For those night weaning. If my kid is going to bed at 11 and not waking until 6 or 7 to eat then going back to sleep until 10 am, would that be considered a night feeding because of our wonky schedule? If she wakes up at 4 am would I make her wait until what time?
If you want to wean the 6AM feed, wake up at 5 then just check ins until 10 (11 hrs in crib). According to the book, tho, 11PM bedtime is way too late. Any reason bed is that late?
As to your other question - This method is all about a consistent response to crying so LO learns to self soothe. While I'm sure you can use some parts of the book (bed time routine), I don't think you can expect the 5 day result of 11 hrs of sleep.
Okay, here's how it went: Bed at 7:15, 1hr12m crying. I went to bed at 1130 and got up at 2 am for dream feed and he was wide awake already, but quiet. He was still wide awake after his feed, but we put him to bed anyways and it took 18m for him to get to sleep. We had a wake up and 1 check in at 430, then grumbles from 5-6:15, at which time I got him up for the day.
@charsamm First question: Have you read the book? Make sure you do before jumping into sleep learning. There's a lot covered in the book we haven't discussed here.
My son is a thumb sucker. After a few times falling asleep and waking when his thumb fell, he learned to turn his head slightly so it didn't wake him. That's going to be something she will have to figure out. It's part of the learning to self soothe process.
We've been sleep training for about a month and usually LO goes right to sleep or fusses for up to 10 minutes. In the past week she's mastered back to tummy rolling. Now when she fusses to sleep, she rolls onto her tummy (she won't sleep on her tummy) and can't flip back over so we have to go in and flip her. It now takes about 45 minutes for her to fall asleep because she's constantly flipping over and we're having to reset her. Any advice?
We've been sleep training for about a month and usually LO goes right to sleep or fusses for up to 10 minutes. In the past week she's mastered back to tummy rolling. Now when she fusses to sleep, she rolls onto her tummy (she won't sleep on her tummy) and can't flip back over so we have to go in and flip her. It now takes about 45 minutes for her to fall asleep because she's constantly flipping over and we're having to reset her. Any advice?
We had this problem before we started sleep training. He was rolling over on his stomach anytime he woke up and couldnt get back. We spent two days teaching / making him roll from stomach to back all day long before he figured it out. Now when I put him down he'll fuss until he puts himself on his stomach and then go to sleep
I just ordered the book but haven't gotten it yet. We hit the 4 month wakeful about 2-3 weeks ago and it's been downhill ever since. Prior to that she was waking up once or maybe twice but would eat and go right back down.
Now....she wakes up every 2.5-3 hours and decides it is play time. She squeals and plays in her crib until she is wide awake. Then once she's had enough she cries until I come in there and feed her. Makes sense to me because after 30 minutes of playing she has figured out she is hungry. It's frustrating. I'm afraid CIO isn't going to work for her because she gets herself so wide awake. Our silver lining is that I can put her down wide awake and she puts herself to sleep every night. Now she just needs to figure out how to go BACK to sleep.
BFP #1 - January 2010...m/c at 12 weeks
BFP #2 - December 2011, little lady #1 born August 2012
BFP #3 - August 2013....m/c at 5 weeks
BFP #4 - October 2013....little lady #2 born June 2014
Update on day 4: Again, early in the evening, but he's asleep (or awake and quiet?) after 46 minutes. Which is an improvement from last night's 1hr12m. And I'm on my own tonight as DH is working. GO ME Will update in the am - hopefully we have another one like last night
Update on day 4: Again, early in the evening, but he's asleep (or awake and quiet?) after 46 minutes. Which is an improvement from last night's 1hr12m. And I'm on my own tonight as DH is working. GO ME Will update in the am - hopefully we have another one like last night
Ok. I think I'm going to buy this book and start it off, because I would really like him to learn to sleep through the night. My question... He is 5 months on Monday but was born a month early... is he ready for sleep training yet?
LO is refusing the dream feed. She is not quite 5 months or 15 lbs, but can't get her to do it. But she loves her some food and milk/formula during the day. Do you ladies think I'm okay, or should I really push it?
where did my portfolio picture go?
