Sleep Training?

kwentela

Anyone else try any sleep training methods already? Curious for other moms struggles and success stories.  LO is 21 weeks now which I know is generally a little old for our group here so it might be a little early to ask. I'm just on night 2 of sleep training now and so far so good. I decided it's time even tho LO isn't even 5 months old yet bc I work night shifts pretty often and my DH is having a terrible time trying to get LO back to sleep after MOTN feedings from bottles instead of nursing to sleep that I've been doing with him. So trying to break that habit now. What are everyone else's experiences?

cali1710

I havent started mainky because our doctor said not to start before 6 months. But I know a fee friebds who have dobe the pick up put down method and CIO and they both said it worked. But it all varies baby by baby. Good luck!!!

nackie

DS is only 15 weeks, but we've started looking at it as well.  DS also nurses to sleep and with this 4 month sleep regression, I can't keep doing it by myself.  I think we're going to try the pick up put down method to start.
Edit: spelling is hard

mamadcb

Last week after a night of hourly wakeups I realized my LO (16 weeks) had made the connection between nursing/mama/snuggles and falling asleep. When me walking into the room was enough to make him start calming down I knew for sure he wasn't hungry! I enjoyed nursing to sleep but for his sleep health and my sanity I decided I needed to stop nursing him to sleep.

I didn't really know how to do it, so I just.... stopped. Now I do a diaper change, put him in his sleep suit, rock him (upright, so he's not near my boobs) for a minute or two, and set him in the crib. If I do it before he's overtired he wiggles around a little before falling asleep. If he's overtired he cries for a few min (thankfully only 4-8 minutes) and I go in the garage to do laundry then if it's really getting to me. Knowing that if I do it on time he won't cry is a really good motivator for getting him to his naps promptly.

This has been a great development for us. Not only do I not spend ages nursing to sleep, but he actually falls asleep faster on his own than with my help. Additionally, because he's learning to soothe himself to sleep, he is occasionally taking longer naps. He used to consistently sleep on 45-50 min, which I realize now was one sleep cycle and he couldn't fall back to sleep. Also, now anyone can put him down for bed or a nap-- it doesn't HAVE to be me. Although I still do it most (and gladly), it's freeing to know that he will be just fine if someone else does. So as hard as it is to listen to him cry even for a few minutes, we started because we could see that his brain was capable of making sleep associations and have been really pleased with how it's been going. 

katiedid0907

Similarly I have been the only one putting DS to bed for the last 16 weeks and the only one getting up with him at night. It is so beyond exhausting at this point. I think I will start trying harder to put him to bed awake instead of nursing to sleep. Not sure what to do with night wakings though, as he still wakes 3 or 4 times at night. Not ready for the real sleep training yet, but I am ready to start with small steps and look into trying new things.

Hipshaker

I never do sleep training. I really feel like it's just like any other bodily function and happens when it's devoplmentaly appropriate. All he can do is keep it dark and quite for motn feeds and be quick. It sux but it won't be forever.

teachmegs817

Griffin has not had a MOTN feeding, for the last 3 weeks., We've stopped picking him up and rocking him back to sleep once he turned just about 4 months old.  We'll go in and soothe him with his pacifier and start his noise maker up again, when he wakes up.  He will put his fingers in his mouth and sometimes soothe himself back to sleep and he's able to wake, adjust himself and usually get back to sleep on his own at this point.  We do generally have to go in 2 times a night to put his pacifier back in. It's typically around 11 pm-midnight, and then sometime between 3-5 AM.  

I'm not really sleep training just trying not to get stuck in habits that may stick around for a lot longer than I'd want. We don't plan on ever giving him a bottle in bed with him, or rocking him in the MOTN, unless he's completely inconsolable. 

failuretofly

@teachmegs817
How did you know your LO was ready to stop with MOTN feedings? My LO is still up to feed twice a night.

ChrissyD1203

My husband and pediatrician are pushing for sleep training.  She is 20 weeks.  I'm fighting against it - we just moved her into her own room and per the pediatrician's orders stopped using the sleep sack (which has been tough for her).  I put her down while awake and soothe her by staying in the room and moving further away until she stops crying.  I feed her in the middle of the night but only because that is the only time she will breastfeed for more than 3 minutes at a time.  I'm not ready to let her cry herself to sleep (yet) and I don't mind the fifteen minutes standing in her room until she settles down.  My husband told me to stop trying to make up my own form of sleep training, but I'm happy with how she is doing. 

teachmegs817

kvacmak said:

@teachmegs817
How did you know your LO was ready to stop with MOTN feedings? My LO is still up to feed twice a night.

About 4 weeks back, we were still getting up with him so that he could eat. We only were giving 3.5 oz. at his night feeding. He gets 5.5-6 throughout the day. So by decreasing the amount was good, because I think he started realizing that making a fuss over such a small bottle, wasn't worth it, lol. Also, there were 2-3 nights where he would eat, but then be up again within 1-2 hours. We'd go soothe him and he'd be fine shortly after. So I said to DH, let's see if the next few nights, we can get him to go back to sleep before feeding him, to see if he indeed isn't really hungry, he's just needing some TLC. Sure enough, within a week, we had him not eating it anymore, and he was gradually sleeping longer stretches. I also formula feed. I find that many breast feeding Mommas are the ones still up 2-3 times a night.

He is 5 months now, so around the 4 month mark is when we were able to stop.

kwentela

@ChrissyD1203 I'm just curious why you had to stop using a sleep sack for your LO?

ChrissyD1203

@kwentela his exact words were "I'm not in favor of anything that restricts natural movement".  I tried to persuade him by telling him she sleeps with her arms out and the whole point of the Halo company is to promote safe sleep, but he just shook his head no.  I still used it for a week after he said that but now I'm on day 4 without and she seems to be doing OK without it 

kwentela

@ChrissyD1203 ugh that's crazy I 
Love my halo sack for LO and if a doc tried to tell me it restricts movement he'd get some serious eye rolls bc this kid still moves himself all around the entire crib all night long! He naps without the the sleep sack ok but that really really sucks he didn't let you keep using it

SuperherosMom

I don't do sleep training....they are only my babies for a short while then they grow up and don't need momma to snuggle with at night. I look at my 7 year old and 3 year old and remember like it was yesterday. I will sleep when they are grown up and I'm a basket case because they are all grown up! 

failuretofly

I'm curious to know what everyone is doing that is 'against' sleep training or isn't doing it yet?