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No sleep for baby and me = trying new method

UserPost

1:17 pm
December 10, 2009


LaurenP

New Member

posts 1

Our baby just turned 4 months last week and her sleeping habits seem to be getting worse by the day so I am desparate to try something new after much exhaustion! Our pediatrician told me before she was born that it was very important to always put her down drowsy but awake.  Well, unfortunately we never got into that routine from the beginning and have always given her a pacifier and rocked her to sleep.  She has also never taken a nap in her crib by herself for more than 15 minutes, I am embarrased to say.  She will fall asleep in the car or in her swing but never in her crib, typically in my arms.  We are the point at night that we rock her to sleep and she stays asleep in her crib for a little bit but is now waking up starting 45 minutes later and this continues through the night every 45 min to an hour. OUr pediatrician said last week to lose the pacifier and then she should start sleeping much better.  Easier said than done…

Having said all of this, I have realized that I must try something new and have decided that we will try to put her down without a pacifier and tried the CIO method somewhat today during her nap.  I was letting her cry for 10 minutes at a time before I would go in and sooth her but not pick her up.  I know that the key is to pick a plan and stick with it. 

My questions are:

 - How long for naptime do I let her cry it out because at some point I feel like I've wasted the entire day trying to get her to nap and she's so angry that she's fighting it which creates a VERY unhappy baby by the end of the day.

 - When I go in to soothe her, how long should I stay in there?  Today, as soon as she saw me, she would stop crying but then before I even walked out of her room she would start crying.

 - Does her room need to be dark (similar to nighttime) for optimal napping?

Any advice from moms who have been through this would be great.  I feel like I've read everything and there is no perfect answer and I'm not ready to let her cry it out all night long.

Thanks!

7:20 am
December 20, 2009


jgentner

Member

posts 14

I am no expert by any means, but I can tell  you what worked for our son (who is now 11 months old and sleeping 12 hours at night with 2 two hour naps during the day). I found that making his room as dark and quiet as possible was the best for naps (replaced old blinds with light blocking blinds). We found out by reasearch and talking with the ped that he was very overtired and therefore would not nap or sleep well at night. At this time he was about 4 1/2 months. Our plan of action was to put him to bed at 5:30 for 4-6 nights. If he had been sleeping for less than 2 hours, we would leave him be (extrememly hard when he was crying, but we stuck to our guns). If it was after 2 hours since waking up, we would give him a bottle, letting him take whatever amount he wanted. When giving him a bottle, we kept it fairly dark and quiet in his room using only a night light and not talking to him. We would also use a swaddle/sleepsake for night time as well as for naps when he was that age. We rocked him until he was about 6 months old, but we didn't have to wean him from it, he just decided one day that he didn't want to be rocked and fought it so I put him down in his crib and he fell right asleep. Hasn't had to be rocked since then. I am going to say that this site and my experience told me that nighttime was always easier to "change" than naps were, so starting with night time may be better/easier. When we did finally us the CIO methond for naps, I would let him cry for hour, but no longer. We only had to do that for 2 days before he started to fall asleep on his own,  but at that time was still only sleeping 30 min to an hour. His naps got longer immediatly after putting him to bed at 5:30 for 5 nights. To this day, if my son wakes up crying during a nap, I know that he is still tired and will leave him. He will eventually fall back to sleep withing 10 min or less. At night, if he still wakes up crying, I give him about 15 min, which is usually enough time before he falls back to sleep. Although there are times when he won't stop crying after 15 minutes. At that point one of us will go in a and give him a pacifier and rub his belly for (no more than) 1 minute, then walk out. If he continues to cry for another 10 or so, we will then make a bottle to give him to himm (only using nightlight and no talking to him). This ususally only happens once or twice a month; it hasn't become a habit.

I can see why your ped wants to get rid of the pacifier, but my personal opinon is different. I am willing to allow my son to use one if it continues to help him sleep and then deal with the weaning within the next 6 months. Just remember, which ever method you use, make sure you stick with it and give it at least 2 weeks before saying it doesn't work. Good luck to you and your daughter!


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