We started with naps. I treated nights the same as usual at the time. Once naps were good, nights had also started improving. We then started sleep training at night, but it wasn't nearly as intense because LO had already learned to put himself to sleep.
I try to put LO down drowsy (I nurse him), but that doesn't always work out. If he ate an hour ago, for example, he goes down awake because it is a bit soon to feed again, but only if I know he is tired. I give him cues like closing the curtains, white noise, song, then close the door. I do the 10 min intervals if necessary, but now he is usually asleep all by himself in 5.
How do you get family members to comply? We've been sleep training our LO for about a week and she's been doing great. Even for naps She usually cries for about 5 minutes and then sleeps like a champ. I explained the Gerber method to my MIL yesterday when we dropped DD off in the morning, she said she would do it but when we picked her up around 730 pm MIL says "she's only slept about an hour" she said she just didn't want to sleep. But I have a feeling they just couldn't stand to hear he cry. Which I completely understand, but as a result she cried much longer than usual when we tried putting her down for the night. So frustrating!
Are y'all sleep training for naps and nighttime at the same time? Do you still help your LO get drowsy or put in the crib totally awake?
I started transitioning naps before training, moving her into her own room and slowly decreasing the speed of her swing. Then after we started training, I still put her in the swing but with no motion. She just naps in a stationary swing. This week I'm gonna try to put her in the crib for naps.
ETA: My SO does bedtime and he still cuddles her for a few minutes at the end of the bedtime routine. Sometimes she gets drowsy and sometimes she doesn't, but she goes into the crib regardless. The only rule is that he absolutely cannot let her fall asleep in his arms!
@cali1710 I think we are starting to see a little improvement, your suggestion to move bedtime a little later was def a good one! We're doing a very gentle approach to sleep training just letting him fuss/cry no more than 5 mins and then going in. I thought tonight would be horrible since he completely refused his last nap but he fell asleep in 15 mins compared to the other night being like two hours! Lol good luck!
@kaym6 glad tonight went better for you! I hope it continues! How many naps does have? Could he be fighting the last one because he wants to drop it? Good luck the rest of the night!!
@cali1710 he's taking 3 currently! His first two are finally starting to lengthen this week so I'm thinking maybe he's prepping to drop that third one. Is it too soon though?! He just turned 6 months I'll have to look it up! In my mind he's still a newborn haha
@mestokes We started sleep training bedtime then realized it was silly not to do naps as well, so we ended up doing it all at once. Naps were harder though and still seem to be an issue. I only put LO in the crib if I know she's tired, so she's drowsy... though maybe don't take my advice on naps since it's still a struggle
@l4rk so glad sleep seems to be better!!! Keep us updated:)
@cali1710 & @kaym6 Oh man I am hoping things get better, I really feel for you guys! I was going insane before we did sleep training. I think there's nowhere to go but up, right?! In my mind shes still a newborn too haha.. we are currently transitioning from 4 naps to 3. I think she needs so many naps because they are all just 30 minutes
@kaym6 glad your naps are getting better! We have one good one and the rest are still 30-45 min. I actually look forward to the day she drops down to two naps. I feel it'll make the day a bit easier to plan when there's only two naps. Do you think it was sleep training that helped? And I don't think hes too young to drop it. I think I read around 6-9 months they can start dropping it. My LO only dropped the fourth nap a month ago so I think we are far away from dropping #3. Good luck!!
@fishee333 good luck with naps!! Are you at least getting a good night sleep? I always say I can handle little naps if I can sleep through the night. Hopefully they will get better for you soon!
@cali1710 normally his first one is decent and then the ones after are still short especially the last one! Hopefully yours will start to get longer too! I'm honestly not sure if it was sleep training that helped or not! Lol
Just a quick update: I started to do a dream feed when I go to bed, and the past two nights LO has slept from 10:30 - 5:00, nursed, and then went back to sleep until 6:30!!
You guys, I'm a believer. Ferber's sleep training has been such a game changer!
@kaym6 & @cali1710 Thanks! Yes we are finally getting good night sleep. 1-2 wakings per night. And I agree that I can handle short naps as long as night sleep is good enough.
My son has been just straight up refusing taking a nap unless I'm nursing/holding him and honestly as long as he sleeps good at night idc if he never takes another nap again! (Kidding)
We started about two weeks ago and by day 4, LO was falling asleep on her own in about 5 minutes BUT the last four nights she has been waking up every hour! It's been brutal. She cries, I put her paci in, and she goes back to sleep. We do this from 7:30 until 11ish and then she's up at 4 and 5:30 for the day. Help!
We started about two weeks ago and by day 4, LO was falling asleep on her own in about 5 minutes BUT the last four nights she has been waking up every hour! It's been brutal. She cries, I put her paci in, and she goes back to sleep. We do this from 7:30 until 11ish and then she's up at 4 and 5:30 for the day. Help!
We havent started so I'm not expert BUT my cousins little one needs a paci to sleep so when he goes to bed they stick like 5 of them in the crib and hes able to just grab one and stick it in his mouth. Or could be the 6 month growth spurt ?
