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weezie825
member
How to break the co-sleeping habit
weezie825
member
I need help... and in this case Google is NOT my friend.
We have got to get DD out of our bed. Neither one of us (DH and I) really wanted to co-sleep, but DD was sick pretty much from mid-September until the end of November with contstant, very bad ear infections. The only way any of us got any sleep at all was to bring her to the "big bed."
Yesterday DD finally got tubes in her ears, so hopefully the ear infections will be a thing of the past. Now I need to figure out how to break the habit of her sleeping in bed with us. I asked the peditrician and she said we'd have to let her CIO. I attempted that once and DD was completely hysterical to the point where she was choking herself...
So any advice would be appreciated.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How to break the co-sleeping habit
We never really co-slept except when DD was really little. I'm all about sleep training and CIO, etc. but it seems pretty hard to go from co-sleeping to CIO or Ferber. You might want to ask on the AP board about more "gentle" methods for transitioning.
We're *really* lucky with DS - he's an amazing sleeper, so "CIO" is nothing but the occasional 5-10 minutes of fussing unless teething or something else is really bothering him. But I read The No Cry Sleep Solution cover to cover as part of cobbling together our sleep plan for him early on and recall her having a wonderfully gentle, slow going method for breaking a co-sleeping habit when you're ready. She's really pro-AP (and obviously anti-CIO), so if you're looking for something besides Ferber it might be worth checking into.
Good luck!! I hope DD's tubes bring you all some relief!
lovelylittleworld
BFP#2 1/12/12 ~ Missed M/C 8w2d
Thanks guys! I am heading to Amazon right now to pick up the book Rags suggested.
Evie was a GREAT sleeper up until September. She slept through the night swaddled in her bassinet (and then her crib) from May until September. Unfortunately the start of the ear infection saga was around the same time that she started rolling over and we had to stop swaddling her... I know things can cause sleep regressions, but she was NEVER like this before.
We (I) got into a bad habit when DD was little of bringing her into our bed because it was just easier to get her to sleep that way. But neither DH or I got good, restful sleep and I was starting to have back problems from sleeping with her nestled against me.
We used the Ferber method to transition her back to her bed and I won't lie - it was hard. She cried, I cried, DH tried to run interference. But, though it felt like it took forever, it really didn't take long to get her into the groove. The Ferber method kept us going into her room to assure her that we were there, we loved her, she wasn't alone, there was nothing to be afraid of, etc., but to also teach her that she needed to soothe herself and sleep in her own bed. It is a form of CIO, which I know is controversial, but given that DD is 3 1/2, happy, healthy, well-loved and a pretty good sleeper in her own bed, I'm not convinced that it's a horrible method to use.
Whatever you choose, I hope it works for you and soon so that you can all get restful sleep!
I hear ya!! Oh such a habit I never intended to start...sigh!
Mine was a great sleeper until September too and it went downhill fast! I've been letting the LO CIO in my bed. LO refuses a bink, and wakes up and doesn't self soothe. We've gone from 2 nights of 4 wakeups (crying) and 1 night of 2 wakeups (crying). Crying literally lasts a few minutes. I often put a blanket up to LO's face and rub the blanket on LO's face and LO grabs it and goes back to sleep. I'm hoping by the end of the week, sleeping through the night will resume. STTN is technically 6hrs but i'd like to see it much longer for selfish reasons and because LO needs the sleep. I plan to move back to the crib cold turkey soon.
I suggest letting Evie cry for a few minutes, going in patting her butt and telling her you love her but it's night night time. Leave. Let her cry a little longer and repeat pattting her butt, telling you that you love her but it's night night time. Leave. and continue to repeat. She will get it, I promise. I did it once and was shocked how fast it worked, but things kept hindering (sick, vacation, sick, vacation, blah!) The tricks from what I'm told is be consistent, always do the same routine (like going in patting butt, telling you that you love her and it's it night night time) and do not ever pick her up during the cycles.
I do enjoy sleeping with LO. I love holding Lo's hand, knowing LO is right there, waking up to the biggest smile ever, getting kicked at night. LO has taken to rolling over to me and i just love it! However, I know LO needs her crib bc I need my bed and my H and I need our time.