Alternative to CIO that actually works? Or easy breezy CIO experience?

dmhrn13

I never wanted to CIO. I also had a good sleeper until recently. I think its a combo of my returning to work (part time), & learning object permanence/developmental stage. DD goes down fine after her bed time routine which has not changed but her first wake of the night is now filled with crying & needing comforting where the paci would do just fine before.

I read the no cry sleep solution & I don't think its working/by the time I get there with it she'll be 15. Anway- anyone have something other than CIO that worked well or didn't think you wanted to use it but then did & it was easy? Or used CIO & thought it was horrible?

LyndseylovesHugh

We did Ferber, which is IMO a more gentle CIO because you can go check on them and comfort them after only 3 minutes the first night.  For us, it was much easier than expected and it was a life saver!  The first night sucked, it took her 27 minutes to fall asleep and she woke up twice during the night.  Night two it only took her about 10 minutes and she only woke up once.  Night three it took around 5 minutes and she never cried during the night (she did fuss, but no crying).  Since then she falls asleep with no crying, sometimes she fusses but it is usually about 2 minutes, and she sleeps 11-12 hours. 

I was like you, I did not want to do CIO.  I read No Cry Sleep Solution and did not see it working for her based on her personality (and mine).  So then I read Sleep Easy and Ferber, which are both very similar.  Have you read either of those books?  After reading them I felt so much more comfortable with CIO, they both do a great job explaining why you are doing it and how it is beneficial. 

danieliza1127

LyndseylovesHugh:

We did Ferber, which is IMO a more gentle CIO because you can go check on them and comfort them after only 3 minutes the first night.  For us, it was much easier than expected and it was a life saver!  

So then I read Sleep Easy and Ferber, which are both very similar.  Have you read either of those books?  After reading them I felt so much more comfortable with CIO, they both do a great job explaining why you are doing it and how it is beneficial. 

Ditto all of this.  We did the Ferber method and it's like magic!  We had great results.  And like she said, if you actually read Ferber's book, especially Chapter 4 about sleep associations and his method, it just makes so much sense and makes the whole process much easier. 

MomtobeNJ

I also want to add a different perspective...keep in mind that CIO isn't always the gut wrenching horror show that parents make it out to be (me included!). I was almost sick to my stomach about doing CIO. The first night there were minimal, intermittent cries but 90% of it was just fussing. Within 3 nights, she was putting herself to sleep and sleeping 11 - 12 hours with one bottle in the middle. This is the same baby that was waking me up every 45 minutes every night for 3 straight weeks.

Ms. Lisi

I did sleep easy, which was nice because it has intervals where you go check your LO, so it was easier on DH and I.  The whole ordeal took about 4 nights for us, now she goes to sleep with no fight.  If she does cry for over 2 minutes, I go in and check on her now, since it is so rare.  DD now only cries if she needs something.  Last time, she was gassy and just needed to be walked for a little while until she tooted everything out.  I was not a CIO person either, believe me.  I was exhausted when we tried it, and now I am very glad we did it. I read the no cry sleep solution, and my friends that tried it said that it seemed like their babies cried more than when they ferberized.  Read the books and make your own decision.  It really all depends on what you are most comfortable with.

 

linzeek44

We did a modification of the Sleep Lady Shuffle. There was some crying involved but I didn't want to do Ferber of Weissbluth so that was sort of a middle ground between CIO methods and No Cry Sleep Solution.

It worked for us and we have a high needs, extremely easily fired up baby who was not sleeping at all.