Another Ferber Question

aztoid2006

We started sleep training 2 weeks ago. Our problem was not going to bed (he usually goes right to sleep), but going back to sleep if he woke up in the night. The first night, it took a few checks until he fell asleep, the second night he sttn, then several checks again for the next 2 nights. Then he sttn for several nights, had one night where we checked on him several times, then sttn several nights, and now is crying tonight and has been going strong for about 1.5 hours. Now for my question: has this been the case for anyone else, where LO is fine for a few nights, then has a hard time going back to sleep, sleeps all night for a few nights, then has a hard time going back to sleep, and repeat? I know he can put himself to sleep, because he does it at naptime and bedtime, and also on the nights he sttn we can often hear him wake up once and cry but is back asleep before we would need to check on him. Any hope/help is appreciated!

kellymacc

yes, it happens still sometimes to us. He's a great sleeper now but I feel like about once in awhile we have a night that isn't great. Mostly it happens on Friday nights for whatever reason. When it happens I let him go for about 5-10 minutes and then we I go check I pick him up to see if that stops his crying. We still do one feeding a night, but I don't feed him until after 1 am - if he wakes up before that it's usually around 11.

If he does stop when I pick him up (which he almost always does) I put him back down and we begin the intervals again. I know it's not the best idea to pick him up but at least it lets me know if he's crying for a reason or if he's just mad that he's awake. I think on the nights that he does wake up before or after his feeding it's because he's overtired.

 

ETA: "around 11"

CarlaAndJames

When that happens here it usually means something else is up. Is he teething? If so, it's ok to get him up and give him teething tabs or meds or something to treat the problem and comfort him, just put him back in bed awake.

aztoid2006

CarlaAndJames:

When that happens here it usually means something else is up. Is he teething? If so, it's ok to get him up and give him teething tabs or meds or something to treat the problem and comfort him, just put him back in bed awake.

 

No sign of teeth yet:(  His afternoon nap was short yesterday.  He usually sleeps 1.5 to 2 hours, and yesterday it was about 35 minutes, so maybe he was overtired?  A short nap preceded the last night wake-up, too.  Ahhhhh....this is so hard!