Houston Babies
Options
CIO guidance
Hi everyone. Ella is now 13 months and I have been rocking her to sleep each night. I would like to be able to put her in the crib and let her CIO so she can learn self soothing. When I rock her to sleep at night, it usually only takes about 10 minutes.
I discussed this with her pedi at her 12 month appt and the dr was fine with it, but told me to wait until she was well (colds, ear infections, teething). She is finally well (knock on wood) and I would like to start the process.
What books would you recommend or suggestions to help us make it through this difficult time? I have not started yet, but I am ready, or at least I keep telling myself I am ready. Ha.
TIA
This discussion has been closed.
Re: CIO guidance
No flames from me. I was hoping for this exact kind of guidance. I really wanted to do this sooner, but I kept procrastinating. She is so sweet when she is sleeping in my arms, but I know it will be best for all of us in the long run to start letting her fall asleep on her own.
When you go back in to sooth do you walk out after a minute even if she is still upset?
Thanks so much for your response.
We did this around 4 1/2 months and we got to where Evan would cry for 30 minutes at a time. He was not a good sleeper at all. When he was a newborn he would only sleep while being held and would sometimes only sleep 9 hours in a 24-hour period.
After about 3 days of this he started to get the hang of it. And yes, we would leave after a minute even if he was still upset. We would go in for a minute or so to pat his back, rub his head, and kiss him good night. We would tell him we loved him and walk away while he cried.
It wasn't the best feeling to hear him cry, but he cried so much back then it really wasn't much different for us. Now we take him to bed awake, read him a story, kiss him good night, and leave. We can watch him on the video monitor and he may take a few minutes to get comfy, but he is typically asleep within 15 minutes even if he was wide awake when we took him upstairs.
Dx: PCOS and short luteal phase
18 cycles (3 with our RE) - Metformin + Clomid + HCG booster did the trick!
BFP #1 6/22/09 EDD: 3/2/10 DS born: 3/8/10
TTC #2 since Dec 2011
BFP #2 7/8/12 EDD: 3/18/12 M/C @ 9w1d: 8/16/12
Are you sure she is fully asleep when you put her down? You may already just be putting her down drowsy, but awake (I'm just saying b/c 10 minutes seems like not very long to fall asleep).
I would start off rocking, and then put her in her crib. Then make yourself stay out of there for at least 5-10 minutes. I would just say to myself "5-10 minutes is not that long" . In our case, he is usually out by then - especially if they are really tired, but if they are still crying - you can go in (don't talk) and just rub their back to let them know you are still there for them, and walk back out - then leave for another 10-15 minutes. Good luck!
Yes, she is definitely asleep when i put her in the crib. If I try to put her in the crib and she opens her eyes and then closes them again, as soon as I lay her completely in the crib she will wake up, roll over and stand up and start crying. She is usually ready to go to sleep when I take her to her room and start rocking her, which is why it doesn't take long.
I'm going to start Monday with all of your suggestions. DH is going out of town this weekend and I will probably need his emotional support. Although, he would be more than happy if I took care of it while he was OOT.
Thanks again for your suggestions.
If bedtime only takes 10 minutes, I wouldn't mess with a thing! Sounds great to me.
Yep!
I agree that you don't really need a book. But, if you want one, I read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and found it to be quite useful. It's a good reference for children's sleep issues in general. I recently picked it up again when we transitioned the kids to twin beds because they kept escaping their room to get in our bed.
Good luck! It may not be as bad as you think.