Those who have used Ferber...

Zephyr331

Our breastfed son slept 8-10 hours per night for months 1-3, but has been waking up anywhere from 2-6 times a night the last month.  We believe it was a combination of daylight savings time, a cold, and a growth spurt and now he's in a habit of waking up.

Yesterday we went to the doctor for his 4-month check-up.  She said based on his weight, and overall health, we could start letting him cry-it-out using Ferber.  He' has gone from the 20th to the 64th percentile for weight - this kid is not starving!

My question is...for those who have used Ferber - would you rate it as a successful experience?  How many nights did it take?  Was there anything you wished you had known before you did the method?  Do you dream-feed with Ferber?  I haven't read the book yet.  My husband and I decided to wait a few more weeks while we do some research.  I don't like the idea of letting him cry, but I realize that getting more sleep at night is the best for all of us.

lisagoertzen

I heard about this and I took it much harder than my son. I geared myself up for it a couple nights ago after a week of getting up any where from 5-9 times usually every hour. I would fed him (if he fell asleep I would wake him up while burping) made sure he was awake then put his soother in and gave him a little snuggle layed him in bed then turned out the lights. To my suprise he went straight to sleep The whole first night was like this. The next day we tried it with naps (never good at our house . . . he would normally only sleep for a max of 20 minutes in his bed) once he got nice and tired fed again put to sleep awake and he slept for 1 hour!! I was pacing!!!!! The next nap he must not have been too tired and cried/wined for 22 minutes (after a while I gave him a little stuffy and he played with it and went to sleep). I now feed, give him his soother, snuggle and put him in bed with his stuffy. Last night he slept for just over 11 hours and only got up once to eat for 10 minutes. (This was our 3rd night of this method . . . the first night he was up 3 times then 2 times then last night was 1 time :) maybe working towards sleeping right through.) I will admit one time I got lazy in the night and put him into bed sleeping and he was up within the hour So if you try it STICK TO IT!! Trust me I took it to be way harder then it actually was!! Now we are both MUCH happier people!! GL

TwinMama83

Last night was our night 4 of Ferber.  That man is a genius, I tell you.  We read the book first, and I think I'd recommend that.  It also has a lot of great info for older children, and I think it will be a good reference book for us as our LOs get older.  Night 1 - It took about 10 minutes of crying to get our babies to fall asleep.  They slept until 2am.  DD woke up crying, then she woke her twin brother up and it was on and off crying from both of them for about an hour and a half.  Then they woke up again at 4:30am and cried for another 30 minutes.  Then they woke up again at 5:30am and I got them up for the day.  Night 2 - It took about 25 minutes of crying to get them down.  DS woke up twice, and only needed one 5 minute check up. By the time it came for the second check up, he had already fallen back asleep.  Other than the crying to fall asleep initially, DD slept all night long without a peep.  They were up again for the day at 5:30am.  Night 3 - DD went right to sleep again, and DS cried for about 5 minutes.  DS woke up once and before we could go in and check on him, he fell asleep on his own.  DD slept all night without a sound.  Night 4 - (might be a little different because they got shots yesterday).  DS cried for about 5 minutes then fell asleep.  DD went right to sleep without a sound.  They both woke up at 4:30am, cried for 10 minutes then back asleep.  Woke up again at 5:30am, decided to let them cry and see how they'd do... they cried for 10 minutes then back to sleep.  They woke up again at 7am and we started our day.

Overall, it was 100% worth it for us to go through that one night with very little sleep.  It has made for much happier babies, well rested parents, and easy nap times during the day.  The first night I was convinced that what we were doing was crazy and that we were torturing our children, and we decided to go one more night and if there was no improvement we'd just give up and try again in a few weeks.  I was absolutely shocked at the 180 degree difference between nights 1 and 2.  I say GO FOR IT!  You will NOT regret it!