putting to bed awake

Starfish02807 · May 2013

My lo is also starting to sleep less. I am considering nursing her, burping her and laying her in her crib awake and letting her cry it out to go to sleep in hopes she will go to bed easier and stay asleep longer. She currently nurses from 7 to 9 pm and then I out her in her rnp asleep. Any suggestions? Is this the right age to transition to crib and let her cry it out?

sbevmc09 · May 2013

I don't know how old your LO is. CIO is never recommended until at least 4mo. Many recommend waiting until at least 6mo if you're going to do it. There's really never a right time for that, but you want to at the very least wait until they reach the point of being capable of self-soothing.

IMHO though I don't see why if you've hit a rough patch with sleep you would want to introduce something new to complicate things further. I think there are easier ways to go about getting good sleep and to me that's letting things evolve naturally. Babies will eventually go down awake/easier/whatever on their own, but it might not be at 4mo. The benefit though is it's not something you have to force it to happen if you let it evolve in its own time.

There are going to be patches of good sleep and patches of more difficult sleep. Babies go through a lot with growth and developmental spurts, teething, etc. I really wouldn't try to force anything, but that's just my opinion.

dulcemariamar1 · May 2013

Ditto with PP. You shouldnt try CIO until your LO is at least 4 months. Have you read any books about it? IMO, you should read up on it (Ferber, for example) if you want to have a more successful go at sleep training.

How long has she been sleeping less? What do you mean by sleeping less? More MOTN feedings? Taking longer to fall asleep?

I wouldnt wait a week or so to see if she is having an "off" week before I tried something new. I know that now it is getting harder for LO to stay asleep if I transfer her to the crib once she is asleep. Perhaps, you can nurse to sleep, wake up a bit while you put in the crib, and then pat her tummy until she falls asleep. GL. I am also going through a rough patch. It sucks but it wont last forever.

zonagirlie · May 2013

Honestly, no. You will find people here that believe you can sleep train and CIO at six weeks. Developmentally though, it's not helpful, most will regress after a few months so you'll do it all over again then probably again at about a year. It's just how they're growing that regressions are normal and expected.
Babies aren't supposed to sleep through the night until they can keep their tummies full and can go without food for 810 hours. Your child needs to eat every few hours because they're metabolizing the food you give them quiet fast and using it to grow. The first few months hold massive internal and external development!. FF or BF all babies use those calories extremely fast and need replenishment often.
When I decided to have a baby, part of that responsibility was the no sleep. Being selfless and putting their needs above mine. I'm not saying you aren't doing that but forcing your young infant to feel abandoned or fearful because you want them to get used to sleeping seems inaccurate just from a common sense stand point not to mention a caring view.
Knowing the human development science behind infant sleep and food needs makes me cringe hearing someone talk about CIO at any earlier than 1012 mos. They just physically shouldn't be without food/ comfort at such a young age not to mention cognitively it can undermine the attachment process.
I'm sure there are people out there who will say "Did it for our first and he hasn't set the cat on fire yet, so we will continue" or "my parents did CIO with me and I turned out fine!"
Just because you got lucky doesn't mean you always will. Not to mention every child is so different. Your next one may sleep through the night right away. You just can't make it black and white. You can research and learn what your baby's basic health and wellness needs are and do your best. I learned a lot in college studying babies way too much!, but a great book that might help you undersrand is The Happiest Baby On The Block. Good info in layman's tetms. Good luck!

kelly0connor0213 · May 2013

I've found my bedtime routine is working.

I feed DD at 7am 10am1pm 4pm 7pm. After 7 pm I never wake her. Lately she's been going longer stretches.

I put her down for naps at 830 am 11:30am 2:30pm and a little cat nap at 545.

After I feed her at7pm we play a little, I keep it calm, we take a bath at 745 and we are in her Room reading a book, listening to lullabies by 810ish. I do put her in her crib awake but drowsy. I admit to her whimbering in her crib a bit. Never ever do I let her cry more then 2 minutes. I also gauge the cries ,as a momma you can tell which is a serious cry. I've Learned that recently . She's usually alseep in 10 mins. She wakes up in the middle of the night once or twice.

Make sure baby has ways to soothe herself. ESP in the middle of the night. DD doesn't want a paci so I've noticed in the middle of the night she"ll suck on her hands. That's ever since we've stopped swaddling.