Dream feeds were getting us nowhere. He'd barely want to wake. I stopped them 2w shy of 5 mo
Question for anyone who might have an idea.. Jayce appears to be cutting a tooth. He is finally settled into the routine completely and has no trouble putting himself to sleep. The book says that they will likely have trouble sleeping and napping, and that it is a-okay to soothe them normally during this period.
So if he cries in the middle of the night, would you pick him up and soothe him? Allow him to try and put himself back to sleep first and then soothe? Will this ruin our progress? He doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain, and we're prepared to use all things the book suggests, but it doesn't really go into the soothing part.. Just pain management basically! So any pointers would be really appreciated :-)
I would likely do check ins. DD had settled into her routine by the time she started cutting teeth and still slept thru with no issues. The only time we picked her up to comfort was when she was pretty sick around 7 mo and had a fever. We gave her Motrin and settled her back down and put her in bed. If you think the pain is bad, could you do Motrin before bed? We do that for DD even now when she's cutting teeth (molars are a bitch)
Dangit! Day 6 here and had been doing well with no MOTN wakeups but tonight he has....he's due for a poop so we let him cry for 30 min to no avail and then checked - of course no poops.
Naps still suck, but since that was our biggest problem, I am sure it will take a long time to iron that out.
Hope everyone else is having great success!
Update: I wanted to add these up in good and bad columns, but I'm so tired that I'm not sure which is which hah So to bed at 730, cried for 46 minutes, then intermittent crying (7x from 9-1230) with settling under 5 minutes. Dreamfeed at 130 (tried to catch him before he woke up, but he was already awake, but happy). Fed for 13m instead of 20 - he went to sleep. Put him back in crib and cried for 8 min and went to sleep. But! cried at 330, which required one check in, then intermittent fussiness until I got him up at 5.
So, less crying at bedtime, easier settling, but trouble with staying asleep during those couple hours before wake time.
@nicolemcm If he's going to bed at 7:30, he needs to stay in his crib until 6:30. Still, he is improving by settling in under 5 min when he's waking. He will get there!
With your dream feed, if he is awake, the book recommends you wait for him to go back to sleep, wait 10-15 min THEN feed (page 67 sidebar).
nunzchucks said: (I don't know where all this went...)
The only thing with the dreamfeed is that he was already wide awake when I went in, not fussy, just laying there. So I wonder how long he'd been awake for since he usually doesn't wake for a feed until 330, so I thought I'd given lots of time to catch him before usually due. Maybe I'll push it back a bit since he was also awake at 2 the night before, so I'm not sure going in earlier will do any good.
I'll keep him in the crib longer tomorrow, just the time change is taking some adjusting.
Night #1 went great! (Hopefully I'm not jinxing it!)
Here's the rundown: 7:20- put in crib 7:39- asleep 11:30- dreamfeed 2:10- woke 2:24- asleep (only cried 7 mins) 5:45- woke *She cried/fussed for about five minutes before I took her out at 6:00. I need to go back and read whether I'm supposed to do that or not.
Nap #1: 6:30- put in crib 6:40- asleep (little crying/fussing) And so far she's still napping! *I adjusted for the time change. Her nap started almost 2 hours after she woke.
LO needs to stay in the crib for 11 hrs. If bed time is 7:20 (and make sure this is a consistent time every night) then she needs to stay in until 6:20.
Your first nap should be two hours after designated wake time so 8:20. The next two naps will be 2.5 hrs after the end of the previous nap. Remember that LO needs to be in the crib for at least 1 hour. This schedule will help you get thru the day and not have 3+ hrs where LO is awake.
We started last night and here's how it went:
8:45 in crib, asleep by 9:00 with 8 mins crying
9:55 awake, asleep by 10:20 with two 5 min sets of crying
11:00 dream feed
2:00 nurse
5:00 nurse
6:45 awake and fussing/crying/playing until we went in and got him at 7:45, only crying enough that we gave one check in during this time
I'm about to head up now to see how nap 1 went with DH.
We started the CIO portion. This is so exhausting!
Night 1: V: Bed at 6:18, awake 9:15 - 9:25 crying, awake 1:30-1:37 fussing, awake 5:23 for good. S: Bed at 6:15, awake 11:47-12:20 off/on crying/fussing, quick fuss 12:39, awake 5:25 for good.
