I Don't Know What To Do...

rsideemd · May 2013

About sleep training. LO is rocked to sleep, then placed in her crib for the night. She STTN about 70-75% of the time. The other nights, she's usually up once or twice and I'm able to get her back to sleep by rocking her. I don't necessarily mind rocking her to sleep. I enjoy it, because it's the only time she'll let me hold her. She is all over the place, constantly moving/playing, and doesn't want to sit still. It would be convenient if she could put herself to sleep, but it's not a must IMO. Her normal bedtime is between 7:30pm and 8pm unless she takes a late nap, then it's more like 8:30pm (2 1/2 to 3 hours after her last nap). She's usually up for the day around 6am.

I guess I'm just wondering if she will eventually figure out how to go to sleep on her own or do I just need to go ahead and sleep train. I've talked to several people I know and none of them have sleep trained their babies. They just let them grow out of the phase and deal with getting up in the MOTN. I just don't know which would be best for her. My husband and I are torn about what to do. I guess I just wanted some opinions from others.

LorMor · May 2013

I figure (and I may be wrong) that if she STTN most of the time, then she knows how to put herself back to sleep, and the nights that she doesn't are when she needs help. My LO is the same, and we've seen her stir at a loud noise or something and then put her thumb in her mouth and go back to sleep. Other times (not often) she can't get herself back to sleep.

I feed her to sleep at night FWIW.

Kimberskirby · May 2013

If you enjoy rocking her to sleep and she sttn most of the time, I wouldn't. We did it because our son was up 10 times a night. I still rock him until he is almost asleep, but I miss rocking him to sleep, and getting up with him once or twice... Just not 10 times. I figure that they will only be tiny once, so if you enjoy what you have going, just keep doing it. You have plenty of time to train her to go to sleep alone.

Latham12 · May 2013

I have a friend with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. She did not sleep train her 3 year old and STILL has to rock her to sleep EVERY NIGHT! She sleep trained her 1 year old at 6 months, it took 2 nights and her 1 year old falls right to sleep on her own and STTN. That was enough for me to Ferber our DD and it took 1 night. Babies need to learn how to put themselves to sleep, they don't just one day decide to do it, usually not anyway. I suggest sleep training and teaching LO that it's ok to fall asleep on their own.

Latham12 · May 2013

Kimberskirby:
If you enjoy rocking her to sleep and she sttn most of the time, I wouldn't. We did it because our son was up 10 times a night. I still rock him until he is almost asleep, but I miss rocking him to sleep, and getting up with him once or twice... Just not 10 times. nbsp;I figure that they will only be tiny once, so if you enjoy what you have going, just keep doing it. nbsp;You have plenty of time to train her to go to sleep alone. :

I would disagree. Once LO can stand, don't know if yours can, it is VERY hard to sleep train. It doesn't mean you can never rock LO to sleep if you enjoy it, but you don't have "plenty of time" IMO

DH and his twin brother made their parents lay with them to go to sleep every night till they were 9...

puppy_love6969 · May 2013

I say, try it. Only because I did and it worked wonders. Went from waking 8 times a night, to 1.

RoryorHenry? · May 2013

I say you should do what feels right to you. Your baby will not go off to college needing to be rocked to sleep so not sleep training won't mean she will never learn to fall asleep on her own. Yes, it may take longer to get her to not need help falling asleep but in my opinion they are only little once and this is such a tender special time.

It sounds like you are enjoying this time with your daughter. I feel sleep training is for people that the night wakings are causing problems. Do what feels right but don't feel pressure to sleep train because people make you feel you should.

I for one enjoy the night time cuddles and we are all getting enough sleep so I don't plan on sleep training.

cedenton · May 2013

I rock my LO to sleep at night because he his falls asleep with that last bottle and then I hold him upright for 20 min. b/c of reflux. Can't really avoid it without switching up the routine and since he sleeps pretty well I don't want to mess with it. He was getting up once a night for a couple of weeks after STTN most of the time. I was ready to call it a growth spurt, except if he ate in the MOTN, he often didn't want to finish his first morning bottle. That didn't seem like a growth spurt to me.

So, since we needed to transition him out of his Tucker Sling (for reflux) to sleeping flat and having the freedom to roll around, we just went ahead with a little Ferbering. More so he'd learn to sleep in various positions than anything else.

It took one hour of Ferbering and he's STTN since. I doubt it will be the last time he gets up in the MOTN, but it seems to have helped. The rocking to sleep was more of a problem for naps. I don't mind rocking him down, but once he's down I want him to stay down. We ended up Ferbering for yesterday's morning nap and after 45 minutes he zonked out for 2 hours.

I'm hoping some of this helps him sleep better at daycare.

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