When did you do CIO?

[arivecchi]

Wondering when people have done CIO or modified CIO. What kind of CIO worked best for you?

[WatchingThemGrow]

5.5 mos with DD. Took 3 nights. Best thing EVER for her sleep and ours.

DS must have gotten the memo b/c we never had to with him. A lot of families don't want to, but we were at the breaking point and needed uninterrupted sleep. I hurt for those who say "It isn't our style" but are frustrated, sleep-deprived, and tired of night wakings.

[jren]

Never for DD (now 5). Regretted that she wasn't a better sleeper, but honestly I doubt CIO would've worked for her b/c she never took to any self-soothing tools. (Wasn't a paci user, thumb sucker, etc.)

For DS (5 months) we started sleep training early. Didn't let him cry, but just tried to make nap and bed time more scheduled and put him to sleep before he was over-tired. I think with the second, it was easier for me to recognize the signs of tiredness. He goes to sleep in his crib without crying. He's so different than DD was, though, and was always an easy baby.

I'm not sure I believe that CIO can work for EVERY baby. But I think some babies fall asleep better when left alone. DS gets irritated if we try to rock him to sleep and he's tired. He just wants to be in his bed and still.

[neeleymartin]

we did cio at 16 weeks, not a day later. took three nights. first night ds cried for 50 minutes, 2nd night he cried for about 20, 3rd night was less than 5 minuted of crying.

best thing we ever did. he is a great sleeper and can self soothe. i owe it all to weissbluth

[AngelaS]

It varied w/my girls. I didn't do it at night until they were putting themselves to sleep at naptime. I think it was between 4 and 5 months for all of them. I found that getting them into the same 'go to sleep' routine for every sleep time worked really well and then no one fussed very long.

[arivecchi]

I did it with my first at 3.5 months and it took three nights. I was thinking of doing it with DS 2 who is 2 months and 3 weeks old. He wakes every 3 hrs and I start work April 15. Am I pushing it here? My ped. did it with his son successfully at this age and I was wondering if any others out there have done it this early. Waking every 3 hrs at this stage is just killing me and I cannot imagine how I will be able to function at work with so little sleep.

[hellokitty1]

I did it with my first at 3.5 months and it took three nights. I was thinking of doing it with DS 2 who is 2 months and 3 weeks old. He wakes every 3 hrs and I start work April 15. Am I pushing it here? My ped. did it with his son successfully at this age and I was wondering if any others out there have done it this early. Waking every 3 hrs at this stage is just killing me and I cannot imagine how I will be able to function at work with so little sleep.

so have you cio'd with dc2? if so, how did it go?

[arivecchi]

Not really. We are waiting until he is 3 months. He still eats a ton at night!

[SnuggleBuggles]

10 months, maybe a bit later. It's a bit fuzzy. Didn't do it at all with ds1 and he is a great sleeper (wasn't one though till about 18 months).

I saw in one of your other posts that "12 lb rule" from your ped. My ds2 would have been just 5 weeks old then. I don't think it can or should be based on weight. Cognitive development is far more importatnt for cio, imo. If their brains aren't ready then the rest doesn't matter. Plus, with random growth spurts I know I could have really missed some key growing times if I had thought that he didn't need to eat.

Beth

[arivecchi]

It is so hard to figure out when they are ready. I definitely know that my ped's advice is a bit aggressive, but it worked for his family. I think we are going to wait until DS2 is 3.5 to 4 months and do modified CIO, like we did with DS1.

[left210]

DS #2 is 10 months old. He started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old and that lasted for a few months. Now at 10 months old he is getting up 2-3 times per night. He had been going all night without a bottle but was sick several times in the last few months and his schedule was so off and now he is used to getting a bottle at night again. Our ped said to give him a water bottle instead of milk. Anyway, how does the CIO or cry it out method work? We really need to try it out this weekend because we are not getting any sleep. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[arivecchi]

DS #2 is 10 months old. He started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old and that lasted for a few months. Now at 10 months old he is getting up 2-3 times per night. He had been going all night without a bottle but was sick several times in the last few months and his schedule was so off and now he is used to getting a bottle at night again. Our ped said to give him a water bottle instead of milk. Anyway, how does the CIO or cry it out method work? We really need to try it out this weekend because we are not getting any sleep. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The CIO method basically involves letting them cry when they wake up until they get tired. Modified CIO allows you to check in on them every 15 minutes or so (you console them but not pick them up). You then increase the time periods every night (15, 20, 30, etc). We used modified CIO with DS1 at 3.5 months. He slept through the night on the fourth night. I don't have any experience doing CIO with older babies though. I'm sure other posters can help.

[left210]

I just wanted to post my results so far with CIO. I did it Wed night and it took DS 30 minutes to fall asleep. I kind of modified it a bit. I went in at 5 min and patted him and laid him back down. I did talk to him but didnt pick him up. I did that again 10 min later, then 15 min later and then he fell asleep. He woke up three times in the night. I went in and patted his back until he went back to sleep each time and it took 5 minutes each time. I didnt give him any bottles during the night which is what we had been doing to get him back to sleep. I was very pleased with the results.

Last night his daytime nap schedule was way messed up and he was tired around 5:00 so I laid him down thinking he would sleep maybe an hour. Well he slept til this 6:15 this morning and did not wake up at all. The few times he kind of wimpered he must have soothed himself back to sleep. Man it was so weird to get a full nights rest without any interruptions.

Lets hope tonight goes as well as the last two nights! I am so glad I saw this thread and took the initiative to try the CIO method.

[arivecchi]

I just wanted to post my results so far with CIO. I did it Wed night and it took DS 30 minutes to fall asleep. I kind of modified it a bit. I went in at 5 min and patted him and laid him back down. I did talk to him but didnt pick him up. I did that again 10 min later, then 15 min later and then he fell asleep. He woke up three times in the night. I went in and patted his back until he went back to sleep each time and it took 5 minutes each time. I didnt give him any bottles during the night which is what we had been doing to get him back to sleep. I was very pleased with the results.

Last night his daytime nap schedule was way messed up and he was tired around 5:00 so I laid him down thinking he would sleep maybe an hour. Well he slept til this 6:15 this morning and did not wake up at all. The few times he kind of wimpered he must have soothed himself back to sleep. Man it was so weird to get a full nights rest without any interruptions.

Lets hope tonight goes as well as the last two nights! I am so glad I saw this thread and took the initiative to try the CIO method.
Wow. That's great! I know CIO works. It's just hard to do it! Let me know how it goes! Good luck!

[left210]

Believe me - I was pleasantly surprised it only took 30 minutes the 1st night. My husband kept trying to get in the bedroom to comfort DS and pick him up and I threatened him. HA HA! I was ready to give this a real try and I didnt want him messing it up 20 minutes into it. I am hoping the positive results continue on. DS is at MIL today and I told her not to rock him and hold him while he sleeps but to put him down to fall asleep on his own. I am not sure if grandma will listen or not but I have enjoyed my two nights of sleep and dont want anyone messing it up!