September 2015 Moms
laurapaine2003@yahoo.com
member
Ferber Questions
laurapaine2003@yahoo.com
member
Does the Ferber Book address how to sleep train even when baby goes down great but just wakes up ten million times through the night? Online reviews keep talking about how the book addresses getting them to fall asleep - that's not our problem at all - she just wakes up a ton throughout the night.
Im debating about buying the book - just wanted to make sure it'll work for our specific situation. I'm guessing when LO wakes up then you just start the process that Ferber describes?
I was also wondering who has had great success with this, who it didn't work for, and please tell me if you read the entire book and were consistent. I've heard from some people that said it didn't work but they didn't buy the book and were very inconsistent - which sounds like what I've been doing lately which is why I think it hasn't worked at all, I'm sending LO mixed signals. So I think I need to read the book and decide if it's something I can do.
Im debating about buying the book - just wanted to make sure it'll work for our specific situation. I'm guessing when LO wakes up then you just start the process that Ferber describes?
I was also wondering who has had great success with this, who it didn't work for, and please tell me if you read the entire book and were consistent. I've heard from some people that said it didn't work but they didn't buy the book and were very inconsistent - which sounds like what I've been doing lately which is why I think it hasn't worked at all, I'm sending LO mixed signals. So I think I need to read the book and decide if it's something I can do.
Re: Ferber Questions
Does she cry & wake up & you grab her right away? I used to that with the twins until i read an email i got about letting them cry for 30seconds to a minute before going to grab them. & if they wake up & are just laying their to leave them. They learn to put themselves back to sleep. That email said sometimes they wake up because they are trying to get comfortable again. I started doing that & now my boys sleep a good 9-10 hours without waking up.
It does tell you what to do for MOTN too, and it's the same for putting them down at night. You do the same intervals of waiting, going in and talking to them, and then going out again. That's if you are going to wean at night though. I was a little more flexible with the nighttime wakeups because I'm nervous to completely wean at night (I EBF), so if LO is crying hard (not just fussing) I feed him. But, we had really good results the first night we used Ferber - he slept 8 hours without a wakeup, and at that point I wanted to feed him because my boobs were in pain! I think just getting them to go to sleep on their own in the first place really helps with the night wakeups.
I hope that this works for you, or you find something else that's right for your family! I've been thinking about you a lot, I hope you're hanging in there!
The book was very logical, helped me understand the reasoning behind the method, and it gave me the confidence I needed to know this was the right thing for us. My only regret is not doing it sooner.
You mentioned that your sleep problems are mostly MOTN wake up issues, but Ferber explains that typically MOTN wakeups are a direct result of how they are falling asleep in the first place. Does your baby fall asleep in the crib on his/her own without you in the room and without any sleep crutches like pacifiers? If not then the Ferber method can help address these issues so that they do not continue waking in the night requiring your assistance to fall asleep again. If your LO is falling asleep already without any kind of assistance or sleep crutch and still wakes often, then the reasons for their wakeups may be medical, and in this case I'm not sure any type of sleep training would help much and it might be best to consult with a pediatrician.
If you do try Ferber method, consistency is absolutely key, and I think a consistent bedtime routine really helps too. Our LO was sleep trained by night 3. He went down with no fussing and slept through the night! For the following week there was minimal fussing on random nights as he still adjusted to the fact that we weren't going to give in to nursing to sleep anymore, but it never lasted more than 5-10 mins. By week 3 he would giggle and smile at us when we put him down to sleep and he has continued to ever since. Bedtime is now my favorite part of day because he is so happy to get in the crib for a good nights sleep! He is also happier during the day because he's well rested and I feel I have much more energy to play and be a good mom to him.
I know Ferber method isn't for everyone, but with consistency I think it can be very successful. I hope that if you decide to try it, it works for you as well as it has worked for us! Good luck!