Sleep questions?

decox1015

Hey guys! My mom bought me Dr. Ferber's book this week (a friend of a friend recommeded it and said it worked for her grandson). I am not sure if I want to do any sleep training with Aiden. I HATE letting him cry (and I know this is modified...and I will read the WHOLE book before/if we decide to do this). Since day one I have always rocked him to sleep.  I am the only one who can put him to bed (which is completely fine with me). He just doesn't know how to soothe himself at all. I want to do what is best for him. So I guess my question is, has anyone not done any sleep training...and if you haven't, did your child eventually learn how to soothe themself back to sleep?

I am just looking for opinions and thoughts. I personally love rocking him to sleep, but I don't know if this will be what is best for him down the road...just curious! Thanks!

kat1221

Does he STTN after you put him down?

CherrySweets36294u

What is sleep training? Pregnant with my first, and I am just curious to know what it is to know if it is something I need to be thinking about doing also?

DzsGirl

Hey Erin. I'm not sure if you'd consider what I did sleep training, but when with each of the boys I put them down to sleep drowsy...not asleep, but not wide awake. Grant never cried longer than 2-3 min before he went to sleep as a baby, and we're lucky that Reid never cries...but I did allow that 2-3 min. I'm not sure that I would have felt comfortable with longer than that.

I know people who have used and like the Ferber method...good luck!

CherrySweets36294u

What is STTN?

kat1221

sleep through the night

CherrySweets36294u

Ahhh... ok... thanks!

Blnd117

I did not do any sleep training and around 9-10 months old, there was one night where Hunter woke up like every two hours and we would not sleep anywhere except for when I held him. Prior to this, he was sleeping 8-10 hours a night. At about 4:00am, I just let him cry and he cried for about 20 minutes then feel asleep. Since then, he cries for maybe 5 minutes and then is fine and most of the time for naps and bedtime, he goes right to sleep without crying. I usually pay attention to his cues for when he is tired and begin the bed time routine. Although I never did sleep training, I have the same bed time routine which has really helped.

ebearwife

Erin - P kinda trained herself (and me) to sleep and her sleep patterns.  For a blessed couple months we were going 10-12 hrs a night, some mornings she didn't wake until almost 8 from the night before.  But then she got some colds and Roseola and well, now we are not very consistent.  I don't let her cry now for too long (usually I give it about 15 min before I get up) bc she is in that age where it could be teeth or her nose could be congested or she could just plain be hungry.  So, I get up, change her diaper (I don't want to leave her in a wed diaper) nurse her and put her back down.  The key is to be decisive when you put them down.  Its hard to walk away when they are whining or not totally asleep, but generally P will quiet down really quickly bc she realizes she is tired after all.  Also, she likes to sleep on her own in her own bed.  She doesn't generally fall asleep in my arms or on my shoulder. 

I imagine Aiden might protest since you have been doing things this one way for so long.  Here is what I have to say about that.  You are his Mommy and you know what is best so don't let anybody talk you into something that makes you feel uncomfortable. 

MrsL1022

I don't really know what we did or how we did it but we were bound and determined to get Colin out of the rocking to sleep habit. We gradually cut down the amount of time that we rocked C and started laying near/over him in the crib and soothing him that way. Gradually he was able to soothe himself. He uses a paci, a stuffed frog and the aquarium to go to sleep. There have been a few times where we let him cry for 15 minutes then went in to reassure him but we didn't pick him up. Now he is a very sounds sleeper and if he does wake up it's only b/c he has a wet/cold diaper and he goes right back to sleep after a change. I hope my babble helps you, it worked for us. Everything was a gradual progression.

 ETA: We did put him down mellow and drowsy but not asleep or wide awake. Now I can put him down, turn on his fish give him his paci and frog and he is out. Also, sometime he cried 2-3 minutes but I think he needs to cry for a minute or two if he is over tired or didn't have sufficient naps that day. I also let him hold his bedtime bottle in the crib and he tosses the bottle and takes his paci when he is ready for it.

Louise06

Around 9 months, LL would scream bloody murder when we put in bed for the night. It only lasted like 5 minutes, but it was awful, she just sounded so sad. Then she would just lay down and go right to sleep. At that stage, I think crying was a way for her to soothe herself. It didn't take very long for her to learn to go down easily. Now, she just talks and laughs for a few minutes before she falls asleep and doesn't fuss. But, I have been blessed with a very good sleeper (she consistently started STTN at 10 days old).

Just try a few different approaches and see what works best for the both of you. There is no one right way when it comes to getting them to sleep since each child is different.

doctryan

We did modified Ferber at 4 months, so I don't have any direct advice for you.  I would consider do something (lots of good advice in these posts) soon.  If he really can't go down happily without you, that could create some problems if you are ever gone.

I had a friend who rocked until the child was 18 months.  It was tough for them to break the habit, but she said at that point the child was so big that it was ridiculous that they continued the practice.

All that being said.  You are the parent and should do what feels right to you and DH.

Good luck.