I regret our sleep routine

CCCPitt · February 2011

Let me start this by saying that we started a very bad routine with DS a looong time ago. We got in the habit of rocking him to sleep (or almost to sleep) and then putting him in his crib. It used to take about 5-10min or rocking and then he would be in his crib. Now that he is older, we have to rock him for 30-60min sometimes. I really regret not sleep training him sooner, but I kept saying "when he's older". He also started climbing out of his crib last week, so despite my attempts to put him in there semi-awake (or fully awake), he just climbs right back out.

So, my questions is: how did you sleep train your older DS or DD? Particularly if they could climb out of their crib.

C-Charm · February 2011

I'm sure you'll find something that works for you! Have you read Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers?" https://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/

BTW, I don't think you've done anything wrong. Your baby had a need and you met it. JMHO.

Good luck.

shopgirl78 · February 2011

If they can climb out of the crib, you either need to move to a toddler bed or get a crib tent. Climbing out of the crib can be very dangerous.

Other than that, its CIO. Or you could try the suppernanny method (google) but not sure about your LOs age if it will work

CCCPitt · February 2011

C-Charm:
I'm sure you'll find something that works for you! Have you read Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers?" https://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/
BTW, I don't think you've done anything wrong. Your baby had a need and you met it. JMHO.
Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I feel like we made a mistake that will be much more difficult to reverse now. But I do appreciate the positive feedback.

ericanandy · February 2011

We did the same.

We recently started this:

https://www.parentsconnect.com/questions/good-night-sleep-lady-shuffle.jhtml

I cannot even BEGIN to say how well it's been working (were on day 4) and I rocked or nursed my son to sleep since birth. He is doing awesome! I like that I don't have to have him scream his head off that I can still pat or sing to him, just help him fall asleep, not develop a crutch.

Night one it took him 90 minutes to fall asleep, night two 60, night three 45 min! And I've done the naps in his crib too!

CCCPitt · February 2011

ericanandy:
We did the same.
We recently started this:
https://www.parentsconnect.com/questions/good-night-sleep-lady-shuffle.jhtml
I cannot even BEGIN to say how well it's been working (were on day 4) and I rocked or nursed my son to sleep since birth. He is doing awesome! I like that I don't have to have him scream his head off that I can still pat or sing to him, just help him fall asleep, not develop a crutch.
Night one it took him 90 minutes to fall asleep, night two 60, night three 45 min! And I've done the naps in his crib too!

That looks like it might be a good routine to start. I think I'll try that at nap time today. We are also planning to switch him to toddler bed today to prevent the constant climbing out when we put him in his crib (he's already a pro at climbing out).

ericanandy · February 2011

CCCPitt:
ericanandy:
We did the same.
We recently started this:
https://www.parentsconnect.com/questions/good-night-sleep-lady-shuffle.jhtml
I cannot even BEGIN to say how well it's been working (were on day 4) and I rocked or nursed my son to sleep since birth. He is doing awesome! I like that I don't have to have him scream his head off that I can still pat or sing to him, just help him fall asleep, not develop a crutch.
Night one it took him 90 minutes to fall asleep, night two 60, night three 45 min! And I've done the naps in his crib too!
That looks like it might be a good routine to start. I think I'll try that at nap time today. We are also planning to switch him to toddler bed today to prevent the constant climbing out when we put him in his crib (he's already a pro at climbing out).

Good luck it does take patience, but seems to be working for us!

baylorflamingo · February 2011

As pp said, if your LO can climb out of the crib, it is time to move to a toddler bed or get a crib tent. Even if they are "a pro" at climbing out, they could fall and get seriously hurt or die. IMHO, the climbing out is just as much of a problem as the inability to put himself to sleep and you should really be addressing both, otherwise, you're just creating one more bad habit you need to break.

lifesadance · February 2011

Oh man, I did that same thing... rocking him to sleep and then putting him in the crib. Right around 12 mos., it got to the situation you're describing (only he doesn't seem to have a clue that climbing out of the crib could be an option) and what ended up working for us was the CIO method. It was a horrible first few days/week but nothing else we tried would work. Now we have a decent routine where I snuggle him for about 5-10 minutes while we read a book and/or sing a song or two then I take him across the hall and we brush his teeth, then I put him in his crib and he *usually* doesn't even squawk at all and is out in about 5 minutes.

nene321 · February 2011

We didn't have the greatest routine either. When DS started climbing out of his crib about a month ago we figured it was time to start a new one! So we put a mattress on the floor and started an entirely new routine which so far (knock on wood) has been great! It's quick and he falls asleep alone

Now, if we could only have that happen for naps too we'd be great!

DEBBIE33CASEY · February 2011

baylorflamingo:
As pp said, if your LO can climb out of the crib, it is time to move to a toddler bed or get a crib tent. Even if they are "a pro" at climbing out, they could fall and get seriously hurt or die. IMHO, the climbing out is just as much of a problem as the inability to put himself to sleep and you should really be addressing both, otherwise, you're just creating one more bad habit you need to break.

This. The escape issue is more urgent than the sleeping IMO. I don't have a solution as far as the sleep training but I'd get the crib tent or toddler bed asap.

ablou · February 2011

We used the Baby Whisperer method, and it's worked like a dream. Bean has even started going to bed earlier than before. Consisitency is the key, I've found. The first couple of nights were really hard, but he fell right into a pattern.

Want a personalized experience?

I regret our sleep routine

Re: I regret our sleep routine

Choose Another Board

Search Boards