snack after nap around four, solids about six and another bottle around seven. Bedtime is 7:30.
We tried what nunzchucks suggested and added books after the bottle. For naps I had to push up nursing to an hour before nap time because she kept falling asleep on the boob. This has worked most of the time.
New question. Nap training. If he falls asleep while we are out and about, when we get home do I let him finish that nap where ever he's willing to sleep or do I put him in the crib? Also, if I move him and he wakes up, do I push for him to finish out the hour?
If he screams for an hour and never takes his nap, do I keep him up the two hours until the next nap time? What if he's showing signs of being exhausted before then? I feel like they tell you naps are harder and them give way less help than night time!
@lilygrace48 I usually just leave him in the infant seat sleeping if he sleeps while we are gone. My kids have never been able to stay asleep thru a seat to crib move. If he wakes when we get home, I just keep him up to the next nap.
As far as timing. I am pretty flexible except with bed time. I really try to keep him up for the whole interval, but sometimes he can't make it (previous nap was short) and I lay him down a little early - maybe 15 min.
He fell asleep!!! After fighting the first two naps, he fell asleep after 40 minutes of crying on the third. I did put him down early because he was rubbing his eyes and avoiding eye contact and all those other tired signs and I didn't want to miss the window. I think maybe reading books wakes him up more, so I will avoid those at bedtime tonight and see if it makes a difference. Here's hoping tonight is easier.
Thanks for the all the support! I truly appreciate it.
Does anyone else have trouble with the dreamfeed? My problem is that I have to change her diaper too. If she gets up on her own she sleeps right thru the diaper change. But since I've been feeding her before she wakes up, she gets so upset when I change her.
Any reason you have to do a diaper change? I would do as little disturbing as possible.
Thanks @CAMag ! Last night was great. He went down at 7 with no crying at all, just a little fussing. Up twice and back to sleep both times with no checkins. Its just after 6 and he's still sleeping. Woo!
I am so glad to hear about everyone's progress! Those that are still struggling, hang in there!@mommywaldron, does it take awhile for her to go back to sleep after being awake for diaper change? My LO will wake up for his feeding but goes right back down with no problem. Also, if you hope to have her STTN, will she still be getting her diaper changed for that? If not, maybe do whatever you plan to do for that so you don't have to change her diaper. Would vasoline work on her skin? That is a tough predicament.
My training was a bust this stretch, though great progress has been made! So happy with the results. He got a pretty bad cold. Just now getting over it, so we will start over next stretch.
We're about a week and a half in now, and I feel like we're doing something wrong? LO has only made it a couple of nights truly sleeping through for a full 10 or 11 hours, on most nights (especially for the last week since I night weaned) he's still up doing a mix of crying/playing/fussing for about a full hour somewhere in the timeframe of 3am - 5am. I don't think this is how its supposed to be going . . any advice? Thanks!
We're about a week and a half in now, and I feel like we're doing something wrong? LO has only made it a couple of nights truly sleeping through for a full 10 or 11 hours, on most nights (especially for the last week since I night weaned) he's still up doing a mix of crying/playing/fussing for about a full hour somewhere in the timeframe of 3am - 5am. I don't think this is how its supposed to be going . . any advice? Thanks!
DS does this too, but we aren't getting up and checking in. When we first started it was an hour, 3w later he is down to 15 min max.
I tossed nap timing out the window and put him down when he showed tired signs. Six minutes of extremely light fussing and he was out. I'm about to take a nap in my own bed, all alone, in the middle of the day. Both babies asleep at the same time. A miracle has occurred.
Question: We have been following a strict schedule for two days now and everything has fallen into place. This weekend we'll be at MIL's house for DH's birthday. What is everyone doing for naps when you visit people and you are out during that time? We'll only be missing one nap, but I don't want to screw this schedule thing up too much. Before sleep training when out and about someone (usually MIL) would walk around and rock her to sleep but I know the book says to avoid old sleep crutches. Not sure how to approach this...
We take the PnP and white noise machine and have LO nap there. Is that possible for you?
