If you don't CIO - HELP

Luckiest13 · March 2009

DD will only fall asleep is i stand up and rock her or walk around with her in my arms. But she's nearly 20 lbs and i cant physically do it anymore. My back feels like its gonna break in half. I dont mind rocking her sitting down or holding her. But she's restless and refuses to relax. I havent tried CIO and dont want to do that.

Any suggestions on how to get this girl to relax and fall asleep another way?

bridetobe0jb · March 2009

have you tried a consistent bedtime routine (i.e. ours is milk, bath, lotion, pj's, brush teeth, book, go downstairs for 5-10min, sign of the cross with daddy, and then upstairs). ?The process we've been doing so long that even if I skip a couple steps, it's enough to signal her brain to start relaxing to go to bed.

I've read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child about 1000 times. ?While he recommends CIO in full form I have never had to use it in the extreme sense. ?Although there are times I've learned that CIO (10-15 min) is needed, so you may not want to rule it out completely. ?I just couldn't do the 1-2 hour type CIO.?

daveshell1 · March 2009

Babies need to learn to fall asleep on their own. ?It may not be a big deal now to sit and rock them to sleep, but I made that mistake with dd and she would never go to sleep on her own... even now at almost 7 its not 100%. ?With ds however we started early with being able to fall asleep on his own, and it is the best thing we could have ever done. ?A little crying wont hurt. ?Im not saying the whole 1-2hrs or anything, but if they only cry for 5-10 min, it will eventually dwindle down to almost nothing. ?Best thing I ever did.

kchoi · March 2009

i semi did the cio method before ryan was 1 and it worked fine. ?for whatever reason after 1, he wasn't down with falling asleep on his own. ?i tried the cio method again and maybe i'm just too weak, but i couldn't stand to see ry crying so hard i thought his eyeballs would pop out and he couldn't breathe. ?so now i still rock him to sleep, except he allows me to do so in the rocking chair. ?like b2b, we have a nighttime routine-bath, sleepsack, lights out, and to the rocking chair. ?he falls asleep within 2-10 mins.

good luck, i can't believe cutie pie mia is almost 20 lbs! ?she doesn't look like she'd weigh that much!!?

Calips · March 2009

6 months was the age we started a little CIO. We used something like the Ferber method. Let them cry for 5 min, go in pat them, say night night , you love them, etc (don't pick them up) then leave after no more than 60 sec. Then wait 10 min -- then 15 min --20 etc. (in 5 min intervals) We never got to the 15 min. ever. So, it worked for us.

My sis just tried it too and it worked for her as well. I think the first night they almost got to the 15...now they don't get to the 10. GL

beachbrideinCal · March 2009

We also tried to avoid CIO, but eventually, that was the only thing that worked. Like a pp, we tried a modified Ferber method. Gradually increase time away each time leaving the child for 5, then 10, then 15 min, etc. It truly gets easier. I think it was just a few nights of this before she started going to sleep on her own. We still have glitches but usually because we didn't follow the usual routine. GL!

KristelRobin · March 2009

We never let dd cio more than 5 minutes for the two weeks we were following a sleep method. Now, I actually do nurse/rock her to sleep each night, because it works for us. On the rare ocassion she wakes up and starts crying, we don't necessarily need to pick her up and start over. Like the pp talked about, we go in and put a hand on her stomach, and "shhh" her until she falls back to sleep or is almost there. It never takes more than a couple of minutes.

Also, I just watched a short video on the Dr. Sears no crying method. I think we might try that from the start with the next baby. Here is the link:

https://www.babycenter.com/2_baby-sleep-the-sears-method_1487508.bc

Anyway, best of luck, I totally understand not wanting to let her CIO. Even the 3 to 5 minutes under the method we used was too much for me.

itsspykitty · March 2009

How about Ferber? It is like a modified CIO. You let them cry 1 minute then go in and soothe them(but don't pick them up) Then you slowly increase the time between when you go in.

This was the only thing that worked for us and it truly "fixes" them. N sleeps 12 hours consistenly from 7-7.

CIO is awful the first time you do it but remember- the first night is always the hardest. It gets easier from there and usually works in 3-5 nights. I also used a timer which is a huge help. She would be crying and I think it had been 12 minutes and it was only 4.

Sally J · March 2009

I think every baby is different and some do better with CIO than others. I think some parents can do CIO and others can't, but it's important to find the right method for you and your family.

We don't do CIO with either of our children, but our DD does need a few minutes of fussing/complaining before she chills out to sleep. My DS needs cuddle time and attention to calm down and fall asleep. We used No Cry Sleep Solution and in a month and half my DS doesn't require rocking/nursing to sleep and only wants to put himself to sleep. He also cut down on the night wakings. The methods really worked for us, but it is a slow progress, so it requires a lot of patience.

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If you don't CIO - HELP

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