Good luck!! We did the Ferber method weeks ago and got rid of the pacifier at the same time, and its going great! She has a rough night every now and then, but overall great and I am soooo happy we did sleep training. She usually fusses for about 30 seconds max now, then rolls around and talks herself to sleep.
So far its not bad. It took her from 7pm-810 to fall asleep and its now 2:45am and shes been crying for 45 min. We didnt get rid of the paci as I didnt think she could handle both at the same time so we will look at getting rid of it another time. She isnt so reliant on it that it wakes her up constantly so we decided to just leave it be. She's definitely fading as she cries for a minute then stop for a minute. Poor girl!
Update: when she woke this morning at 150am she fell back asleep at 315 and is currently still asleep (8am). Was a good night!!
did anyone do this for naps too or continue rocking for naps?
@cali1710 glad the first night went relatively well! How's tonight going so far?? I've tried it with naps and honestly he's waaaay more persistent to not fall asleep then. I usually try for at least the first morning nap but then resort to doing what I gotta do for the afternoon nap because he will resist for hours haha
also if I'm being completely honest I selfishly like snuggling him for his afternoon nap when I can since we no longer rock and cuddle him to sleep at night
Glad the 2nd night went well too! We did it for naps too but not consistently... they were a lot harder (more crying) for whatever reason. I think we pretty much started with just her first nap of the day and rocked/walked/etc for the rest, and she eventually just got better at going down for naps. I think she really likes naps now just can't sleep more than 30-40 mins still.
We've just gone through our first weekend of sleep training. We decided to leave the paci because we felt like it would be too much at once. But she fusses for a few minutes on and off and then falls asleep. And when she's asleep her pacifier falls out and so far she's only woken up once at 3 a.m. to have it put back in. Hoping this is not a fluke! Although we are putting her down very drowsy. Haven't yet worked up the courage for straight out laying her down awake for a nap yet!
Night two was pretty decent! we put her in the crib at 7, she didnt start crying until 710 and was asleep by 718! But then she woke up at 1020 and took an hour and a half to fall back asleep. We have taken away night feedings so she eats more during the day so when she wakes at night it takes a bit longer. She then woke at 3 but cried for maybe 2 minutes and she was asleep again until 8. So all in all its going well. Yesterdays first nap she cried for 15 minutes before she fell asleep for 45. Today's first nap she cried for 40 so I eventually picked her up and rocked her for maybe a minute and she was out. Lets hope tonights even better! How is everyone else doing??
We've just gone through our first weekend of sleep training. We decided to leave the paci because we felt like it would be too much at once. But she fusses for a few minutes on and off and then falls asleep. And when she's asleep her pacifier falls out and so far she's only woken up once at 3 a.m. to have it put back in. Hoping this is not a fluke! Although we are putting her down very drowsy. Haven't yet worked up the courage for straight out laying her down awake for a nap yet!
We didnt take the paci away either. It would have been way to much on her. Even though she didnt use it to fall asleep last night, We still put it in her mouth when we go in so at least she has it. Good luck tonight!
We've just gone through our first weekend of sleep training. We decided to leave the paci because we felt like it would be too much at once. But she fusses for a few minutes on and off and then falls asleep. And when she's asleep her pacifier falls out and so far she's only woken up once at 3 a.m. to have it put back in. Hoping this is not a fluke! Although we are putting her down very drowsy. Haven't yet worked up the courage for straight out laying her down awake for a nap yet!
We didnt take the paci away either. It would have been way to much on her. Even though she didnt use it to fall asleep last night, We still put it in her mouth when we go in so at least she has it. Good luck tonight!
We started giving her a lovey when we trained. Now I put that back in her arms as my way of reassuring her when I "tuck her in" (no blankets) or go in for a timed check. It makes me feel like I'm actually doing something for her, so I totally get the pacifier thing.
Nice to hear other people are having success! DD has started sleeping for 8 hours before needing a feeding thanks to sleep training. The only problem is my first post partum AF finally showed up and I'm guessing this had something to do with it! But she's a much more rested baby than before so I can't really complain!
Update: we FINALLY got out of the wonder week (which was awful!) and LO is back on a normal sleep schedule! This is incredible. I'm so happy we did this sleep training because it really is worth it! We started with naps a few days ago and it is getting so much easier.
Glad so many people are having success!!! It's amazing how it changes so much. I was saying to my husband that even when she wakes in the night, not having to walk around rocking her to sleep is enough but her sleeping better is just amazing!
@cali1710 I'm glad things are going so much better!! You are giving me motivation to start sleep training - just hope i can be strong enough to listen to the crying. We've got to do something - we are going insane!!!
At what point do you guys just call it a day with naps? Do you only let LO cry an hour and then get them out? Do you start with all naps or just one?
@mestokes we let DS cry for an hour for naps then go get him. 9 times out of 10, he falls asleep within 15 minutes. Usually, he only goes longer if he has a dirty diaper or something. In those situations, we just skip that nap and try again with the next one or bedtime. We started doing everything all at once with naps and bedtime. He's so much happier and more well rested now. ETA: app removed half my post.
