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Perhaps for a while, but really a pacifier will just prolong their dependency and become another painful habit you have to break.
Or else you have a 4-year-old walking around and sucking on a pacy.
My 13 year old LOVED her binky. She had it until she was 3 & gave it up on her own because she wanted to be a "Big Girl". I was a little worried there would be a huge battle over it, thank God there wasn't....
I think binky's are wonderful & very soothing for babies. I wish he would take one!!
I dont understand how CIO is "cruel". What is more cruel - an 8 month old who sleeps so crappy waking every 2 hours or spending 3 short days of CIO and then having them sleep absolutely wonderfully?
For 8 months, I dealt with my son waking literally every 2 hours, not hungry, not needing a change, just crying. Pacifier didnt work either. My son was NOT getting the sleep he needed, so that lead to an overly tired baby through out the day. EVERYONE was miserable. I spent 3 days, did CIO, and ever since then, he sleeps 7PM to 7:30am with two naps during the day. I guess I'm a cruel, mean mother for wanting my son to get the sleep his body needed.
I dont understand how CIO is "cruel". What is more cruel - an 8 month old who sleeps so crappy waking every 2 hours or spending 3 short days of CIO and then having them sleep absolutely wonderfully?
You think it's not cruel, I think it's cruel.
Tomato, tomahto. It's not for me; I couldn't do it.
I wanted my kids to get the sleep they needed as well but did not need to let them scream, get sick on themselves, send my blood pressure up, increase their stress hormones (which go way up with prolonged heavy crying), etc.
I used other methods which worked for us; CIO was never an option because that is how I feel.
Last edited by Alltheusernamesaretaken; 02-22-2012 at 01:10 PM..
I don't think it's cruel at all. I went in every 5-10 minutes and talked to my child in a soft voice, sometimes patted her bottom, soothed her. It took 3 nights and like I said before, she is a wonderful sleeper to this day. That is not to say that when she woke in the night crying I wouldn't go to her. When she was 2 and had "Night Terrors" I would always go to her. There is a difference between sleep training and completely walking out the door and never going back in (for me, anyway). There are different levels that people find work for their child.
I believe it is the parents JOB to teach their children all kinds of things - self-soothing and putting themselves to sleep is one of many. You don't want to set your child up for a lifetime of sleep issues (I know many, many people, even adults, that have this problem). Good sleepers make for a happy FAMILY!!
My first child never had a problem putting herself to sleep. My second child did -this worked wonderful for my her and that is why I'm talking to my sister about it. She will decide for herself what is best for them, and I will support her.
I need a quick refresher on "Cry it out" for babies. It's been many years since I did this with my 13 year old. I remember it was hard the first few days but worked great in the long run.
How old do you start? You let the dry, fed, tired baby cry in crib.... go in and talk/soothe baby about every 10 minutes. Am I missing anything?
Am I to assume we're only talking about baby's nap or bedtime?
First, of course, you make sure their minds are in that "mode". Turn the TV, music, and unneeded lights off. Hold them and be relatively quiet. If you do play as part of your bedtime routine, don't play anything that will get them too hyper. Have it this way for at least 15 minutes before laying them down... pretty much at any age. Even adults should do something similar.
If none of this is the issue, I'd say it then depends on age. You start IMMEDIATELY when they're born (assuming they are fed, dry, comfortable). You ignore whining and faint cries, but obviously not full-on bursts of crying or screaming. The older they are, the longer you wait before you go in to "soothe" them, because you're more likely to just get them excited as they get older.
Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, "What's going to make them 'more awake', the sort of crying they're doing or me going in there to check on them?" Not always an easy question, though, I admit. Some might say if they cry hard enough and long enough, they'll wear themselves out and go to sleep. I think this is highly unnecessary though.
More power to you. I can't stand crying. And really see no point in letting a child cry. Just my opinion. I just could never do it. Spending time with my little ones was precious to me. They grow up so quickly. Do you really need to put them down and leave them? Are you so busy you can't rub their little back with some lotion, it takes a few minutes, and the kids are usually out like a light.
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