Did you CIO?

TriciaChick

DS#3 is 5.5 months old and is a HORRIBLE sleeper.  Last night he was up almost every half an hour.  He is very restless and will just "jump" awake and want to start nursing immediatly. Sometimes he is easy to get back to sleep but others he is awake for at least an hour just happily kicking and making noise.  (However he is very uphappy if he is in a crib/pack and play without us lying next to him) 

We bed share...not really by choice but mostly by nesessity.  He will  only in the crook of my arm where my boob is constantly at the ready lol.  I can't take this no sleep thing any more.  I really would rather not go the CIO route but, getting woken up 15 times a night makes for a very grumpy mommy...  Im thinking about giving it a try at 6 months...any tips? 

BTW we do have white noise, attempted warmer pjs, light pjs and just a diaper (in which he seems happiest), he rarely naps during the day, he is well fed b/c he has many many wet diapers a day, I have tried feeding him solids right before bed (which he is only semi interested in)  He is also on prevacid which seems to help a lot with the screaming fits andf ussiness at night...but not with the constant waking...blahhh...so tired!  TIA..

Arnegard

Listening to DD babble now.  I haven't done CIO with my girls prior to a year old, but do it now.  DD usually falls asleep pretty quickly.  She fell asleep in the van and is now fighting her nap.  (

justEK

He could be teething.

He could also be waking because you are right there.

Does he go in his crib during the day for naps? I'd try that first and then just start laying him down drowsy to see how it goes. 

o2bme

I hear ya!  DS is a terrible sleeper too.  We started letting DS CIO Saturday night.  He cried for 10/15 minutes and then fell asleep.  We woke up once at 11pm ate and went back to sleep.  Last night he whined (not really crying) for about a minute and slept til 12 and he cried out but I waited it out and he fell back to sleep.  He woke up again at 3:30 and I got him and gave him a little bit of water (trying to cut out the night time bottle too per the pedi). 

 

DevonPow

Yes, we did it. DS was an awful sleeper - up every 2 hours, 24 hours a day, for the first 5 months. We started by having a very strict bedtime routine (bath, jammies, book, etc etc etc) and stuck with that for a while. Then, we focused on not letting him fall asleep while eating (he would, but we would then wake him up so that I could put him in his crib awake). Then, we stopped going in right away when he cried at night. I was petrified of doing CIO, but the first night he cried less than 10 minutes. Not saying that it is as quick/easy for everyone, but sometimes they just need a little push to get them to sleep better on their own (oh, and it did take several nights, but we lucked out without having any extended crying periods - they were each less than 10-15 minutes).  He has been an awesome nighttime sleeper ever since. Nap times....a whole other issue. He has never and will never be a good day time sleeper (and is a very early riser), but I'll take it.

Arnegard

I should also say that if DD3 wakes at night we give her a bottle, per our pedi.  She is bearly on the charts and slept horrible about a month ago - so this is really helping.

Melett

We did with my 2nd DD at 6 months because she started getting up. It only took about 1 night. I think kids really really need their rest and I think it's best for them to train them to sleep through the night so they can get the rest they need.

Jodi&Joe

Awe, sounds like the little guy is totally overtired!  He NEEDS naps at that age.  And this is coming from a mom who had a daughter who just did NOT nap.  Until I let her CIO!

She was about 8 months old before we did it.  I wanted to do it at 4 months - Joe wouldn't "let" me. 
Anyway, she was getting up 4-5 times a night still at 8 months old.  The issue is that she is very smart (LOL!) and when we were putting her down, she was asleep. She would wake in the middle of the night and instead of knowing how to calm herself/get herself back to sleep, she would freak out and cry and want someone.  Totally normal, IMO.  The abnormal part is getting up 4-5 times a night!!!  LOL

I think the key to this is two things -

1.  put him down awake.  He has to learn to self soothe and more importantly, has to be aware of his surroundings when he is falling asleep.  Imagine falling asleep in your bed and waking up on your deck.  Would you be able to get right back to sleep?  Probably not!  So falling asleep in mommy's arm and then waking up in a completely different place is jarring (for some kids).

2.  put him down for a nap at about 90 minutes after he wakes for the day.  You should follow this routine throughout the day.  Nap within 90 minutes of waking.  Then nap again within 2 hours of waking (from nap #1).  Then bedtime around 6:30/7.  Follow a routine for bedtime. 

Good luck!

Zenya

we don't but I wanted to suggest you give up dairy and see if it helps.  The restlessness/reflux combo makes me think something is going on.  

justEK

Zenya:

we don't but I wanted to suggest you give up dairy and see if it helps.  The restlessness/reflux combo makes me think something is going on.  

Really really good suggestion. 

AggieCouple

No.  The baby (7 mo) woke up 6 times last night, and I can tell she's teething something fierce.  I assume if she's crying, she needs me emotionally and/or physically.

I agree with pp that 5.5 mos, your DS is most likely teething or perhaps going through a sleep regression. 

ridesbuttons

No advice.  Yawn.  6 months of no sleep?  You are a saint.

jlw2505

I did CIO but I have no clue how you would do it if you are right there holding the baby, I can't imagine that working at all.