@mestokes night three was the best. Took her half an hour to go down but no crying! Some whines here and there but mainly rolling and chatting. She woke breifly at 130&230 but for a couple minutes and she put herself back down. Didnt have to get out of bed! And she woke up at 8. So its been worth it. As for the crying, we kept busy when we did it. I made sure I was tidying the house or we were watching a movie or something that we weren't just sitting there listening to her cry. And then we just went in every 10 minutes put her soother in her mouth said "it's night night time time to go to sleep mommy and daddy love you" and then walked out even if she was still crying.
I was debating on doing naps along with the sleep training because I thought that might be too much but she is actually doing really well with her naps. I've been just putting her in her crib and she usually cries (or as for today she whines for a few minutes then chatted then fell asleep) for 10-15 minutes and then she goes to sleep. I'll do the same thing as nights, I'll go in after 10 minutes if needed, put her soother in and say it's naptime time to go to sleep and walk out. Yesterdays nap took 40 min for her to sleep but she slept almost 2 hours. I find when she falls asleep on her own she gets a better sleep so it's really up to you. All depends on what your child is like too.
@mestokes I'm also going insane! My LO is waking more frequently at night now then when she was a newborn. Every time she wakes she looks to be rocked back to sleep which I do not have the strength for, I'm exhausted! I also would like to start sleep training but I'm not sure if I can listen to crying for too long! But it sounds like the results are awesime, I may give it a try this weekend.
Do you guys still rock to get your LO drowsy and then put them down? And then if they wake you let them cry it out? Or do you put them down awake? Sorry if this was discussed already in this thread. I'm so tired I can't even hit the back button lol
@JanuarysBaby1 I'm sorry you're going through it too!! LO is getting harder and harder to put down for naps and hs been getting up every 3-4 hours at night and refusing to go back to sleep until he gets fed. We are going out of town this weekend, but hoping to maybe start next weekend!
Re: CIO Questions
We started with naps. I treated nights the same as usual at the time. Once naps were good, nights had also started improving. We then started sleep training at night, but it wasn't nearly as intense because LO had already learned to put himself to sleep.
I try to put LO down drowsy (I nurse him), but that doesn't always work out. If he ate an hour ago, for example, he goes down awake because it is a bit soon to feed again, but only if I know he is tired. I give him cues like closing the curtains, white noise, song, then close the door. I do the 10 min intervals if necessary, but now he is usually asleep all by himself in 5.
I explained the Gerber method to my MIL yesterday when we dropped DD off in the morning, she said she would do it but when we picked her up around 730 pm MIL says "she's only slept about an hour" she said she just didn't want to sleep. But I have a feeling they just couldn't stand to hear he cry. Which I completely understand, but as a result she cried much longer than usual when we tried putting her down for the night. So frustrating!
ETA: My SO does bedtime and he still cuddles her for a few minutes at the end of the bedtime routine. Sometimes she gets drowsy and sometimes she doesn't, but she goes into the crib regardless. The only rule is that he absolutely cannot let her fall asleep in his arms!
@l4rk so glad sleep seems to be better!!! Keep us updated:)
@cali1710 & @kaym6 Oh man I am hoping things get better, I really feel for you guys! I was going insane before we did sleep training. I think there's nowhere to go but up, right?! In my mind shes still a newborn too haha.. we are currently transitioning from 4 naps to 3. I think she needs so many naps because they are all just 30 minutes
@fishee333 good luck with naps!! Are you at least getting a good night sleep? I always say I can handle little naps if I can sleep through the night. Hopefully they will get better for you soon!
You guys, I'm a believer. Ferber's sleep training has been such a game changer!
@kaym6 & @cali1710 Thanks! Yes we are finally getting good night sleep. 1-2 wakings per night. And I agree that I can handle short naps as long as night sleep is good enough.
We did the Ferber method weeks ago and got rid of the pacifier at the same time, and its going great! She has a rough night every now and then, but overall great and I am soooo happy we did sleep training. She usually fusses for about 30 seconds max now, then rolls around and talks herself to sleep.
Update: when she woke this morning at 150am she fell back asleep at 315 and is currently still asleep (8am). Was a good night!!
did anyone do this for naps too or continue rocking for naps?
also if I'm being completely honest I selfishly like snuggling him for his afternoon nap when I can since we no longer rock and cuddle him to sleep at night
At what point do you guys just call it a day with naps? Do you only let LO cry an hour and then get them out? Do you start with all naps or just one?
We started doing everything all at once with naps and bedtime. He's so much happier and more well rested now.
ETA: app removed half my post.
I was debating on doing naps along with the sleep training because I thought that might be too much but she is actually doing really well with her naps. I've been just putting her in her crib and she usually cries (or as for today she whines for a few minutes then chatted then fell asleep) for 10-15 minutes and then she goes to sleep. I'll do the same thing as nights, I'll go in after 10 minutes if needed, put her soother in and say it's naptime time to go to sleep and walk out. Yesterdays nap took 40 min for her to sleep but she slept almost 2 hours. I find when she falls asleep on her own she gets a better sleep so it's really up to you. All depends on what your child is like too.