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I have been trying to figure out where its states that CIO is usually not recommended until a baby is 6 months old (according to Weissbluth and Ferber). I have read both Ferber and Weissbluth but that was before my daughter was born.
I believe Weissbluth said to start at 4 months old but for working mothers, earlier was okay. I believe Ferber said no later than 6 months old. But I could be wrong as I don't have the books any longer.
At that young age, we let her cry for about 1 minute, and if her cries escalated then I nursed her back to sleep. We also waited until she was 1.5 years to do CIO but our version.
ETA: Her cries escalated almost every time she cried except at 10:30 pm. She always fell back asleep after a minute of crying. I discovered this when I was in the restroom and could not get back to her so quickly.
I let my daughter cry it out once...for about 5 minutes. I couldn't stand it. She wanted me and I was there, so why would I not go to her? I only had one though and might have felt differently with more than one little one to take care of.
I took her to an in-home daycare and I'm sure her babysitter let her cry it out at naptime because she usually had 2-3 other children to care for.
Neither approach seems to have hurt her. She's 12 now and in true almost-teen fashion can sleep like a pro. 12 hours sometimes on the weekends...
I don't believe in crying it out at any age UNLESS the child is the type to cry for maybe 5 minutes and then fall asleep. Even then I would not start until 6 months old.
In what position do you put her down? If she is on her back try a different position. I know it sounds silly, but that can make all the difference in how fast they fall asleep and for how long they stay asleep. Our first two were born before '92 so were tummy sleepers. They pretty much slept the clock around until they were about three to four months old (very common then). Most babies slept through the night (six hours) by the time they were about 8 weeks old. When we adopted our newborn in '99 she was up every hour all night long and never napped more than 20 minutes at a time. One day I put her down on her tummy in the crib to "play", she fell asleep and napped for 3 hours! She was six weeks old. That night we put her on her tummy to sleep and she slept six hours! I know a lot of parents may think its dangerous, but the actual rate of SIDS for newborn tummy sleepers is less than 1 in 1000 and for newborn back sleepers, 1 in 1500. If that makes you uncomfortable, consider allowing her to sleep in her carseat (tilted back in the crib), in her swing or propped on her side. It really does make a difference.
In what position do you put her down? If she is on her back try a different position. I know it sounds silly, but that can make all the difference in how fast they fall asleep and for how long they stay asleep. Our first two were born before '92 so were tummy sleepers. They pretty much slept the clock around until they were about three to four months old (very common then). Most babies slept through the night (six hours) by the time they were about 8 weeks old. When we adopted our newborn in '99 she was up every hour all night long and never napped more than 20 minutes at a time. One day I put her down on her tummy in the crib to "play", she fell asleep and napped for 3 hours! She was six weeks old. That night we put her on her tummy to sleep and she slept six hours! I know a lot of parents may think its dangerous, but the actual rate of SIDS for newborn tummy sleepers is less than 1 in 1000 and for newborn back sleepers, 1 in 1500. If that makes you uncomfortable, consider allowing her to sleep in her carseat (tilted back in the crib), in her swing or propped on her side. It really does make a difference.
Nancy
My #1 (born in 2005) would only sleep on his tummy. Yes, I could place him in the crib & watch/listen to him cry for several hours on his back. I've received & heard so many "oh my" comments that I rarely mention it. But he slept on his tummy & got rest. Funny thing is when it does come up, I hear more mention that their babies also slept on their tummies and they never mention it.
The rate of stillbirth is higher than the rate of SIDS. SIDS is still not to be ignored but there has never been conclusive 100% fact that is the reason for the death.
I've also had friends place the baby in the carseat w/ bels off & then place the carseat in the crib.
I would suggest if you are going to start now, only do a few minutes at a time. Also if she fuzzes a lot, take her to the doctor...may have ear infection.
With my first little girl, I was told not to start the Cry it out method until she was 6 months old. And even then I did a modified version of it. To this day she's not a great sleeper in that she is needy. She can fall asleep on her own, but will fuss and fuss (and get out of her bed) first so she doesn't have to.
Now, I have a three month old who I really want to learn to sleep on her own early. My friend said she started letting her two month old cry it out for about 15 minutes at a time to fall asleep. Now her baby sleeps 12 hours a night straight. Both my good girlfriends are saying to start now at 3 months and let her cry it out because by 6 months, it will be harder.
What do you diverse opinion mom's and dad's think? 3 months too early? Go ahead it will be a good thing to start early? Any other ideas?
I think the bedtime training will be two-fold: one is to get her to fall sleep on her own (which she does every now and again, otherwise I rock her), two is for her to not use a paci in the middle of the night to get back to sleep. (because when it falls out, I'm up putting it back in....arrghhh).
So basically what you're saying is you're tired of getting up with the baby, your friends don't do it, and you don't think you should either. That's pretty harsh.
Three month olds need a parent when they wake up at night. Period.
So basically what you're saying is you're tired of getting up with the baby, your friends don't do it, and you don't think you should either. That's pretty harsh.
Three month olds need a parent when they wake up at night. Period.
No, what I'm saying is that I want to make sure the sleep method I teach my child allows her to be able to soothe herself to sleep as she grows and gets older. What I did with my first child didn't work great because she's really needy now when she goes to sleep. I am thinking of doing something different with this child and my friends encourage me to let her CIO, before 6 months of age. I'm not sure about this approach, which is why I'm posting.
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