Sleep Training, who has tried it?

Loli191

My LO has gone through his 4 month sleep regression and wakes up every 40 mins on the dot. At night he can go longer for some reason. Because of this I think he could greatly benefit from sleep training but I'm super anxious about it. For those that have done it, I have a few questions for you: What method did you use? What was the outcome? Was it effective? How old was LO when you started? How did you know LO was ready to start sleep training? How did you get through the tough few nights? Any suggestions you have are greatly appreciated!

tbmadeamistake

We are using sleepeasy solution and so far its working well. There is a book to get by Waldburger that talks you through the whole process. We have had almost immediate success with it. The book reccomends 4 months and 14 pounds before sleep training.

jnnfrrose6

We follow the moms on call method.  As far as I can tell, it's pretty similar to others in letting the baby be fussy for a few minutes before going to soothe them and doing that 3 times before actually getting baby up to nurse/rock back to sleep and working on pushing back these wake up times.  I've found my experience controversial on here, but we started around 3 weeks for both kids.  We never really had "tough" nights because baby is only fussing for 3-5 minutes at a time 3 times max, so never more than about 15 minutes before being picked up, unless they got themselves back to sleep.  I find the best thing to help me get through is to know that what I'm doing is best for my child and family and feeling confident in that decision (that goes for anything, really).

JustGoWithIt

We are having a tough time with the sleep regression also. I don't recall any of this with DS#1, but I believe we started modified training after 6 months. Im not a fan of CIO, so we modified it a bit. I'm one of those people that needs measurements/specific steps, so we would let him fuss for 1minute, go back in & soothe (hopefully without picking up), let him fuss for 2 minutes, go back in, etc. we would add one minute each time. He never made it more than 10 minutes before he fell asleep. And it didn't take long for him to catch on. It was a shorter process every day.

I've been reading a lot about this 4mo regression the last few days, because it also had me wondering if we should start "training" before 6 months. Basically, the problem at this stage is that they now go thru sleep cycles & when they are in lighter sleep they don't know how to fall back asleep on their own. I read last night that some say they developmentally aren't ready to master self soothing until 4-6mo, with most closer to 6 months. *i am NOT saying that anyone that trained earlier is wrong. We all do what is best for our babes & family.* 

I think we will wait until closer to 6 mo, but I am trying now to put him in his bed drowsy, but awake. Last night I also bumped his bedtime earlier even though he has an early bedtime already, and I stood by his crib & kept putting the binkie in when it would fall out/he would wake, until he was really asleep. He was never crying, just awake. It actually worked really well. I only stood there for about 15 minutes. I'm sure tonight will be a mess, but I was pleasantly surprised last night. 

Good luck with whatever u decide. I hope you get some sleep soon!

jfletcher3113

LalaMama81 said:

I think 4 months is too young for any real sleep training, especially one involving cio. And since 4 months is a typical regression, it's not a good time to try.

This.

I don't agree with CIO but I'll fully admit, we haven't gotten to a place where I think we'd need it so I try not to judge (my little guy is 6 months old). I'm not sure how I'd react if my kid was up every 40 minutes. He did go through a rough patch during the regression, though. 

A girlfriend of mine did the Ferber method with her son and swore by it. He was six months old when they did sleep training. 

BUT you do have to wait until a certain age/weight because otherwise, it's just cruel. They don't understand what is going on. Crying is the only way our babies know how to communicate. At about six months old, babies start to understand that their crying has a cause-effect reaction but, before then, they do not understand this. So... I'd say if sleep training is for you, you should wait until 6 months. 

There are conflicting theories so I say check them both out and see what you feel comfortable with. 

For me personally, this article (and others like it) is what keeps me in the non-CIO camp:

/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201112/dangers-crying-it-out

Good luck and I hope your LO gets some sleep soon! 

argonne

LalaMama81 said:

We follow the moms on call method.  As far as I can tell, it's pretty similar to others in letting the baby be fussy for a few minutes before going to soothe them and doing that 3 times before actually getting baby up to nurse/rock back to sleep and working on pushing back these wake up times.  I've found my experience controversial on here, but we started around 3 weeks for both kids.  We never really had "tough" nights because baby is only fussing for 3-5 minutes at a time 3 times max, so never more than about 15 minutes before being picked up, unless they got themselves back to sleep.  I find the best thing to help me get through is to know that what I'm doing is best for my child and family and feeling confident in that decision (that goes for anything, really).

Yea, sorry, letting a 3 week old cry for 5 minutes in purpose is pretty crappy, sounds like you already know that, though.

Eh...fussing is not the same as crying.  I usually let DD fuss, because sometimes she'll resettle and go back to sleep.  If fussing turns into crying, then I get her.  I've been doing this since she was about 4-5 weeks.  With DS, I used to run in the minute he made a noise. I think this really inhibited his sleep and learning to fall asleep (sometimes he wasn't even awake and I would accidentally wake him), which basically turned into having to do CIO when he was 9 months.

JayBzo

I think it is silly to act like someone allowing baby to fuss or even cry for 5 minutes is wrong. Babies cry for longer periods of time on a regular basis while moms try and make bottles, or deal with other kids, or what have you. 5 minutes is nothing. 

For us we have tried several things and nothing has been wildly successful. Things that seem to work better are putting LO down awake, trying not to pick up etc but even then his sleep got worse and he was waking up every 1.5 hours.. I just try to keep bedtime the same, not rush in at the first peep, etc. I liked moms on call, the sleep lady's book and the baby whisperer solves your problems books as they are gentler tactics. I personally read them all and picked different things to use and it seems to work most nights! Good luck!