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My pedi is a Ferber fan

LouiseB2001LouiseB2001 member
in Attachment Parenting

I went to DD's 4 month check up today but our pediatrician had passed away in June (unknowing to me) so when I made the appointment I got another doctor in the same practice, whom I was unfamiliar with.

DD measures fine, we talk about solids and I am happy that he recommends starting at 6 months rather than earlier. I mention that she wakes up almost every hour of the night at the moment and he starts explaining what I already know: babies don't know how to put themselves back to sleep. If I wanted to fix this fast I should just put her down and let her cry for a couple of hours, then in three days it would be solved. He then said that "Ferber's book is the classic sleep book" and I should buy it on Amazon. 

DD sat on my lap during this conversation and when he tried to get her attention right after she was just starring at him. He laughed and said she knew what he had just suggested and then he talked more to her and tried to get her to smile. Then the wonderful thing happened: My overly social, smiling at everyone, from the guy at the register to the woman across the restaurant, *frowned* at him. No smile, just this mean look on her face. Good baby.

I told him that I would try some other methods because I was not about to let my baby cry for hours. He said 'Okay, let me know how you are getting on next time'. I am now dead-set on getting her to fall asleep on her own with no cry. Wish me luck :-) 

Single mom of DD (2010), TTC #2 since June 2013.
Occasionally I'm blogging about my life with flybaby.
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Re: My pedi is a Ferber fan

  • anabell0920anabell0920 member
    Honestly you did ask him about her sleep habits. I don't even bring it up because doctors really shouldn't be offering advice on sleep training IMO. Now when a doctor just brings it up out of nowhere that ticks me off.
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  • knedellknedell

    Haha!  I love your dd's response!  Our pedi is a babywise fan so we try not to talk about sleeping or eating with him but I wish we had a pedi we could discuss things with.

    I need to get DS to fall asleep on his own as well.  He doesn't wake up every hour (usually) but he has been waking up so much lately that I am so tiresd that I always just nurse him back to sleep bc it's easiest.  Good luck!

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  • LuvMyBostonsLuvMyBostons
    Your DD response was great!! Honestly it's just his advice, and you can just take it or not, but I wouldn't really hold it against him too much. One of my friends recommended our pedi to us and didn't really know what to expect with her, but I've become a fan of hers. She's from the school of waiting til 6 months to start solids and when I told her DS wasn't STTN, she just responded with, "I'm not usually concerned with him STTN until he's 6 months or so."
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  • Kestrel84Kestrel84
    Well, it is unfortunate to hear that Ferberizing is still going strong.  However, at least he wasn't telling you that you NEED to do it.  It just sounded like something he suggests when parents ask about sleeping.  I honestly don't mind the "well there's this sleep training thing you can try..."  It's the "you need to teach your baby to self-soothe" that really gets my goat.
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  • LouiseB2001LouiseB2001 member
    I guess I was mostly curious to what his answer would be. I have my own opinions and rely a lot on talking to other mothers (also on the bump!) and reading the books I find useful (e.g. NCSS). I didn't think it was a huge problem with him suggesting it in relation to his profession as a doctor, I'm sure he is an excellent pediatrician, but I was a bit surprised about his response. "You just let the baby cry, the first night it might take a couple of hours"! And he was fine when I said I would not like to do that.
    Single mom of DD (2010), TTC #2 since June 2013.
    Occasionally I'm blogging about my life with flybaby.
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  • QuazelQuazel member
    We asked our pedi about sleep around 4 months and he said he prefers Ferber to Dr. Sears.  I was upset at the time but we love him as a medical doctor and the ladies around here really reinforced to me that sleep (in our case when DS gets plenty) is not a medical issue.  I would never lie to him but nor do I follow parenting advice I am not comfortable with.  He knows what path we have chosen and only says anything if we ask.  We truly adore him.
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