please help me make a decision about sleep training

joecubed

Some of you have seen my desperate posts lately.

Well, I truly believe Seth is better from the RSV.  We've had no fever since Monday early evening, and he's generally happy during the day.  I sent him to daycare for a half day yesterday, and they raved about him being back and how good of a day he had.

The problem is that our sleep is still in the crapper, and it is getting worse instead of better.

He wakes crying after every single sleep cycle (every 45-60 minutes) and he's waking up for the day earlier and earlier (used to be 7am, now he's awake crying at 5:30 and can't really get back to sleep).  We keep him in his crib until about midnight - 1am, and then we cosleep in an effort to get more sleep.  I absolutely know that it is our lack of consistency that has created this problem, but he has never been a "good" sleeper.

I am generally opposed to CIO because I feel guilty listening to him cry.  I'm at the point, however, where I feel guilty that he's so clearly not getting the sleep he needs.  He's very headstrong, and the non-CIO methods that have worked for us in the past do not work later in the evening (even though they do at earlier points, so we continue to do those).

What are your thoughts on this?  I am so confused about what is best for my sleep-deprived stubborn baby.

Sweet_Lady

Eventually you will get over the guilt of letting DS cry.  I had to do something as DS had been sleeping in our bed with us since like month 5 and i just couldn't take it anymore.  He actually did better than i thought and only cried a lot the first night.  He has slept the last three nights in his crib and i feel so much freedom!  We were planning on doing ferber (where you go in to check 5, 7, 10 mins etc) but he never cried long enough for us to check!

Brit1017

Nothing is ever harder than listening to your baby cry, but with CIO it is for a reason. You have to think of it that you are helping them to learn a skill that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. DS used to get up every 1-1.5 hours all night every night. We did sleep training- which only took about 3 nights- and he has been sleeping 11+ solid hours every night. He is a much happier, well-rested baby, and we are happier, well-rested parents!

IckyThump

I feel the same way - the idea of CIO doesn't thrill me in the least, but when a baby's sleep pattern is as effed up as your DC's (and sometimes my DS), that's not healthy at all. Babies need a certain amount of sleep everyday, and when they're not napping or sleeping enough at night it can be detrimental to their development and overall health. I would never force someone to do a CIO method if they aren't comfortable with it, but IMO, if no other sleep training method worked, I would do a controlled CIO method.

ECUGirl2004

I feel your pain.  I just bought the Ferber book and Healthy Sleep Habits last night.  I'm going to read them, see what they suggest, and start a plan next week, I think.