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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
CIO Mom's Please Help me with these 2 Questions!
I read Ferber's book when LO was only 3 months old and decided to wait until she was 6 months to start the process if she was still waking several times a night to eat. Only problem is I can't remember two things and I don't have the time now that I'm working to sit down and read it again so I'm hoping some of you moms here can help. We started CIO over the weekend. LO was waking 3-4 times a night and would have a feeding each time before she could fall back asleep. 1st night she woke at 10p.m. (paci) 12p.m. (paci) 2.am. (gave her a bottle) and then she slept until her morning wake up time at 7:30. When she would wake up we let her cry for 4 mins would go in give her a paci, then she'd cry for 6 mins. By the second time we'd go in and give her a paci she'd fall right back asleep. She seemed to still need her 3 am feeding the last two days which I didnt mind bc it was better then 4 bottles...but will giving her that 1 prevent her from learning to STTN during the process? Also I can't remember if you can give a paci to them when you walk back into the room after letting them cry for the specific time period? We've been doing that but I just realized she'll probably start replacing the need for a bottle with a need for a paci. Do we just not offer her either all night long? I guess I'm secretly hoping the paci is okay and after 7 days she'll just not want to waste a long cry session for a little paci but I'm probably not so lucky!
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Re: CIO Mom's Please Help me with these 2 Questions!
From what I remember Ferber suggests dropping the paci all together- otherwise LO will be dependent on you replacing the paci to fall asleep. We did Ferber at 5.5 months and we cut it out. DS didn't really seem to mind and it wasn't a huge adjustment.
I wouldn't worry about one bottle, especially if she really needs its. DS still eats once a night. I know when he's ready to eat because he won't settle himself back to sleep after 5-10 minutes. Some babies just can't go all night without eating.
He does recommend tapering off the bottle usage, not just cold turkey going from several bottles at night to zero.
On the paci, he does recommend dropping the paci altogether. Scared me when I read that, but we went cold turkey when we started Ferber and she sleeps so much better without it! She really was associating it with sleep and waking up just for us to pop it back in.
OP. We are in a very similar boat. We have started CIO. DD did not take a paci until she was about 4 months or so. It has been a huge help come sleepy time. However, she was waking 6+ times per night and I almost always ended up holding her. Now, she is only waking 2-3 times a night. I go ahead and replace her paci as it doesn't feel like a problem for us. She only eats some nights (one time). I plan to wean the paci by 1 year (most likely at the latest) but maybe as early as the next month or so.
My reasoning is that sleep was so bad for so long, that we are thrilled with only 2 wake-ups on average. If we feel the paci is hindering her sleep, we will most likely drop it sooner.
We ditched the paci because he was waking up for it multiple times per night (as well as feedings).
As far as the feeding goes we weaned him down to only needing 4 ounces at night and then we started Ferber and cut it out completely. That was the hardest part because I knew he was a little hungry and expecting to eat at that time. But after the first night he didn't need a feeding since and slept 11 hours each time.
He says you can keep the late night feeding or eliminate it altogether...up to you:)
ETA: replace "he's" with "she's." Sorry!!
If you think he needs the bottle, give it. If you notice however, that it's the SAME time every night that he wakes for it, then I will say he does not need it and it's a habit.
Typically, when LO's wake at the same time every night, it's habit. Sporadic wakings will mean true hunger. This has been exactly true for both of my children. It makes it super easy to tell when they are having a growth spurt!
As far as the paci, get rid of it. Don't use it as a mechanism to get baby back to sleep.
And for the night wakings...decrease the bottle over time. Give him 4 oz one night, then 3, then 2, then none. Keep an eye on intake during the day to be sure that he is making it up in the daylight hours. The toughest night will be when you drop the bottle completely, but don't you worry! It will get easier as time wears on.
Good luck!
I'm sure you're a well-rested working momma, eh?? Look, if this works for you, great. But in my house, it wouldn't fly. Happy Mom, Happy Kids. Simple as that. And teaching a baby to sleep is just as important as teaching them how to eat. So, goodbye with your jerk opinion that no one here asked for.
Seriously? Give me a break.
Thanks to all of you who said what I wanted to say! My baby does not want to be rocked ever, all she wants is her paci and she falls right back to sleep! We don't leave her in there to cry for hours, the max ever has only been 10 minutes and once her paci was in she was happy to go back to sleep. I'm so tired of people who think people who sleep train are mean or heartless parents. I love my baby girl enough to want to see her happy and well rested. It breaks my heart to hear her cry much more then it bothers her that I'm sure of. Plus when her mommy is well rested I'm ten times more fun and happy with her all day long.
Whoops hit send before actually typing! I was going to say the same thing, give me a break. Was it not in the Baby 411 books where it basically says exactly what this poster said (but in a not so positive way). Once baby reaches a certain age, if they have not been taught to fall asleep on their own, they will wake up very confused if they fell asleep in mom's arms and woke alone in a crib. Much like we would be very confused if we fell asleep in our bed and woke up elsewhere. If they learn to fall asleep on their own they won't experience this confusion when they wake up.
Someone on another board posted something that said the people who do CIO never seem to judge those that don't but those that don't seem to be SO quick to throw their unwanted opinions on posts that clearly are not asking for them. This certainly does not apply to all anti-CIO people.