"sleep training"

kat1221

Or whatever you want to call it.

Please share your experiences if you have tried it yet. Please include your LO's age as i am mobile bumping.

Thanks!

rjeller32

Depends on what kind you go with. I did CIO, at 7 months with DD1, and it took 2 nights. 10 minutes of letting her cry, then I go in and soothe without picking up, and restart. By the third round she was usually out. After the 2nd night, she did great at putting herself to sleep crying after about 5 minutes.

Rosebean

I will probably be flamed for this: but as a family we decided we were ready. We read Ferber and did his method. We are on night 2 and he has already made drastic improvements. His first night we did up to 7 checks. Tonight we did two checks. During his naps today, we did only 1-2 checks each time (following Ferber's time limits). 

DS is 16 weeks. We chose to do this because he was only falling asleep if someone was holding him. At night, he would have to be held to a deep sleep, then transferred to his crib later. His naps would be so poor, that we couldn't even attempt to put him down (and because of this he would only sleep 20 minutes).

During his naps today, he probably fell asleep faster than he did crying in our arms and fighting the naps. He also slept longer.

I still wake up and feed him for any MOTN feedings he requires. This was by no means a process started to increase his night time sleeping, as he already sleeps 7-8 hours before a feeding, the sleeps again for several more with minimal wake times.  

I highly recommend reading the books of any method you are considering so that you completely understand what your are getting into. I also had talked to several friends that did Ferber before we made our final decision. They too, started early and have very happy well balanced babies. And our timeline is well within the starting times that Ferber discusses in his book.

With DS adapting so well and quickly to what we are trying to help him learn, it only reaffirms that this decision was right for him at this time.  

littlebean4

I personally don't think you should get "flamed" for this. I also read ferber an he states that you can start as early as 3 months, those that say 6 have obviously not read his book. Like I've stated before, what did people do before "sleep training" they let their kids cry a little. In the long run, it's better for them, they get more sleep. My LO is 4 months today and we would start now, the only reason we are waiting another month is bc my husband is a teacher and we want to wait until he's off for the summer.

mishka29

We used the sleep sense training program, you can google it and get the book on pdf. The book says you can start at 3 months and 13 lbs.  We started at just after 3 months.  The program is very similar to Ferber, CIO with checks every 10 mins that they are crying and obviously a familiar routine before bed and naps.

Results...LO cried for 1 hr the first night but slept for 12 hrs with one wake for food. The next day and night she was asleep before the 10 mins were up.  There has been the odd rough nap and they will start out short b/c they are still learning how to put themselves to sleep. Like PP said, it's not about STTN, it's them learning how to self sooth and put themselves to sleep.

We are three weeks in now and we are starting to get to the point where she doesn't cry when we put her down. She just hangs out and then falls asleep! 

This weekend we were at a family gathering and my uncle asked where the screaming baby was b/c this was the only thing people heard about LO. She would scream and scream from being overtired but now that she has regular naps during the day she's a super happy baby!

GL!

kat1221

Thanks for the responses! No flaming here. I think you have to do what is right for you and your family!

Last night was night 1 of CIO and it was rough at first but we hope the end result will be more sleep for everyone. We got the green light from our pedi and we are ready so we went for it.

Eitak82

We just finished night 3 of CIO we did full extinction with no checks as the checks just seemed to further agitate DS with our 16 week old. He's doing great...

Night one there were 51 total minutes of crying from when he was put down through 3 wake ups. Night two there were 14 total minutes of crying from when he was put down through 5 wake ups the I think he was just transitioning sleep phases 3 of those times. Last night there was absolutely no crying and he woke up well rested and super happy this morning!

Daytime naps still result in a few minutes of crying, but from what I've read that typically comes a little later on, so I'm not worrying about that for now.

kat1221

Eitak82:

We just finished night 3 of CIO we did full extinction with no checks as the checks just seemed to further agitate DS with our 16 week old. He's doing great...
J
Night one there were 51 total minutes of crying from when he was put down through 3 wake ups. Night two there were 14 total minutes of crying from when he was put down through 5 wake ups the I think he was just transitioning sleep phases 3 of those times. Last night there was absolutely no crying and he woke up well rested and super happy this morning!

Daytime naps still result in a few minutes of crying, but from what I've read that typically comes a little later on, so I'm not worrying about that for now.

So do you use CIO for night wakings too? Just put DD down for nap...no tears just chatting and then sleep. Fingers crossed!

rockyrollgirl

DD (About 5 months old) has been STTN since 2 months old and I started out with her just falling asleep on the breast. Understand that every baby is different though, so there is no one solution that works for all. I did try CIO and it just wasn't for me. DD would eventually fall asleep after crying, but then would wake up not very happy and the naps were usually very short, like a half hour.

Even though DD has been STTN, she had an issue with taking naps. I took up the no-cry sleep solution, since nursing to sleep really worked well for us and I enjoyed the bonding time. I encourage her to eat more during the day and as soon as she looks drowsy, I put her down. I also got her down for the night earlier then say 10 pm which was the time she usually fell asleep. She wakes up at about 5 wanting to eat, then fall asleep until like 7 am. I make sure that I do not let her sleep longer then that.

What worked for me when it came to the naps, was letting her fuss it out. Emphasis on fuss, which is different then cry. If she was crying, I would make sure all needs were met. Is she hungry, wet, hot, cold? I would hold her for a little bit and then put her down again.

Present day: She basically set her own schedule where she now takes 3 naps (About 2-3 hours each) in the morning, noon and early evening. She is down for the night by 7:30. She does not want to nurse to sleep anymore (I admit that makes me kinda sad lol), she now eats when she wakes up and then I just watch for the signs of yawning, crankiness or rubbing of the eyes. If she is extra fussy due to a growth spurt or she had an over-stimulating day, a bath and book really helps a lot.

Eitak82

We used it initially because of his night wakings. He had been STTN, but started waking a few times a night and was noticeable less well rested and more irritable during the day as a result. From the reading I've done, it seems like naps generally take a bit longer to improve, so I'm hoping that happens soon!

jess10/17

I started "sleep training" at 6 weeks because my little one seemed fussy most of the night... by sleep training I mean we implemented a routine and started putting DS to sleep in his room, in his crib at the same time each night with a noise maker (ocean waves).  

The routine was 9 o'clock bath, lotion, pjs, last feeding (nursing) at 9:30-9:45ish... the first two nights he fell asleep during his feeding and was alseep when I put him in his crib. Night three he was a wake when I put him in the crib but drowsy. He never cried. Squirmed for a few minutes and fell asleep.

By 7 weeks old he was sleeping 6-6 1/2 hours through the night. When I fed him early morning 4-5am, I was very quiet and put him back in his crib when he was finished with his noise maker on. I also changed his diaper before I fed him so he was not woken all the way up after eating.  He would then sleep another 3-4hours.

Now at 13 weeks he practically "asks" to go to bed. It doesn't seem to matter what time his second to last feeding of the day was, at 9:30 he wants to eat and is fussy if he doesn't get fed right away!  After he eats, even if he is wide awake when I put him in the crib I usually don't make it back to the living room couch before he is out! (We have a video monitor, and usually by the time I get to the couch my husband has already watched our DS wiggle a few times and fall asleep!)  

He has NEVER cried when I put him to bed! I know that this is unusual and I'm very thankful for his good sleeping routine!