My husband and I have tried the famous "cry it out" method a few times. It breaks my heart and she always out lasts us. (Crying for over an hour and a half.) I know I'm mostly to blame for her bad sleeping habits. I've gotten too comfortable nursing in bed and now she thinks she can't sleep without the boob. I guess you live and learn. I will not be as lenient with my other babies. At least that's the plan. :)
Anyway, here's my question: What other methods besides crying it out can I try? What has worked for you?
Honestly, you have to let them cry it out a few nights in a row, it is the only way, at least that is what worked for me. it is so hard, it does break your heart, but they learn to calm down on their own. You can go in and check on her a few times and comfort her, but don't take her out. It is really hard, but they have to do it on their own eventually. I hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI must agree- for your sake and the babies, you have to be the one to stand firm. It does break your heart. My husband had to hold me back a few times- especially with Sam. He was the longest crier and it lasted over an hour and he did it several times that night and the next night too. The best way of course, is never to get into the habit, but that is never here nor there at this point and I didn't learn that until my third baby either!
ReplyDeleteI was referred to a great book by my sister in law called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child...it is WONDERFUL. As a new mom, I had no idea what I was doing or what I needed to be doing...but this book helped put in the right direction. We had to let Bridger cry for a bit, but he is since learned when it is nap time and bed time...and even though he might fuss...it's just for a minute and then he is out like a light :-) Hope this helps!! Good luck!
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ReplyDeleteI'm no mom, but I'm married to one.. :)
ReplyDelete(I deleted my first post, because I can't spell.)
Here is an article I found that might help.
http://www.babycenter.com.au/baby/sleep/sleepallnight/
It's an article from the UK, but beyond the international differences of dialect and food, babies and mommies are still the same.. /wink
Some of the comments already mentioned are in this article, but a few others are added as well. Of course, every mom and child are different, so you'll be the best judge as to what will work best.
Definately taking the time to feed Hallie in a seperate place, where she can fall asleep and where you can put her somewhere to finish sleeping is better than feeding her and falling asleep while feeding her. You will find she's less clingy and less grumpy too.
Well I trusted my doctor 100% and she said that my baby needed to be sleeping through the night or she would not develop as quickly and babies 6 months and older need to be sleeping through the night. So she told me to lay her down and close the door and no matter what do not go in there until I wanted to get her up for the day. The first night my husband had to pretty much hold me in bed because I wanted to go in there and get her. But then she did better each night and by the third night she was sleeping all night. The first night she cried for an hour and a half! It works I promise!!! p.s. my baby's name is Hallie too and she is 9 months :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I learned is that it is important to put the baby down BEFORE they are COMPLETELY asleep. Then, they learn to associate that last part of actually falling asleep with being in their crib. If you wait to put them down when they are ALL the way asleep, they learn to associate falling asleep ONLY with being in your arms. So, it is important to get them sleepy and relaxed (in that groggy, closing the eyes, fighting sleep mode) and THEN put them into the crib. Hope that helps, and good luck! :o)
ReplyDeleteI know that the cry it out thing is popular and effective, but no matter how many people told me to, I just couldn't do it. I checked out all these library books on different sleep ideas, and the one I found that helped me the most was The Baby Whisperer. She has a lot of ideas, some I liked, some not so much, but one idea that helped us was her "pick up, put down" method. You lay the baby down to sleep, and then when they cry and pull themself up to standing position, you pick them up and say something soothing and let them know you are there, and then you lay them back down right away, even if they cry on their way back down. You keep doing that over and over until they stay down. It's exhausting, and it takes a lot of time for a couple of nights, but it was worth it for us. I just liked that I didn't have to leave my baby alone. We did it at about 9 months, and it worked out well for us. Every baby (and parent) is different, so I hope you find something good that works for you!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way, since he was "sleep trained" back then, in the past few months we've gotten into some habits that affected his sleep pattern (like letting him come into bed with us, and holding him too long before putting him down). So I'm not completely qualified to give sleep advice :) But we don't mind too much about these habits. Sleep training is definitely a good thing, but you have to do what works for your family.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that helped my boys sleep though the night was having a silky blanket. Every time I cuddled with them I would pick up a silky blanket (it can be any item, but my kids really like blankets that are silky on one side) and cuddle them with it. They learned to associate that with me and then when I would lay them down they can still have the blanket. Once they get used to the blanket, I make them leave it in the crib so it doesn't get to be an annoying object. It has worked well on both my boys.
ReplyDeleteI'd say if you are going to let her cry...you need to read the book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problem by Richard Ferber (there's an updated version - so I'd get that one not the one that is 20 years old). Cuz it's not just putting them to bed at night and then leaving them till they go to sleep...there's more to it than that. The book also talks about common sleeping issues you may run into and solutions to solve those problems. Then get some good headphones, an mp3 player and some LOUD music and let Ben do it for the first couple of nights...better yet, leave the house.
ReplyDeleteRead the book BABYWISE! Both of my kiddos were sleeping through the night by 10 weeks. They are still great sleepers. Both are in bed by 7PM each night and are up by 6:30 AM. Good luck. Love the blog!
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