Slowly easing chair out of DC's room at bedtime technique

7/04Bride

Have any of you tried the technique where you gradually move a chair a little each night until you're sitting outside of DC's room at bedtime?  Since giving up the binky over a week ago, DS has trouble falling asleep most nights.  He wants me to sit in his room.  What has been working is sitting a little or rubbing his back a bit, then telling him I have to go do something and will be right back.  Tonight, he wanted his bus and car in with him (no attachment to any stuffed animals) and fell asleep fairly quickly and without a fight after I gave them to him.  Perhaps I won't even need to try the chair technique, but I just wanted to know how well it's worked for others.

mommy411

I tried this awhile ago with DD. I found she cried more when I was in there with her. I just put her to bed when she is falling a lot and rubbing the eyes. She has to have her blanket or else!

I also started putting on the FP projector on when I go to put her in her crib. She knows what time it is because she starts to cry.LOL But she goes down with very little crying. I am really lucky. Hopefully it stays that way.

GL

mommyofmiles

I did something similar, but my son isn't in the crib anymore. I used to lay next to him so that he could fall asleep. But we wanted to get him out of that habit so I started sitting up next to him. Then a few nights later I moved further down the bed. Then the next few nights, right at the foot of the bed and then I eventually left the room. There were definitely some tears, but barely any. Now he falls asleep very easily. He had actually never been attached to anything before this but I kept putting some different stuffed animals in his bed and now every night he cuddles with a big shark and a little shark, so I think he has found a replacement for me haha.

snowinlv

We did this when moving DD out of our bed into her room. She was hysterical when we tried just putting her in there alone. So I sat in a chair until she fell asleep (took almost an hour each night the first week) and would go back in whenever she woke up in the night (2-3 times, but she did this in our bed, too). If she was really worked up, I would talk to her a bit. Otherwise, I just sat there. The second week, she started pointing for me to sit in the chair. She wanted me in there, but I knew that wasn't the result we wanted. So I started leaving a bit before I thought she would fall asleep. Didn't work so well, but I kept doing it. Eventually (2 weeks later), she fell asleep without me in there. I was still going in at night, but one night she randomly STTN. I decided that was it and didn't go back in her room. And she has STTN since. Very few tears (especially compared to our CIO attempts before) and a great plan that worked for our family.

DG1

DH did it with DS1 since we had to switch to the toddler bed.  (the kid will NOT stay in the bed or even in his room) 

It's taken at least six weeks, and now DH is to the point of standing outside of the partially opened door.  I don't have the patience for that (then again, I don't have the patience for the alternative, either.)  

We haven't tried it just for crying in the crib, though.