Telyco

battybtags

I think you said you started CIO around the same age as my DD is. Since you've done it, do you think I should change my routine or should I just make sure she's more awake after nursing? We started CIO about 10days ago, but most times she nurses to sleep and stays asleep. The times she does wake up, she'll cry herself to sleep, but it's not nightly because she's not always awake. Do you think I should try doing the story after nursing or should I keep things in the same order and just make sure to keep her more awake when putting her down? I partly feel like since we already started that I shouldn't mess with the order of things...but it's hard waking her up after she nurses too.

Telyco

How does she go to sleep for her naps?

It may make more sense to her if all sleeps are consistent...but as long as she can soothe herself I don't think you have to put her to bed that way. I think that if she puts herself to sleep for naps and during naps (if she wakes up too early from those) then she will be able to do it during the night too.

Evan goes through night-waking every once in a while - if he's sick or teething, etc. And the only thing that settles him enough to fall asleep is a bottle. So we give him a little one and rock him for a while (until he falls asleep) and it doesn't affect his abilty to soothe when he feels better. 

He also started to not take his whole bottle out in the living room - I think he is too distracted with play and lights...so we give him what he will take...read/play for a little bit...then finish the rest of his bottle in the dark in his room. He isn't totally asleep...but he is very drowsy and goes to sleep the minute we set him down. This hasn't affected his soothing himself during the night either.

So just based on what has worked for us... I think that if you are having her CIO at nap time, during nap time, and during the night (to a point and if she isn't truly hungry or sick, etc.) putting her to bed asleep may not interfere that much. But if you think it is - then you could try nursing her in a more stimulating environment and then do the cuddles/books for a few minutes before putting her down.

We also did the Eat-Play-Sleep routine from the beginning...so we would feed him when he woke from his nap, then play, then nap. So he was already basically used to not falling asleep while nursing/bottle...since he had just woken up from a nap.

Let me know if any of this helps...I can share what we did and what worked/didn't work for us...but since all kids are different (and even our own kids can change what they want by the minute) it's all sort of guessing.

I can't tell you how many times I asked DH where Evan's User Manual was...haha!! : )

battybtags

Naps are hard because she falls asleep many ways-sometimes we're out so she sleeps in the car, sometimes out shopping, in the swing, stroller, nursing....she doesnt have set nap times yet so its pretty random.  And she takes short naps for DH and I.  At my ILs or daycare she'll sleep 2-3 hours without a peep...for us its more like 45min!  My ILs say she mainly falls asleep with drinking her bottle.  They're the type that wont let her cry either.  Her daycare lady would let her cry and would put her down drowsy awake.

The only time we're really having her CIO is putting her down at night.  Shes waking twice a night to eat and she does nurse quite a bit at those times so I think its safe to say shes hungry.  I was trying to have her CIO for the first feeding but she would get pretty upset so I would go in and feed her to settle her.  Shes been waking around that time awhile so I think she is hungry. 

Telyco

I'm not really sure what most people do in that case - if you wanted to get very serious about sleep training....then I would make sure she is home for all naps and whomever is watching her do the same exact thing. If she gets used to soothing herself during the day - then if she wakes at night and is not hungry...she will soothe herself back down.

So it's probably just a choice you have to make...keep it the same, which would be easier in the short term but harder in the long term. Or get tough with it for a few days...making it rough short term - but a lot easier long term.

And even though she is eating at night....there is a difference between eating because it's there and needing the feeding to grow and be healthy.

This is just based on what we did and what I think...a lot of people feel differently : )