non-cio sleep training advise

iris2717 · September 2012

Some advise needed!

My LO is 6mo and has been night waking since his 4mo wakeful. He was STTN (8PM-5AM) before then but as soon as he turned 14 weeks, he began waking frequently during the night. His daytime naps are pretty good and he has a consistent bedtime routine and we get him to go down at 7-7:30pm pretty easily every night after his last bottle. But he jostles about SO much at night- he will begin stirring and moving around his crib, seemingly trying to find his spot until he gets frustrated and begins to cry. This happens anywhere from 2-4 times a night. On top of that, he has been waking up for the day at 4am and refuses to go back to bed! Usually at night we can get him to go back to sleep after a couple sips of water or a couple shush/pats. But this is getting exhausting as DH and I work fulltime.

I think it is time to try a bit of sleep training and I wanted to come here and see what you all can tell me about any non-CIO sleep training methods that have worked for you all.

Any advice, success stories, links will help. Im desperate and exhausted!

sadsadie · September 2012

Keep your expectations real; most babies don't STTN at this age. Waking 2-4 times sounds pretty normal. It could also be exacerbated by a growth spurt or teething.

When baby wakes, give him a bottle or a boob, NOT water. Babies should be getting all their water from BM/formula. Don't give rice cereal either; many people advise this but it doesn't actually make babies sleep longer.

He's probably awake at 4 because he's hungry. You could try feeding him then and seeing if you can get him back down, or try doing a dream feed before you go to bed at 10-11 pm; this might help him sleep longer.

i have heard wonderful things about "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Also, "The Happiest Baby on The Block" By Harvey Karp and "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears may be of use to you.

Good luck!

TiffanyBerry · September 2012

sadsadie:
Keep your expectations real; most babies don't STTN at this age. Waking 2-4 times sounds pretty normal. It could also be exacerbated by a growth spurt or teething.
When baby wakes, give him a bottle or a boob, NOT water. Babies should be getting all their water from BM/formula. Don't give rice cereal either; many people advise this but it doesn't actually make babies sleep longer.
He's probably awake at 4 because he's hungry. You could try feeding him then and seeing if you can get him back down, or try doing a dream feed before you go to bed at 10-11 pm; this might help him sleep longer.
i have heard wonderful things about "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Also, "The Happiest Baby on The Block" By Harvey Karp and "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears may be of use to you.
Good luck!

This.

100 times over, this.

skibunny59 · September 2012

We're going through the same thing. DD just turned 6 months old. She started STTN around 2 1/2 months and then stopped when she turned 4 months. I know the PP said to keep your expectations real and that waking up 2-4 times at this age is normal but it's hard to do that when your LO was STTN and isn't anymore. It's especially hard when you work FT. I am still on maternity leave so many days I will nap with my DD in bed but I go back to work next month so it's going to be tough.

If your DS wakes up at night, I would offer a paci, or bottle, not water. If you are just offering a couple of sips of water every time he wakes up at night, maybe he is hungry. Maybe he is going through a growth spurt and he needs that extra food? Do you feed him at 4AM when he wakes up? I would feed him and try to put him back to bed. My DD has also been waking between 4-5 for the day. I bring her back into bed with me and nurse her. She will sometimes go back to sleep. On days when she doesn't, I put her in the swing and that usually puts her back to sleep.

I would read through the No Cry Sleep Solution. She has some good ideas in there. The thing that she stresses though is that you really have to be consistent which I have not been.

ncbelle · September 2012

Definitely have realistic expectations!! Babies might STTN at this age but the reality is most still need to eat at night. Also, most babies who STTN early on will start night waking again - so so so normal.

A 6 month old is far more distracted during the day than a 2 month old...meaning they may not take in enough calories and need to make that up at night. Also if you are working, he may be waking because he misses you. In either case, he needs to eat! Try the dream feed as that might help prevent further wakings. Or at least feeding him at the first waking may cut out others.

I personally would at least have him sleep in the same room to minimize the amount of getting up you have to do; you will feel far more rested if you don't have to fully wake even with the same number of wakings. And the No Cry Sleep Solution is a good read.

Izybel18 · September 2012

I know you're past the 4 month wakeful, but I recommend you read the article on Kellymom about it. I still mentally reference it when I'm having a particularly rough night.

https://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/4mo-sleep/

lcatack · September 2012

Great advice above

Please no more water - very dangerous at this age

I really try to consider sleep to be an individual thing for babies - there is no standard and it makes me sad when people ask if you have a good baby (as in do they sleep all night).

I read somewhere - Its time or tears. We are going with time and there certainly are times when I want to cry over waking every 3-4 hours for the previous 9 months. Just recently our DD started sleeping through the night on her own. I didn't have to train her to do that. Its a amazing. We bedshare and the last two nights I moved her to her crib once I nursed her to sleep and she slept 6-8 hours. It feels great to have waited for her to be ready for sleeping longer stretches. When she wakes up, she isn't afraid to find herself in her crib and she lets us know when she's ready to come back into bed with us. It may be really miserable right now, but try to put your head in the game and not move too fast trying to get baby to do something they aren't quite ready for.

I've heard great things about the No Cry Sleep Solution - maybe look into that. Its AP supported.

DeniseRN · September 2012

Time. My DS1 was a crappy sleeper once I went back to work and we coslept to make life easier. Once I gave in to cosleeping and the fact that babies wake up in the middle of the night to eat and be comforted, life got better. Now he sleeps all night long. Don't stress. Most babies don't sleep thru the night

twocents6708 · September 2012

DD was STTN for about 6 weeks starting when she was about 9 weeks old. At 4 months, that ceased. We spent the next 4 months getting up and nursing 25 times nightly. I struggled at first but realized that she was very distracted during the day and night feeds were the best feedings that she got. Plus I started back to work so that could have contributed to it. I agree with the time vs tears. We coslept and nursed on demand which was exhausting but just this week she started STTN again. Babies don't often sleep that long until they are over a year and each baby is different. Not much advice to give but I can empathize and just encourage you to hang in there!