s/o sleep training. copied from my FB

JenRose05

i'm preparing myself for the upcoming months since Nathan still wakes several times a night. What were your favored methods and when did you start ? I ' ve tried to start the sleep lady shuffle but he refuses to stop screaming unless he's picked up. No amount of soothing, pacifier , rubbing or comfort methods work while leaving him in the crib . I should add that he starts the night out in the crib and for the most part I can keep him asleep there but once midnight hits ( and I mean within 15 minutes or so) is when he wakes up and can ' t be consoled . This is *every night* I' ve tried nursing him and putting him back in but he immediately wakes up and cries ...rinse and repeat . He usually ends up in bed with us but still wakes up often after that , he does go back to sleep after nursing though. I know that most sleep training is for babies older than N is (although im just guessing, this is all new to me) but like i said, i want to do my research and have a plan in place. im desperate for sleeeeeeeep!

allibaba76

Ferber.

Started at 6 months.  Worked like a charm.  

Moesten

Oh jeez Jen! Starting sleep training debates in two different venues? What's up? You stuck inside bored and looking for entertainment? :P

We did Ferber with Katherine at 8 months. Wish I had done it earlier. With Sam I will Ferber him for one of his night wakings in a few weeks after he hits 6 months. He wakes up to eat at least twice a night right now. During one of those feedings he really does eat. During the other one he doesn't eat well and really does more of a dream feed sort of thing - sucks a little, snoozes, sucks some more, etc. Ergo, he doesn't really need that feeding so I will be getting rid of that one first.  

JenRose05

ok so talk to me about ferber. is there a simplified plan i can find on the web or do i have to get a book?

KristenBtobe

I highly recommend reading Ferber's book. The sleep training portion is only a piece of the puzzle.

We Ferbered Maggie at 8 months and have tried Owen several times with it so far, but not successfully. He just doesn't have the temperament for it.

allibaba76

JenRose05:

ok so talk to me about ferber. is there a simplified plan i can find on the web or do i have to get a book?

I skimmed through the Ferber book and never did read it cover to cover but flipped through it when looking for specific answers.  There were really like one or two pages that I kept referring to.  My cliffsnotes version is to do your nightly routine (bath, feed, book, cuddle, whatever) then tell the baby goodnight, put him down in bed and leave the room.  Give yourself whatever time increment you are comfortable with to go back in to check and console.  For us, initially we waited one minute, then increased to two minutes, then three, and so on.  For that first night from the time we said goodnight until he finally fell asleep was probably about 30-40 minutes.  The important thing was to stick to the routine.  When we went into his bedroom we laid him down, patted his back, made sure he had his paci, told him we loved him and said goodnight.  We kept it quick and *did not pick him up out of his bed*!!!! 

It got easier as we stuck with it and we were able to go in much less to check and console.  Four years later he sleeps like a champ.  It truly changed our lives.

I would still recommend having the book as a reference guide for different situations that pop up.  Good luck!

Superchicy

I also really liked the Ferber book.  It had a lot of great info in it, and even though the "classic" Ferber method didn't work for us, it was a great resource and helped me figure out a method that did work for us.