I know every other post is about sleeping issues....

bwralc

but I still need to vent.  DD went from sleeping through the night to being a terrible sleeper.  It's not the first time this has happened and I know it's probably teething but I'm trying everything to help her sleep and NOTHING is helping. I feel like I'm losing my mind.

She won't sleep at night.  I've tried Tylenol or Motrin to take the edge off of possible teething pain but it's not helping.  I used to rock her to sleep and then lay her down when she was out but now she won't let me hold her.  She fights to get down and will cry and scream if I try to get her to sit still.  I've tried earlier to bed and later to bed...

I've tried the whole routine so she gets sleepy and knows what's coming.  NOTHING is working.  We tried cry it out, but she will go on FOREVER and gets more worked up the longer it goes on instead of wearing herself out.  I've tried going in and that riles her up, I've tried not going in and she doesn't let up even after 1/2 hour.  I can't listen to my baby cry any longer than that

I don't know what to do anymore. She was just at the Pedi yesterday she has no ear infection everything is fine.  She said I need to let her cry longer.....Please help me

Are there any methods to help sleep without cry it out, since it doesn't seem to work for her.  I don't know I'm just upset.

mrs.larry

Ferber worked for us, but it definitely takes longer than a 1/2 hour the first couple of nights. Like you, like ANYONE, I have a lot of trouble listening to my baby crying for that long.  I feel like I'm going crazy. The first night of Ferber for us took an 45 mins to an hour... middle of the night wakings were worse.

We had a relapse after vacation over the summer so when we re-did Ferber, I ended up sleeping in our living room where I couldn't hear him and DH got up and did the check-ins.  It only took two nights to get things back under control. 

I know it's difficult, impossible even, to listen to your sweet baby crying and do nothing. if you can find an alternative that works, go for it. For us, this is what worked and I'm glad we pushed through it.  DS is happy going into his crib each night now. He's not traumatized. He still loves us. 

GL!

Lilrdmandy

How about sitting in a chair next to her crib? I use to nurse my son to sleep at night and then put him in his crib once he fell asleep but now I'm trying to end that feeding and that is what works for us.  He sometimes will cry at first but once he sees me sit down he is ok and then gets himself comfortable in the crib and passes out.  Whatever you end up doing, don't stop the whole routine thing either, it might just be taking a while to work.

 Other than that I know there is a book called the no cry sleep solution but I haven't read it.

bwralc

I should go pick up a Ferber book and the no cry sleep solution. Today I have been trying for 3 hours to get her to nap. She is so tired she keeps falling down, hurting herself and crying. Ugh I hate it soo much. I just let her CIO for 1 hour with check-ins along the way and she's still up. I'm exhausted and frustrated.

LilCMom

Have you tried those homeopathic teething tablets? You give them a couple and it soothes them and knocks them out. It even says on the bottle that your LO will probably fall asleep right after taking them, which mine did. I think they made her feel so much better.

bwralc

cskogsberg:

Have you tried those homeopathic teething tablets? You give them a couple and it soothes them and knocks them out. It even says on the bottle that your LO will probably fall asleep right after taking them, which mine did. I think they made her feel so much better.

We give those to her but they seem to just take the edge off and she still doesn't sleep. Thank you for mentioning them though.

juliane2004

When we did Ferber for DD at 5.5 months, it took her 2.5 hrs the first night to fall asleep finally. It got better and better every nap/night after that, and by the 4th night, she went to be with no crying.

It will DEFINITELY take longer than 30 minutes.

juliane2004

Here's what we did for CIO/Ferber:

1. I took away her paci. I think this is key, because it had become a sleep prop where she absolutely needed it to fall asleep. We gave her a winnie the pooh stuffy/blanky thing for her to cuddle, hold, etc. Books I read say this isn't a sleep prop but is rather a "transitional" object. Like, we have pillows and blankets to help us fall to sleep comfortably.

2. Not picking her up. Some people (not Ferber) say to pick up till they stop crying and then put them back down. This seems weird to me. She got visibly angry when she realized we werent going to pick her up, and for a few days, she cried everytime we neared her room. But she's gotten so much better, and doesn't cry at ALL anymore.

3. We used the Ferber idea of intervals. The first night, we went in after 3 minutes of crying, then 5 minutes, then 7 minutes (it took about five additional 7 minute intervals of full out crying to get her to sleep that first night). The second night moved to 5, 7, 10 minutes. The third night was 7, 10, 12 minutes. Etc. The intervals are slightly different than in the book, but Ferber says to do what feels right and that's what worked for us.

4. At night time, we let her CIO / fuss as long as it took for her to fall asleep.

5. In the middle of the night, we didn't go in immediately upon her crying, we just started over with the intervals. Sometimes she fell back asleep before we even had to go in. Sometimes she didnt fall asleep. If she was still fussing/crying at 6 am, we got her up to start the day even though it's earlier than usual.

6. For naps, we use the same intervals. This is where we used a second CIO method (not ferber) for naps. She says to let them fuss/CIO for 1 hr 10 minutes. If they havent fallen asleep by then, take a break and pick them up for 20-30 minutes, giving a bottle if necessary. Then try again. If they havent fallen asleep after ANOTHER 1 hr 10 minutes, it's a "nap emergency" and you are to take them for a stroller or car ride to get them to fall asleep since they need sleep. We never had to do this. She fell asleep some time in the second 1 hr 10 minute wait.

7. If she woke up in the middle of a nap (i.e. after anything under one hour), we waited for, again, the same intervals. If after 25-30 minutes she still wasnt asleep, we ended that nap, and moved up her next naptime to earlier.

8. We also make sure she's not over or under tired, by keeping a close eye on her awake times (which includes everything awake, like feeding, diapering, playing, and the time it takes for the baby to fall back asleep). It's been amazing how her sleep has gotten better resulted in her being able to stay awake closer to her suggested awake time based on age.

Guideline for Awake time for babies
Newborn 50-60 mins
1 month 60 mins-hour and 15
2 months 1 hour and 15 - 20 mins
3 months 1 hour and 20 - 30 mins
4 months 1 hour and 45 - 2 hours
5 months 2 hours - 2.25 hours
Late 5 months/early 6 months 2.25-2.5 hours
6.5 - 7 months 2.75-3 hours. Some are getting more.
8 - 10 months 3 - 4 hours. Some are getting more.
11 - 12 months 3.5 -4.5 hours. Some are getting more if moved early to 1 nap

9. We make sure her bedtime is reasonable: i.e. between 7-8 pm, no later. Babies actually wake up sooner the later they go to bed, since they are often overtired.

SusieQ1982

We don't believe in Ferber. I think it's cruel to leave your child crying for so long. You see parents post about how hard it is on them- how do you think the child feels???

We did Pick up/Put Down at ten months and my son now consistently STTN 12-14 hours. It does involve crying but he was never left alone. He always had Mommy or Daddy there talking to him and soothing him. He's a champion sleeper- if he wakes early from a nap I can tell him it's still time for sleep and he'll go back down.

He was frustrated but never felt abandoned or alone.