Day 1: V: napped perfectly on schedule all day S: First nap 40 mins, second nap 45 mins, third nap 30 mins, fourth nap (trying to catch up) 34 mins. Made her stay in crib full hour.
Night 2: V: Bed at 6:32, awake 9:16-9:23, quick fuss 10:28, awake 12:33-1:00, (DST), awake 1:12-1:45, awake 4:32 for good. S: Bed at 6:32, quick fuss 9:35, awake for good 4:30
Day 2 (today): V: First nap 2 hours, second nap 40 mins S: First nap 35 mins (fussed 25 mins, then fell asleep again for 25 mins), second nap is going well so far...
The short nap part is really sucky. Please convince me that if I let them fuss/cry in their crib those additional 15-30 mins then eventually they'll sleep an hour at a time. Please?
Also, if they wake up from nap early, then do manage to fall back asleep, how long are you letting them sleep?
@katekat8721 It sounds like things are going well, really!
Yes, they will get the hang of a longer nap. They need to learn to not fully wake after that first sleep cycle (typically 45 min). DS has fallen back asleep at the 58 min mark when we first started.
If they wake early then fall back asleep, I'm letting DS go until he wakes up again. The only exceptions to this is the third nap that has to end by 4:30 so he has at least 2 hours to be awake before bed (6:30) and the second nap has to end by 1:30 so he gets that third nap in.
That's not bad @RoccoStar! Are the 2 and 5 feedings ones you are weaning?
Heck yes on the weaning! I've been blindly nursing him at night up until we started this so didn't really know how long or exactly what times to feed him, but was able to make some educated guesses and used a timer last night. The 2am feed lasted 7 minutes and the 5am feed surprisingly lasted only 6 minutes. The thought of being home free from MOTN feedings in about three days is exciting . .
Nap 1 this morning wasn't fantastic (as expected). He did fall asleep after only 1 check in but stayed asleep for only 20 minutes, then fussed and rolled around until just under the one hour mark when he fell back asleep again for another 15 minutes.
We are currently undergoing nap 2. He fell asleep in less than 10 minutes (no checks needed) but 20 minutes later I see him on the monitor moving around (but not crying or fussing, looks like trying to get back to sleep).
@nunzchucks you are a sleepeasy guru! Did you do this with DD?
I'm interested in some sleep training but not sure how/when to start. My LO recently turned 4 mo a week ago but is over the 15 lb minimum. I am a teacher so I am not home to do the nap training piece. His naps have become horrible though on the weekends and I feel like I may be creating bad habits. He is also taking forever to get down at bedtime and waking more during the MOTN. Before nearing the 4 mo mark, he would eat and go right back to sleep and now he is taking so long to get back to sleep. My husband and I will be off for the week of thanksgiving and not traveling until Christmas. Would then be a good time to start? Will it make a difference if we are only home for a week? Will the Christmas travel a month later mess everything up? I feel hopeful that I can read the book before Thanksgiving and mentally prepare. Thoughts? Tia!
Nunz we have a similar bedtime for the kiddos! What are you doing for daylight savings? I pushed their first nap to 2.5 hours but it's 4:50 now but feels like 5:50 (when we'd start winding down for the night)
Re: The SleepEasy Thread
As to your other question - This method is all about a consistent response to crying so LO learns to self soothe. While I'm sure you can use some parts of the book (bed time routine), I don't think you can expect the 5 day result of 11 hrs of sleep.
Bed at 7:15, 1hr12m crying. I went to bed at 1130 and got up at 2 am for dream feed and he was wide awake already, but quiet. He was still wide awake after his feed, but we put him to bed anyways and it took 18m for him to get to sleep. We had a wake up and 1 check in at 430, then grumbles from 5-6:15, at which time I got him up for the day.
Yay!
My son is a thumb sucker. After a few times falling asleep and waking when his thumb fell, he learned to turn his head slightly so it didn't wake him. That's going to be something she will have to figure out. It's part of the learning to self soothe process.
