another ferber question...sorry

kimnick

so i had no clue it was supposed to wait until 4 months.  when we took her to the pedi for her 2 month check her pedi told us to start now.  she told us a different way though.  she said put her to bed, 2 hours later wake her and give her a bottle.  she may not drink it, just suck on it.  put her back to bed while she's still awake and let her fall asleep on her own.  then when she wakes up in the middle of the night let her cry for 30mins.  go in and let her know you're there and walk out.  let her cry for another 30mins.  she said it could go on for about 2 hours.  i though 30mins was too long so we did about every 10. 

should i not be doing this?  she said if we dont start now then by 4 months she will be on a routine of waking up and it will be hard to break it.  maybe i'll call her on monday.

LuckyBride02

I have read not to start until 4 months, also ... but our pediatrician said it was okay to go ahead and start. We've done it for 2 nights, and so far it's working. He put himself to sleep in his crib last night and for his first nap today. We'll see how tonight goes.

Crazycrustacean

Um... 30 minutes is way to long for a 2 month old to cry. IMO, so it 10 minutes. And I've always read that you should do any form of cio until 6 months because babies don't have the ability to self soothe until that age.?

Having said that, I wouldn't wake a sleeping baby. As long as your baby is gaining weight she shouldn't be woken up to feed. Especially if she's not hungry. IMO, that's setting you up for more problems in the future.?

At 2 months old, I was just going with the flow. They're so young and are still finding their way & still learning that you're the one to trust to take care of all their needs. And that includes comfort when they just wanna cuddle. EVen if that means you lose some sleep. ?

By the time dd was 3 months old, she had set her own schedule. Granted I had to really pay attention to what it was, but she did have one. She probably had one at 2 months old as well, but it was really about survival still.

HTH and please go get your little baby when she's crying. There's a reason. Even if that reason is just that she's lonely. ?

Crazycrustacean

Thinking about it now, dd was up every 2 hours to eat. She was hungry. Sometimes she still is.?

She didn't even start to go to bed earlier than 10pm until she was over 3 months.

?

jennunc

I agree with Crazy. 2 months is too young to let them CIO. I was still letting DS go with the flow (which was every three hours to eat). Your little one will develope a unique pattern...no need to force it now.  This is all just my opinion....We didn't do any of that and he was sleeping through the night by 2 1/2 months.

MoinMoin

go get the book. read it cover to cover. dog ear pages and take notes.  check out other sleep books too, as ferber might not be the right fit for you. some people like the no cry sleep solution.

we did a modified ferber at four months and it worked for us.  but at that time i knew (based on observing DS) that he wasn't hungry/wet/gassy, he just had sleep associations - like using the paci and being held.  now, imo you can NEVER hold a baby too much, especially that young.

ferber thinks that babies under four months don't know how to self soothe yet and that they need you to comfort them at that age.  however - every baby is different. it worked for miamichelle at an early age.  i would def read teh book and discuss it with your pedi.

rowanthefrog

We didn't do it until 6 months and we didn't have any problems with it.  If your pedi says its fine then I'm sure it must be, but personally I wouldn't do it that early.

A 

mlf625

I'd suggest reading a few sleep books (I liked Ferber and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child) and deciding for yourself what you are or aren't comfortable doing. ?I know I wouldn't have been able to let DS cry that long (or truthfully, at all) at that age. ?We went with the flow and let him dictate our schedule- they need to eat on demand.

But my advice is to read the books, then decide what to do.?