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Need support: moving DS to crib
Yes, I know we should have already done this but I am a wuss and rationalized postponing this until now. So DH wants to let Reese cry it out by putting him in his crib, shutting the door and not going back in there (like he ever goes in there anyway bit that is a whole other can of worms). It breaks my heart to think that my baby will think that I've abandoned him. Not to mention that he is still eating fairly often at night (yes, I know at his age he doesn't need the calories rather he just likes Mommy) so I'm worried about putting too much stress on him by trying to make him quit that cold turkey, too. Any advice? I hope I'm not the only wuss on here. 
And I have "The No Cry Sleep Solution" but I've never finished reading it. Anyone used it successfully?
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Re: Need support: moving DS to crib
I know how hard that is! I didn't put Alex into his own crib and room until after he was 6 months. He was still eating quite a few times a night and definitely not sleeping through the night.
We knew he was eating more than enough during the day, so we decided to cut out the night feedings and do the sleep training all at once.
Here is what we did and it really worked for us. We put him in his room and soothed him and left. If he cried, which he did, we let him cry for 5 minutes then went back in and soothed him again. We didn't pick him up or talk to him... just gave him back his pacifier and rubbed his back and left again. If he cried again, we added five more minutes to the time before we went back in.
It was hard.... I had to set the microwave timer and turn down the monitor because I felt horrible.
The first night he got to the 20 minute stretch of crying, but didn't cry close to that long before falling asleep.
The next night was much easier and we all got much more sleep. By the third night he didn't even cry for 5 minutes before falling asleep and that was it.
I felt horrible letting him cry, but we had to do something. He was only really sleeping for any stretch of time in his swing and he was getting way too heavy for the swing.
In the end, I think it is the best thing that we did for him. He is a great sleeper now and has no trouble getting himself to sleep.
It is hard and I don't see any reason not to do what you feel is right.
We took a little harder line. It wasn't a never go in there approach. It was waiting for a duration, then going in there calming him down, and then starting the process again. It took a few weeks (maybe months?) before we reached the point where DS knew what to do when left on his own to sleep. It was not easy on Mom or Dad as there were a lot of tears.
Today, over a year and a half later, we have had a very peaceful year of sleeping solo and an understanding of how to go to sleep. We feel that taking our emotional licks earlier has helped us all reach an equalibrium now. But, I could not tell someone this is the way he or she should do things -- you know your own tolerances and those of your child. Do it the way you think is best -- you won't break anything by going to him at night -- you may lose sleep, though.
Little decisions and compromises are part of being a family. Don't feel badly because you're doing what works for you guys.
We didn't put Ellarie in her crib until she was a little over 6 mos. I pretty much did everything Kjr did.
Good luck!
First of all, that is the cutest picture of Reese ever! What a handsome cowboy!
I can totally relate to this post. We transitioned Esm? to her crib at about four months. I was very nervous for the process, but it actually went more smoothly than I expected. I started transitioning her with naps during the day and then eased into it at night. We did something very similar to what kjr did. I would nurse and rock her for about 10 minutes then lay her in her crib. She would protest at first, but I would lay her back down, rub her back, and talk soothingly to her about everything being okay. I would leave and stay out for five minutes. If the crying continued, I'd go back in after five minutes...and lay her back down, rub her back, and tell her all was okay and leave. I'd go back in and do the same thing - adding five more minutes each time - until she'd fallen asleep. Fortunately, it never took more than 20 minutes for her to fall asleep. She's been sleeping in her crib for naps and at night since then. Rarely does it take her more than a few minutes to go to sleep now.
It's definitely agonizing to hear them cry; but Reese will be okay and he will know you're not abandoning him. I was really worried about that as well and that's why I chose a more gentle approach. I'm still nursing her at least once at night...it puts her back to sleep when (and if) she wakes and I find it peaceful. If you want more details or more encouragement, please feel free to email me -- mrs.littlejeans@yahoo.com.
Hi Leah! I know exactly what you're going through. We didn't move Rena to her crib until she was over 5 months old. She was also getting up twice in the night for a bottle, so I just thought it would be too hard to go back and forth to her room (her room is upstairs and ours is downstairs). And DH also supported CIO but I was against it. So I started off by having her nap in the crib so she got used to it. Then we started putting her in at night and it actually went very smoothly. She would get up and cry a little but got used to the crib in just a few days. I would only let her cry for a few minutes at the most and then I would go in there and comfort her. And that is when she actually started STTN (she sleeps 12 hours straight in there now).
So you never know, Reese might like the crib and STTN. Rena started moving around a lot in her sleep around 4-5 months so I think the pack n play was too small for her. Now she has a lot of room to move around in the crib and she can settle herself back to sleep. But we still rock her to sleep before we put her in the crib. I know many people are against this, but it works for us and she can settle herself. Just do what you're comfortable with at first. Good luck and let me know if you have questions!