We had this problem before we started sleep training. He was rolling over on his stomach anytime he woke up and couldnt get back. We spent two days teaching / making him roll from stomach to back all day long before he figured it out. Now when I put him down he'll fuss until he puts himself on his stomach and then go to sleep
J14 Jan Siggy Challenge: Santorini
I drank a beer and had DH do the checkins the first night
Again, early in the evening, but he's asleep (or awake and quiet?) after 46 minutes. Which is an improvement from last night's 1hr12m. And I'm on my own tonight as DH is working. GO ME
Will update in the am - hopefully we have another one like last night
J14 Jan Siggy Challenge: Santorini
I wanted to add these up in good and bad columns, but I'm so tired that I'm not sure which is which hah
So to bed at 730, cried for 46 minutes, then intermittent crying (7x from 9-1230) with settling under 5 minutes.
Dreamfeed at 130 (tried to catch him before he woke up, but he was already awake, but happy). Fed for 13m instead of 20 - he went to sleep. Put him back in crib and cried for 8 min and went to sleep.
But! cried at 330, which required one check in, then intermittent fussiness until I got him up at 5.
So, less crying at bedtime, easier settling, but trouble with staying asleep during those couple hours before wake time.
With your dream feed, if he is awake, the book recommends you wait for him to go back to sleep, wait 10-15 min THEN feed (page 67 sidebar).
The only thing with the dreamfeed is that he was already wide awake when I went in, not fussy, just laying there. So I wonder how long he'd been awake for since he usually doesn't wake for a feed until 330, so I thought I'd given lots of time to catch him before usually due. Maybe I'll push it back a bit since he was also awake at 2 the night before, so I'm not sure going in earlier will do any good.
I'll keep him in the crib longer tomorrow, just the time change is taking some adjusting.
Night #1 went great! (Hopefully I'm not jinxing it!)
Here's the rundown:
7:20- put in crib
7:39- asleep
11:30- dreamfeed
2:10- woke
2:24- asleep (only cried 7 mins)
5:45- woke
*She cried/fussed for about five minutes before I took her out at 6:00. I need to go back and read whether I'm supposed to do that or not.
Nap #1:
6:30- put in crib
6:40- asleep (little crying/fussing)
And so far she's still napping!
*I adjusted for the time change. Her nap started almost 2 hours after she woke.
A few tips:
LO needs to stay in the crib for 11 hrs. If bed time is 7:20 (and make sure this is a consistent time every night) then she needs to stay in until 6:20.
Your first nap should be two hours after designated wake time so 8:20. The next two naps will be 2.5 hrs after the end of the previous nap. Remember that LO needs to be in the crib for at least 1 hour. This schedule will help you get thru the day and not have 3+ hrs where LO is awake.
Night 1:
V: Bed at 6:18, awake 9:15 - 9:25 crying, awake 1:30-1:37 fussing, awake 5:23 for good.
S: Bed at 6:15, awake 11:47-12:20 off/on crying/fussing, quick fuss 12:39, awake 5:25 for good.
Day 1:
V: napped perfectly on schedule all day
S: First nap 40 mins, second nap 45 mins, third nap 30 mins, fourth nap (trying to catch up) 34 mins. Made her stay in crib full hour.
Night 2:
V: Bed at 6:32, awake 9:16-9:23, quick fuss 10:28, awake 12:33-1:00, (DST), awake 1:12-1:45, awake 4:32 for good.
S: Bed at 6:32, quick fuss 9:35, awake for good 4:30
Day 2 (today):
V: First nap 2 hours, second nap 40 mins
S: First nap 35 mins (fussed 25 mins, then fell asleep again for 25 mins), second nap is going well so far...
The short nap part is really sucky. Please convince me that if I let them fuss/cry in their crib those additional 15-30 mins then eventually they'll sleep an hour at a time. Please?
Also, if they wake up from nap early, then do manage to fall back asleep, how long are you letting them sleep?
Yes, they will get the hang of a longer nap. They need to learn to not fully wake after that first sleep cycle (typically 45 min). DS has fallen back asleep at the 58 min mark when we first started.
If they wake early then fall back asleep, I'm letting DS go until he wakes up again. The only exceptions to this is the third nap that has to end by 4:30 so he has at least 2 hours to be awake before bed (6:30) and the second nap has to end by 1:30 so he gets that third nap in.