Help! Did I mess up on CIO for a 5 month old?

[foodiezen]

Hi, over the weekend, we did Ferber CIO for my 5 month old mainly because to help him with naps. Since he was getting up twice a night to nurse also, I thought it would help with that. Prior to CIO, he would sleep 8 pm-7 am and get up at 11/12 am and then 2/3 am...both times to nurse.

Well, the first night, he didn't cry too long but went about 11 hours without nursing.

The second night was fine but he woke up and I heard him (he wasn't crying or fussing) after sleeping 8 hours...since I was engorged, I got up to nurse him.

Well, last night he woke up crying hard (which he has never done prior to CIO) after sleeping 6 hours. So I got up to nurse him.

The reason why I nursed him on both nights is because they say sleeping through the night for infants is 5-6 hours, plus I was engorged (which I should have pumped instead).

Regarding the naps: he is good with the early nap but still having a very hard time with the successive naps.

So did I mess up the CIO? Should I let him cry longer? Would appreciate your advice. TIA!!!

[arivecchi]

Ask your pediatrician, but mine said we had to be consistent, which meant letting him/her cry for increasing time periods over 3-4 nights and to only go in and console - not pick up or feed. I think nursing him will undo the CIO process because he/she will not learn to self-soothe without feeding. Try pumping instead and do increasing small crying increments and see how that works (10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and so on). We did this with our son at 3.5 months and it worked after 3 nights. He's been an awesome sleeper ever since. However, different strokes for different folks. Do whatever feels best for you and your child since you know him/her best. Good luck!

[ahrimie]

I'm a newer mom so I totally went through what you're doing now... it's trial and error in my opinion. First, I'd ask what your goals are for CIO. I know everyone's situation is different and so is their child. If your goal for CIO is for the 2nd and/or 3rd nap, I would not do it at night. Also, I'd tackle just one at a time and not all at once. If your DS is sleeping more during the day, he may not sleep as much at night too--so consider those points as you may have to adjust his sleep time.

Weissbluth will say that night waking to nurse is completely normal, even up to 10 months or so. I have a baby who loves to sleep but she didn't sleep entirely through the night (10-12 hrs) until just 2 or so weeks ago and she's 9.5 months old. She did twice a night right around 4-6 months and once a night from 7-9 months. Every now and then she did more when something else bothered her. I tried tweeking other things too like: using a sleep sack (it really works!!!), turning on the humidifer each time (not just for white noise but I think my house needs the extra humidity), creating a shorter routine--making it more fun, etc.

If you want to tackle the night, I'd even say it's ok for him to wake up those two times but if you want to, take just one night feeding away. And remember that he may need to eat more often during the day to compensate. Also, babies tend to cry more on the 2nd or 3rd day you start CIO.... just some of my thoughts.