I have friends who say I should be letting Her cry in the middle of the night, I just can't let myself do it. I'm not strong enough, it breaks up heart. I rely on routine. Hopefully, that will get us to more STTNs

Starfish02807 · May 2013

I know having a baby isn't about me getting sleep. I am just convened I am doing something wrong as she used to sleep sic to eight hours and now she sleeps two or three at the most. She is four months.

Wild_flower25 · May 2013

you can try to crib but I wouldn't just put her in there and let her cry, you might just make her fear it then.

My DD does not fall asleep nursing or rocking anymore at bedtime. She wakes up as soon as she's done eating and I try to move her. If I try to rock her, she just squirms. So, when that happens I've been just laying her down in her crib, drowsy but awake. She fusses on and off, and many times I have to go back in there and put the pacifier back in but in about 30-45 mins, she eventually falls asleep. They're learning to go to sleep on their own at this age, but I don't think they should be left ALL alone yet.

She might surprise you and go to sleep fine in the crib. Its worth a try. I put dd to bed last night not swaddled for the first time and she STTN, only waking once for the paci at 4 am. Shocked the heck out of me! She's only STTN 3 times. I'm not concerned, babies are just all over the place with sleep right now.

sbevmc09 · May 2013

Starfish02807:
I know having a baby isn't about me getting sleep. I am just convened I am doing something wrong as she used to sleep sic to eight hours and now she sleeps two or three at the most. She is four months.

You're likely hitting the 4 month wakeful. Read up on that, it will probably give you some insight into what's going on.

You're not doing anything wrong. It's easy to second guess yourself, but just trust your instincts. Babies go through a lot of different transition periods, especially during the first year. There's this inaccurate belief that once your newborn is STTN it's all gravy, but there are lots of sleep regressions that no one seems to talk about. It's normal and it's going to happen. I'm sure there are exceptions, but in general sleep will be rocky for a long time. You'll hit an easy patch and be like, FINALLY! And then they'll hit a period of development or teething or illness and it'll go to hell again. It will get back on track, just trust that it's normal, support your baby through it, and they'll work it out on their own. You'll be a lot less stressed than trying to force sleep to happen.

dulcemariamar1 · May 2013

zonagirlie:
Honestly, no. You will find people here that believe you can sleep train and CIO at six weeks. Developmentally though, it's not helpful, most will regress after a few months so you'll do it all over again then probably again at about a year. It's just how they're growing that regressions are normal and expected. Babies aren't supposed to sleep through the night until they can keep their tummies full and can go without food for 810 hours. Your child needs to eat every few hours because they're metabolizing the food you give them quiet fast and using it to grow. The first few months hold massive internal and external development!. FF or BF all babies use those calories extremely fast and need replenishment often. When I decided to have a baby, part of that responsibility was the no sleep. Being selfless and putting their needs above mine. I'm not saying you aren't doing that but forcing your young infant to feel abandoned or fearful because you want them to get used to sleeping seems inaccurate just from a common sense stand point not to mention a caring view. Knowing the human development science behind infant sleep and food needs makes me cringe hearing someone talk about CIO at any earlier than 1012 mos. They just physically shouldn't be without food/ comfort at such a young age not to mention cognitively it can undermine the attachment process. I'm sure there are people out there who will say "Did it for our first and he hasn't set the cat on fire yet, so we will continue" or "my parents did CIO with me and I turned out fine!" Just because you got lucky doesn't mean you always will. Not to mention every child is so different. Your next one may sleep through the night right away. You just can't make it black and white. You can research and learn what your baby's basic health and wellness needs are and do your best. I learned a lot in college studying babies way too much!, but a great book that might help you undersrand is The Happiest Baby On The Block. Good info in layman's tetms. Good luck!

I think most people would agree that there is a big difference between 6 weeks and 6 months. Sleep training is not right for every child/family but it is still a valid choice.

brachysira · May 2013

Sounds like you don't know if she even will cry. Try putting her down awake and see? My LO will just talk to herself a while and then go to sleep on her own. It's very cute. Hit 4 mo. yesterday tho, so fingers crossed things don't get crazy.

ta78 · May 2013

It sounds like she is having a growth spurt. You aren't doing anything wrong, shecould just want to eat more often for a little while. Many moms on here are going through this right now, myself included.

Like pp said, its still early to let her CIO. But you are her mother, do what you feel is best and are comfortable with.

Want a personalized experience?

putting to bed awake

Re: putting to bed awake

Choose Another Board

Search Boards