Re: The SleepEasy Thread
That said, he's been falling asleep on the bottle a lot lately but hasn't had any problems staying asleep or putting himself back to sleep in the motn. He's not quite making the minimum formula ounces the doctor would like on top of his solids, and no amount of playing with timing or amounts of solids has fixed it, so I can't skip the last bottle. Moving it up earlier means he gets fewer ounces because it's closer to dinner. Moving dinner up messes with everything. Sigh. He is capable of sttn after falling asleep eating, so I'm not hugely worried about that. Blergh. I hope he sleeps well after he finally falls asleep again now. Checking in soon.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
@nunzchucks @camag
Thanks ladies! I had a chat with DH last night about consistency and he hadn't realized how damaging he was being to the process, so we're on the same page now. I think I also needed to a reminder, as I was feeling discouraged myself.
I did end up doing a feed last night before going to bed and he slept through until I woke him up at 7. He was doing ok without it, but was waking up early. So I think we're back on track.
eta change lilnunz to the new!
we read a book quietly while holding a lovey, rocking and singing and into the crib - 25 mins of crying and 2 check ins, and now he's alseep.
*let me note, I haven't read the yet but in trying to fix his disaster naps I spoke to the daycare and they told me he falls asleep on his own but can't stay asleep. At home he can't stay asleep or put himself to sleep, so after rocking him for 30 mins him waking up everytime I put him down (and he's a heavy baby) I simply had to expirement this morning (especially since his morning nap is usually his best - a whole 30 mins).
So, DH and I had a chat last night about making sure to be consistent with sleep. We're on day 11 of bedtime training and 7 of nap training.
I woke up with lo at 7am and let DH sleep until 11, and handed lo over to have a cat nap myself. I told him lo was due for nap at 1230 and he could either wake me up to do his wind down (not due for feeding before this nap) or simply do the routine and put him down himself.
I woke up on my own at 1:30 and come out to find lo asleep on DH's chest. I asked him if he put him down to nap and he said no, of course not. That he was trying to let me sleep (crib is in our bedroom) and didn't think it was an issue to have lo sleep on him. I made the point that it may not end up being a big deal, but he doesn't understand as he's not been the one struggling with nap training. When I told him this, he got up and put lo in his crib. So lo wakes up right away screaming, of course, since he's already been asleep for over an hour. Luckily, lo went to sleep at his nap time, but I'm afraid his third nap is going to be a nightmare.
Oh, and to top if off, DH decided to leave for work at 2 when he's not due there until 730.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
Maybe I should just wait another week until my mom gets here, I'll have some support.
It's normal if naps are short at first, but they need to stay in the crib for an entire hour. Then your countdown to the next nap starts after that hour. So really, there won't be much movement of the schedule.
I was hesitant to start too because I was worried he would cry a lot and hate me. We gave it a shot because we were at our wits end - he was crying all the time from being tired and we were keeping him from figuring out how to sleep on his own. And after going through it, I have a happy baby who smiles every time he sees me and is learning so much (just in the past week he's sitting up, playing with his feet, and figuring out how to crawl!). Plus on a selfish level, my house is fully clean for the first time since LO was born and I'm getting tons of work done for school/thesis. We are so glad we switched and are recommending this method to everyone
J14 Jan Siggy Challenge: Santorini
Right now he has a snack after nap around four, solids about six and another bottle around seven. Bedtime is 7:30.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
Can you feed him sitting up? How about doing a book after the bottle?
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
New question. Nap training. If he falls asleep while we are out and about, when we get home do I let him finish that nap where ever he's willing to sleep or do I put him in the crib? Also, if I move him and he wakes up, do I push for him to finish out the hour?
If he screams for an hour and never takes his nap, do I keep him up the two hours until the next nap time? What if he's showing signs of being exhausted before then? I feel like they tell you naps are harder and them give way less help than night time!
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
As far as timing. I am pretty flexible except with bed time. I really try to keep him up for the whole interval, but sometimes he can't make it (previous nap was short) and I lay him down a little early - maybe 15 min.
Thanks for the all the support! I truly appreciate it.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14
My training was a bust this stretch, though great progress has been made! So happy with the results. He got a pretty bad cold. Just now getting over it, so we will start over next stretch.
Married DH 7/30/11
CSC arrived 5/7/12
CHC arrived 6/2/14