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View Full Version : Nursing To Sleep/Falling To Sleep On His Own (Ferber Method?)



Kieransmom
10-23-2003, 07:41 PM
My son was born with ABO Blood Incompatibility Jaundice and was in Bili-Blankets (light blankets) for the first week and a half of his life. (he's 5 1/2 months old now) Because the machines were bulky and the cord was extremely short someone held him at all times during the day and he slept with us at night. I am nursing him so he would fall asleep for all of his naps and at nighttime while nursing. After he was out of the Bili-Blankets I continued to nurse him to sleep. (AND let him sleep on my lap during daytime naps) I am a stay at home mom (he is my first child obviously) so I still just let him sleep on my lap during most daytime naps.
For the last few months we have had problems with him sleeping through the night. He would wake 2-4 times a night crying. Since we have a family history of babies teething and getting teeth by 4 months we thought that that might be the problem. Since only recently have the teeth started to bud we've realized that it probably wasn't teething, it was the fact that he depends on me being there to sleep. In reading Baby 411 I'm thinking of trying the Ferber method. I'm wondering if that might help. I'm afraid if I keep nursing him to sleep or letting him nap on my lap he may not be able to sleep on his own. Will he grow out of it or should I try this method?

Melanie
10-25-2003, 02:16 AM
I recommend that you read/check out/borrow the "No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley before you make your final decision.

=)

Seeya
10-27-2003, 11:44 PM
or look up the ask Dr. sears web site

Kieransmom
10-30-2003, 09:00 PM
Which website is this? We have been using the attachment parenting method and I think it might be what's keeping him up at night. He's just so used to me being there.

Melanie
11-10-2003, 01:57 AM
I think she meant www.askdrsears.com

HTH

Jeanmick
11-10-2003, 11:27 PM
My son was also diagnosed w/ jaundice and was in a biliblanket for the first week of his life (that was hard, wasn't it?). Anyway, like your situation, my DS has had difficulty falling asleep on his own. I tried doing the same nursing to sleep routine that I did for my first child (DD), which worked well for her, but for some reason, my second child (DS) was more clingy. The minute I put him down, he would wake and then start fussing/crying. After weeks of not getting any decent stretches of sleep, I was getting desperate. I bought Pantley's no-cry sleep solution book, tried it and unfortunately, it didn't work for us. I then heard about Marc Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" through the boards and thought I'd give him a try. In my humble opinion, his techniques appears to be a "happy medium" between AP and CIO, but others may totally disagree. All I know is that it was an approach I was comfortable with and it's starting to work for us.

I wouldn't totally dismiss other issues that he's going through (i.e., teething, physical/developmental milestones) that may be impacting his sleep. These things significantly affected my DS's sleep and disposition when he was 5-6 months.

Anyway, I hope you find an approach that you'll be comfortable with and find success. Good luck and know you're not alone in this! :)

Kieransmom
11-17-2003, 05:11 PM
Thank you so much for your suggestion, Jeanette. I will give it a try. Thank you!

Jeanmick
11-17-2003, 06:16 PM
Good luck. I hope it works for you. Just to give you an example of how it's working for us:

Last weekend, we went to Disneyland. Prior to the trip, I worked really hard the 3 weeks prior to establish a schedule and teach him to fall asleep on his own. I did this because Weissbluth suggested that if you establish good sleeping habits, it'll be easier to re-establish these habits if there's been a disruption such as a vacation. Well, we went up this past Friday and came home yesterday. During that whole time, my DS had inconsistent naps and night sleep patterns. I tried my best to keep to at least one of his nap times (he sleeps twice a day around 9AM and 1PM) and to keep as close as I could to his night time schedule (between 6-8 PM). During the trip, he'd sleep in the car seat, he'd sleep in the stroller on the way back to the hotel, in my arms while breastfeeding, or I'd rock him to sleep. I did whatever I could to make him sleep within a different environment than he's been accustomed to.

Well, we came back yesterday PM and I put him to bed for his nighttime sleep early. He was asleep by 6PM. He woke up at 3AM and cried for about 35 minutes, then slept again until 6 this morning. Then I put him down at 8:30 AM in his crib awake and he cried for about 40 minutes, fell asleep, and then woke up happy as a clam after an hour and a half. I just put him down in his crib awake at 1:20 PM for his afternoon nap and after about 20 minutes of playing and mild fussing (no crying), he fell asleep. As I look at the clock now...he's been asleep for a little over an hour. So far, so good in getting him back into his regular routine.

It's so funny, when he was crying during the time he was trying to sleep for his AM nap, I kept carrying Weissbluth's book around, as if it would give me good luck. I would refer to the pages (278-279, third edition) that talked about why it was good to let him cry. Believe me, I don't like hearing him cry, but to me (this is only my opinion) he makes a good point about letting him go.


Edited to add: DS just woke up after an hour and 20 minutes of sleep...happy as a clam, again! :)

Hope this helps. Again, best of luck to you and your baby. :)

Kieransmom
11-18-2003, 08:27 PM
Wow, that's really great to know. I ordered the book yesterday and I'm counting the days until it comes! I hope you had a nice vacation! Thank you again for the advice!