BTDT Ferber moms.

yougrindmygears

A little over a week ago I decided to start using the Ferber method to get my dd to sleep in her own crib in her own room.  We were bed sharing basically since birth but as soon as she hit 6 months she started to get really restless at night and no one was sleeping.

The first night she cried 37 minutes, then slept through the night..and she slept through the night for 3 nights in a row.  The fourth night she woke up at 3:AM for a feeding, but went back to bed as soon as she was fed.  After that it went down hill pretty much.  She started waking up between 9-10 pm for a feeding, then when placed back in her crib she would cry for about 20-30 minutes before falling back asleep.  Then she would wake again at 1:30-2:30 am and the same thing.  I finally got so sick of listening to her cry half the night that I brought her back into bed with me when her 2:30 waking happened. 

Now for the past few nights she will go down initially to sleep (only cries 2-5 minutes IF she cries) but then around 9-10 pm she will wake up and it is VERY hard to get her to go back to sleep.

I hate listening to her cry, and I know she is crying just to be picked up because I feed her and change her when she does wake up.  I just don't know what to do anymore...I'm hoping some of the BTDT moms can give me some insight....Do I just leave her be and check up on her every now and then until she gets it...or what?   I'm getting so frustrated lol. Help.

tokenhoser

Yep, you go and check and calm her briefly (1-2 min) at intervals and then you put her down and listen to more tears.

We're in the midst of it in our house, and while I think we're making progress it is no one-night fix for us. I did it just for bedtime at 6 months and it took 4 nights to get past the crying. It's been 4 rough nights now to do the overnight portion, but I'm holding on. I can't go back to nursing him to sleep every 1-2 hours, and that's what had been going on for the last few weeks. I am still nursing him overnight, but I put time limits on that I have to stick to - not before 10:30, then not before 3 am, then it's not "morning" until at least 6:30. Really, I should probably cut him to 1 feed, but because he was eating 5-6 times a night I didn't want to be too harsh.

TreatsMcGee

DS slept like a dream up until this week. I was reading about 8, 9 and 10 month sleep regression. I guess it has something to do with all the activity going on around them and all the learning, etc. etc. at this point in their development. We are ferberizing and it seems to be working. Sucks to listen to them cry, especially at 2am, but we feel that's our best option. GL

Lisa Frank

There is a sleep regression at this point like the pp'er mentioned. Developmental milestones like crawling/walking/ etc.  During 8-9-10 months, separation anxiety enters the picture, which makes life a whole lot more difficult in the sleep dept.

Also, 3rd and 4th night regression is typical when you are sleep training.

Be consistent. Try not to feed if you can. The waking at that same 9-10 period means it's habit (most likely)  So, try not to feed. Make sure there are enough calories being consumed during the daylight hours to sustain the long period at night.  Do the intervals and be extremely consistent. It will pay off!
 

AND. Be compassionate to yourself as a mother while you go through this. Hearing your baby cry SUCKS, but it will pay off for all of you.  

Lisa Frank

tokenhoser:

Yep, you go and check and calm her briefly (1-2 min) at intervals and then you put her down and listen to more tears.

We're in the midst of it in our house, and while I think we're making progress it is no one-night fix for us. I did it just for bedtime at 6 months and it took 4 nights to get past the crying. It's been 4 rough nights now to do the overnight portion, but I'm holding on. I can't go back to nursing him to sleep every 1-2 hours, and that's what had been going on for the last few weeks. I am still nursing him overnight, but I put time limits on that I have to stick to - not before 10:30, then not before 3 am, then it's not "morning" until at least 6:30. Really, I should probably cut him to 1 feed, but because he was eating 5-6 times a night I didn't want to be too harsh.

You got this, Momma! If he regresses again, don't be surprised. This is a process, for sure. Just stick with it!

tokenhoser

Lisa Frank:

tokenhoser:

Yep, you go and check and calm her briefly (1-2 min) at intervals and then you put her down and listen to more tears.

We're in the midst of it in our house, and while I think we're making progress it is no one-night fix for us. I did it just for bedtime at 6 months and it took 4 nights to get past the crying. It's been 4 rough nights now to do the overnight portion, but I'm holding on. I can't go back to nursing him to sleep every 1-2 hours, and that's what had been going on for the last few weeks. I am still nursing him overnight, but I put time limits on that I have to stick to - not before 10:30, then not before 3 am, then it's not "morning" until at least 6:30. Really, I should probably cut him to 1 feed, but because he was eating 5-6 times a night I didn't want to be too harsh.

You got this, Momma! If he regresses again, don't be surprised. This is a process, for sure. Just stick with it!

It really doesn't feel like I've got anything... sigh. It's 2 am on night #5 and he's still up every 1-2 hours. It blows. My company comes back for 2 weeks tomorrow and I feel like I wasted my 5 days of freedom listening to my baby cry and cry and cry.