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Mom to Brandon and 2 cats
01-21-2004, 01:19 PM
DS is 6 months old now (my, how time flies!), and does not fall asleep by himself. A typical routine is for me to nurse him and then he gets between 5 and 10 minutes of rocking before getting put down to bed. If he's not all the way asleep, I need to start the rocking over again....

Some nights he wakes up about 3 hours after first being put down and gets nursed. He then sleeps for another 7 to 10 hours by himself. During this long stretch, he'll wake up briefly, but put himself back to sleep.

The Ped recommends CIO. I'm dreading it.

Do you think I should do it, given that he can do 7 hours by himself at this age? Although, he doesn't fall asleep by himself (except in the car?)

Any advice?

Thanks,
Jennifer

mamahill
01-21-2004, 01:29 PM
I did a modified CIO. I would let her cry, but stay in the room (where she couldn't see me) and reassure her about every 60 seconds. That sounds like a lot, but it was absolute torture for the rest of the 45 seconds. At first I would pick her up and then lay her back down when she stopped crying, over and over. Then I wouldn't even pick her up after that, but pat her back.

CIO (just leaving her to cry herself to sleep) never worked for us because she would work herself up and end up throwing up. Plus, it was just too stressful for me. I would really recommend Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and the modify it to where you are comfortable. I wanted to teach Ainsleigh to sleep, but I felt it was a learning process for the both of us, and couldn't just let her do it by herself. But then, we have a small house so there was no getting away from the sound.

It took a couple weeks, but we didn't do it until she was about 10 months old. Since then, for the most part, she sleeps like a champ - naps and night. I've given the Weissbluth book to several friends and they all swear by it. Suddenly my mom friends don't have bags under their eyes, and they have energy to DO things!

daisymommy
01-21-2004, 01:47 PM
If you don't feel comfortable with CIO (I never have either), then try "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. I can't recommend this book enough. It has helped us get Joshua to move out of our cosleeping bed and into his crib, to sleep through the night, take regular naps, and go to sleep easier. It's really been a lifesaver. At 17 months I rock him for about 10 minutes just to get some soothing cuddle time in, and then lay him down. He chatters to himself for a few minutes, then goes right to sleep.
You really need to do what YOU as the parent feel is right for your baby and your family. Don't let doctors make you feel like they have the right to tell you how to raise your child. They are there for medical issues, not parenting ones.

bnme
01-21-2004, 02:08 PM
I let DS CIO at about 8 months when he was refusing to sleep in his crib (he got used to sleeping with us after a few rough teething nights where I was to sleepy to keep getting out of bed). He cried for about 45 minutes the first night and about 10 or less for the next week or 2 before it stopped. It does work for some babies and you should modify it to you/babies tolerence and comfort level. And only do it if you feel you need to or if things seem to be a problem or habit you want to correct.

I 2nd the Weissbluth recomendation!

I should also mention that when we did this I was still letting him fall asleep or become very drowsy before putting him down. It wasn't until he was 11 months that I wa able to sucsessfully put him down awake.

Good luck

missym
01-21-2004, 02:19 PM
I know lots of folks are uncomfortable with CIO, and if you are, then I'd recommend disregarding what your ped says and going with your instict. However, in our experience, it wasn't nearly as bad as we were expecting it to be.

We were in a very similar situation about 3 months ago... we reached our limit when it was taking until midnight every night to get her to bed. The first night, she cried for 5 minutes. The second, it was 2. I do still nurse her to sleep, but if she wakes up when she's being laid down, I tell her goodnight, kiss her, and shut the door. Now, she usually cries for under a minute if at all. If she cries for more than 10 minutes, or if it's an I-need-you cry (rather than I'm-mad-and-I-expect-to-be-held-all-night) I go get her.

By the way, the other night when I shut the door, she was standing at the bars of the crib, jumping up and down, crying mad. I thought, "There is no way she's going to go to sleep." Within 30 seconds she was asleep, perfectly in the center of her crib. What a booger!

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03

Rachels
01-21-2004, 02:55 PM
Wow. What you describe sounds pretty great to me. Breastfed babies often still need to nurse at some point during the night, and once sounds like no big deal to me! If CIO doesn't feel right to you, don't be bullied into it. Trust your instincts.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

egoldber
01-21-2004, 03:01 PM
Well, honestly, I wouldn't worry about it with a 6 month old. He still has lots of time to grown and mature. Waking up once to nurse at 6 months is not uncommon. As long as you are not unhappy about it, I would give it time and see if he eliminates that nursing session on his own.

If you want to encourage him to go sleep on his own without rocking, I would occasionally try laying him down in his crib and see how he does. He may surprise you and go sleep. But my DD was sometimes going to sleep on her own and sometimes not at 6 months. It wasn't until she was 7-8 months that she did this reliably (and it is not uncommon for some babies to take later). As long as what you are doing is comfortable for you and your family, I wouldn't worry about it.

HTH,

Jen in Chicago
01-21-2004, 03:06 PM
We are starting to have his CIO some. 45 minutes the first night and he SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT for the first time. Since then it has been rough with company, a cold and teething. I need to get tough and let him CIO again. It is rougher on me I am convinced.

I hope to go hear Dr Weissbluth speak Monday night, should be interesting (1/26 at Borders on Michigan in Chicago at 7pm.)

I am f-t working Mom with bags under my eyes, something has to give! I can't be a zombie much longer.

lisams
01-21-2004, 03:42 PM
I thought the same thing. At 6 months DD was waking at least 2 times a night. Anyways, do what you feel is best for your family and best of luck!!!

Lisa

lukkykatt
01-21-2004, 04:09 PM
ITA. Even Weissbluth says that he thinks that it is fine for babies to nurse to sleep. And if your baby is going back to sleep when waking up in the middle of the night, clearly things are going well. FWIW, I did modified CIO, but did nurse my younger son in the middle of the night until he was about 11 months old. For whatever reason, that is what he needed and I responded to his need. He did go to sleep on his own when he went to bed, so I knew that he was learning to do that. And now he sleeps just fine.

So, if at 6 months your child is sometimes going to sleep on his own, then I would just keep expanding on that. Like Beth said, sometimes try putting him in the crib when he is drowsy and see how it goes. The most important thing is to follow YOUR instincts!