sleep training a preemie

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

My daughter is almost one. She still wakes up every 2hrs to nurse. Should I consider sleep training or give her more time? Not saying I want her to cio, but I find myself responding to every peep she makes. I'm not sure if this is because she was preemie and I worry like heck about her. She's about 14 lbs. Breastfed. Eats a bit of solids but not much. Any advice would be appreciated.

Missa_g · February 2014

What's her adjusted age? What does your pediatrician say about her weight gain?

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

Her curve is good for her. She was born at 33weeks was 2lbs 13 ounces. She's really small; but for her, she's big.

jbranden12 · February 2014

We sleep trained at 11 months (8 actual), moving from swaddled in the rnp in our room to magic sleep suit in the crib in her nursery. Key for us was breaking the nurse to sleep association, which involved changing up our bedtime routine and also some crying. She still wakes up 1-2 times in a 11-12 hr period to eat and at those feeds I do nurse her to sleep but she falls asleep when we first put her down for the night.

If she wakes up and it's not time to eat, I let her fuss about 5-15 minutes depending on the sounds she is making. It is hard to hear her cry and not go to her immediately, especially after all she goes through medically, but most often she falls back to sleep on her own quickly since she is not truly awake. I am much happier since we sleep trained and we all get more sleep.

I highly recommend the magic sleep suit and a good noise machine.

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

Can I put her in a sleep suit even though she rolls and army crawls?

jbranden12 · February 2014

Hannahwilson19 said:
Can I put her in a sleep suit even though she rolls and army crawls?

Does she usually sleep on her back or stomach?

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

Back but recently she rolls on her tummy.

jbranden12 · February 2014

Hannahwilson19 said:
Back but recently she rolls on her tummy.

Then it is probably not the best thing for you guys. We really used it to ditch the swaddle and Anna doesn't roll so it's still safe. I would concentrate on changing up your bedtime routine and deciding on a course of action, then sticking to it. I found the website troublesome tots very helpful.

meldoo2002 · February 2014

We sleep trained at 8 months (5.5 months adjusted) and did do CIO, but it was more to put themselves to sleep, they were already STTN at that point. And we did use a sleep sack for a very long time… once we ditched the swaddle maybe from 6 months until they were 18 months old. I basically stopped once they were walking though I know people that used it much longer. I think she's fine to sleep train at her age, but I don't know it may be really hard seeing she's still up every 2 hours. She should be going much longer than that by now at night.

LaciJaxx · February 2014

I think you have to break the habit of going in for every little peep. By doing that she's not learning to go back to sleep by herself, she depends on you. You should be able to tell what she's doing by listening to her but not going in. And def should be able to decipher her cries, so you know if something is really wrong. Babies have to learn to self-soothe and that helps them to go back to sleep after a sleep transition from REM to non-REM sleep. As an adult we get up to pee, roll over, pull on a blanketx whatever then go back to sleep. They have to learn to do that. Also, consistency is key. Pick a way that you can live with and stick to it. Just be informed before you start. I have read quite a bit on the topic and have pulled things from different ideas and combined them. Our little man does pretty good most nights. It's a blessing!!!

Good luck!!!

LaciJaxx · February 2014

Also, I found The Dream Sleeper to be very informative. There is a section about CIO but they tell you to skip that part if it's not for you. It's def not for me but it works for some. Anyway, they have great stuff on their website for free.

bkennicott11 · February 2014

a white noise machine saved my life!! my DS usually sleeps 10-12h straight hours a night. he sleeps terribly if it's too quiet. sometimes during the day I have to run the vacuum to get him to take a nap. there are a lot of free noise apps for your phone or tablet but I bought ours at walmart for no more than $30 and it also projects little scenes on the walls/ceiling (like sheep and stars or jungle themes) good luck momma!!

carrotcake06 · February 2014

I'd try and let her fuss for a few min before going in - you know the diff between that and a full on cry. And when you do go in, I'd send your H since you BF. She's going to expect to nurse from you, so if you're not there she may go back to sleep more easily.

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

Thank you for all your advice. She's very codependent on me. We have a noise machine and tried switching up the routine a bit. She's still having a rough time. I know she won't sttn, but I want her to be comfortable in the crib. Its getting her to sleep that she's fighting right now. She's really small, therefore has a little tummy still and vets hungry. I dunno the past two nights have been rough but I'm staying firm. I can't let her CIO, that just makes me sick. She has really bad eczema and I wonder if that hurts her ability to sleep too, she scratches the crap outta herself if I let her fuss. Again, thank you ladies for advice, and your support.

jbranden12 · February 2014

Since she has eczema, are you sure her stomach isn't irritated from something you are eating? Anna is mspi and if I slip up her gas is awful and she won't sleep :-(

Hannahwilson19 · February 2014

We have had her tested. She only responded to cat and dog allergy. Her tummy seems ok. Her brother was colicky, so I know what to look for. So far I don't think food bugs her.

jbranden12 · February 2014

Hannahwilson19 said:
We have had her tested. She only responded to cat and dog allergy. Her tummy seems ok. Her brother was colicky, so I know what to look for. So far I don't think food bugs her.

That's good. Although Anna tested negative for both milk and soy allergies but she is still intolerant. Might be worth keeping a food journal. However, it sounds like it's mostly behavioral and she needs to learn to fall asleep on her own.

LaciJaxx · February 2014

The book/website I suggested helped us to get out little man to sleep better. It really is worth a read. That's exactly the problem we were having. I'll dig it out later and post their suggestions. I'm on my phone right now and it takes me too long to type. Good luck!!!!

LaciJaxx · February 2014

Here is the website I was talking about. Lots of great tips!!!! Take it all in then decide what you think will work and go with it. Just be consistent. They don't recommend any type of sleep training until your babies are atleast 4 months adjusted.

Don't forget to click on the "sleep tips" tab and choose your babies age. Also the FAQ's page is good too.

https://www.dreamteambaby.com/sleep-tips/parents/

Some of the things that helped us:

Make his bedroom dark all day & night - we were opening blinds in day

Lovey for bed only - totally new to us

We tried to break the paci habit, which is a negative sleep association - failed

White noise - our machine was turning off instead of running all night (we use a small fan pointed away from the crib plus Scout runs for 10 mins)

Only sleep in his room - no playing, he knows when we go in his room that it's time to go to sleep. Sometimes he's happy about it and other times he'll start fussing when we walk in

Keep house/room temp between 68-72

Sleep schedules helped us to get a rhythm even though we don't follow them to a T

We give Carson his lovey and his paci, kiss him goodnight and leave the room. He may beebop around for awhile but he falls asleep on his own. I only go in if he starts crying. Then I'll go give him his paci and lovey again, kiss him and leave. Some nights I may do this multiple times but usually I only do once. That was our biggest change. Before it was taking us 15-30 mins to get him to sleep. It's amazing!!!!

If you're a reader, I highly recommend the book. It just goes into much further detail than the website.

Good luck to you!

sleep training a preemie

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