Sleep Lady Shuffle, anyone?

missisue

We are co-sleepers, and we've been trying tips from the NCSS for nearly three months now, but they just aren't working (or if they are, not fast enough to save my sanity). LO (9 months tomorrow) is still awake every hour to hour and a half at night, and nursing doesn't seem to work anymore. I'm exhausted and cranky, and I feel like I could recharge and refresh if I could just have my sleeping space back.

We still want to be as gentle as possible with her, so we're considering the Sleep Lady Shuffle. Has anybody considered or used this method? Pros? Cons? Tips for success? Thanks!

pixieprincss

I have not, been a friend heard a local sleep consultant trained in that method speak and said it was helpful.

I did want to point out that 9-12 months statistically is the peak of night-waking. DS woke every 2 hours from 7-12 months and then he started transitioning to 3-4 hours pretty much on his own (albiet, I did stop offering to nurse at every wake up since they were so frequently spaced and he had transitioned himself to mostly solids at 12.5 months).

missisue

That's good input, thanks. I keep going back and forth as to whether or not I want to do any sleep training. Just not sure when the light at the end of the tunnel will appear!

wheelsonthebus

When I was going through this with DS (he was up every thirty minutes some nights) I decided to try it because it seemed like it would be easier on all of us. Well, for my situation it was not. It was almost like teasing my DS as I sat within sight of him and didn't go to him. He couldn't understand what I was doing. It was pure torture for me because listening to your child cry is painful as it is. He cried for SO much longer with this method. For us, the best method was Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child. I did go back in from time to time to reassure my son, but he cried a lot less when I explained to him that it was time to sleep and left. It was still painfully hard and by far one of the hardest things I ever had to do as a parent, but it needed to happen. I was falling asleep at the wheel from lack of sleep. DS didn't actually sleep through the night until almost three years old, but at least he was only getting up once or twice a night. I think children will sleep through the night when they are developmentally ready, but every hour or every thirty minutes is not ok. haha

WildcatPrincess

Our situation was different because she was already STTN when we did it and it worked perfectly for us. 9 months is extremely difficult between the growth spurt and the wakeful, but at 10 months she went to one night waking that she kept until the one year mark and she miraculously started sleeping through for the first time ever.

We used the Shuffle when she was around 16 months old and weaned, we had always nursed to sleep and since I was pregnant I didn't want to rely on rocking. It could take over an hour to rock her to sleep! We started with shush and pat first so she could get used to being in the crib awake and falling asleep with me touching her and once she was comfortable with that I started the shuffle. Everything together took almost 2 weeks, but there were no tears.

ACAsomeday

I have the book and read through some of it.  I have been using the method of stay in the room while he falls asleep for several weeks now, just for his morning nap.  It works as long as i get him down before he's really tired.  So, he plays a bit and then gets sleepy and starts whining.  He never gets into an all out cry and I shh him and say "its okay sweetie, you just take a little nap", so he knows I'm there.  I'm not into CIO, especially at 4 mos, so If he gets into a real cry I pick him up and nurse him to sleep.  If he whines for more than 15 minutes I give him a pacifier (if I give it to him before that he usually spits it out).  Usually he's asleep by 15-20 min.

To do it at night would pretty much be torture because LO still wakes up every 2 hours to nurse.  I think its a lot easier if LO is only waking up once, or even better STTN.

I'm beginning to think he will never STTN.  Every night I go to bed thinking "maybe tonight will be the night", and lo and behold within an hour he's already up wanting to eat. :-/

MrsCodeMonkey

I think it's tough to tell if it will work for you until you try it and commit to it. I used it for naps and had a decent sucess, but you have to work really hard. I found it very stressful. Nights I haven't managed to get through. She starts out in the crib, but I give up at 11 or so and bring her into our bed. She wakes up too often and I'm exhausted. I am also finding that separation anxiety has peaked, which only complicates matters. Wish there was an easy fix that didn't require crying.