That is what I'm currently doing with my son.
After ten lonnnnng months of waking up 2+ (sometimes 5. Yes, five) times a night & not being able to put himself to sleep, we have to sleep train Bransyn.
What is sleep training?
Where you train your child to fall asleep on their own.
It also helps them go back to sleep on their own when they wake up in the middle of the night.
The 'Cry it out'/Ferber Method is what we're doing.
(where he cry's in his crib until he falls asleep)
There is pretty much no other option at this point.
Sounds mean, yeah? I thought so too. I was 100% against CIO when he was little. I thought there was NO way I was gonna let my child sit in his crib & cry himself to sleep.
I was scared that he would think that we did not love him & that we were just abandoning him or something.
But I have learned otherwise. He is still just as loved as ever.
We just need good nights sleep.
A little background on his sleep situation;
Since he was born, he had always fallen asleep nursing. I really didn't think anything of it, until he was about 3 months old, When I heard that babies need to learn to self sooth & fall asleep on their own WHILE they are still a baby. So between 3-4 months, I started to do something about it. I wouldn't let him fall asleep while nursing. After he was done, I would put him in his swing & let him fall asleep in there. I thought that I would just get him used to getting to sleep without nursing first, and then I without the help of anything. Needless to say, that didn't work. (or else I wouldn't be writing this now, right? ;] ) I'm pretty sure i just got sick of trying & gave up. I would do it later.
I really am the WORST procrastinator ever.
So a few months later, I decided to try again. I wouldn't nurse him to sleep. Ryan would walk him up & down the hall until he fell asleep. GREAT plan, right?! Nooope. He was still needing the help of someone to fall asleep. And half the time when he would go to lay him in his bed, he would wake up & Ryan would have to start alll over again.
After this plan had failed, I decided to try CIO at about 7 months.
It started out as just naps. I would put him in the crib, leave the room & shut the door.
I would go in there every 10-15 minutes & pat his back & tell him it's okay & that I love him.
And it WORKED! He fell asleep & took the BEST naps ever. So I started trying it at bed time.
I would do the same thing. Do his bedtime routine, & then in his bed he went. Every 10 minutes I would go in there & calm him down, then leave.
It usually took him a good hour to fall asleep.
But after a few nights, he would fall asleep nursing again, so again I just gave up. He was already asleep. Bad move, mommy.
Now fast forward to this past week.
I finally decided that I was gonna try again & stick to it no matter what.
And I have! (:
The first night, he cried for less than TEN minutes. I didn't even have to go in there to calm him down! And it wasn't even full on crying. At first he was just talking & yelling... and then just fusses & some crying. Then, nothing. I could not believe he fell asleep that fast!
And are you ready to hear how long he slept for?!
From 10pm - 5:30am !!!
I gave him a bottle when he woke up & he right back to sleep as soon as I layed him into his crib, & slept until 7:30, when it was time to wake up for the day.
I was SO amazed, proud & VERY freaked out. I woke up at 2am (out of habbit, because that's when B usually wakes up for the first time) I jumped out of bed & ran to his bed to make sure he was still breathing. I also did that at 3 & 4. Cause this was SO out of his norm. I was kind of relieved when he woke up at 5:30, just so I knew he was okay.
That day, he took a fabulous nap that lasted 2 hours!
& Now onto the next night.
I layed him down at 9pm. He cried for a total of THREE minutes!
Oh my heck, I was shocked.
Again, I woke up at 2am & jumped out of bed to checked on him.
He was sleeping peacefully.
He slept until 6am.
This is the longest he has EVER slept.
He has now officially slept through the night.
I was SO proud!
Every night since then, has been pretty much the same.
One night he woke up at 4:30, but that's been the earliest, which is still pretty good for him!
He has a bottle when he wakes up & goes back to sleep until it's time to wake up.
It's crazy how having a good night sleep, can also help him nap better!
I am absolutely amazed at how well the CIO method works. I knew it was gonna help him fall asleep on his own, but I didn't think it would help him sleep through the night so soon.
Funny thing is, I still wake up at least once to check on him because I am so not used to this!
I am NOT giving up this time! My child will be an independent sleeper by the time he is a year old. ;)
Too bad it couldn't of been sooner, but better late then never I guess!
After ten lonnnnng months of waking up 2+ (sometimes 5. Yes, five) times a night & not being able to put himself to sleep, we have to sleep train Bransyn.
What is sleep training?
Where you train your child to fall asleep on their own.
It also helps them go back to sleep on their own when they wake up in the middle of the night.
The 'Cry it out'/Ferber Method is what we're doing.
(where he cry's in his crib until he falls asleep)
There is pretty much no other option at this point.
Sounds mean, yeah? I thought so too. I was 100% against CIO when he was little. I thought there was NO way I was gonna let my child sit in his crib & cry himself to sleep.
I was scared that he would think that we did not love him & that we were just abandoning him or something.
But I have learned otherwise. He is still just as loved as ever.
We just need good nights sleep.
A little background on his sleep situation;
Since he was born, he had always fallen asleep nursing. I really didn't think anything of it, until he was about 3 months old, When I heard that babies need to learn to self sooth & fall asleep on their own WHILE they are still a baby. So between 3-4 months, I started to do something about it. I wouldn't let him fall asleep while nursing. After he was done, I would put him in his swing & let him fall asleep in there. I thought that I would just get him used to getting to sleep without nursing first, and then I without the help of anything. Needless to say, that didn't work. (or else I wouldn't be writing this now, right? ;] ) I'm pretty sure i just got sick of trying & gave up. I would do it later.
I really am the WORST procrastinator ever.
So a few months later, I decided to try again. I wouldn't nurse him to sleep. Ryan would walk him up & down the hall until he fell asleep. GREAT plan, right?! Nooope. He was still needing the help of someone to fall asleep. And half the time when he would go to lay him in his bed, he would wake up & Ryan would have to start alll over again.
After this plan had failed, I decided to try CIO at about 7 months.
It started out as just naps. I would put him in the crib, leave the room & shut the door.
I would go in there every 10-15 minutes & pat his back & tell him it's okay & that I love him.
And it WORKED! He fell asleep & took the BEST naps ever. So I started trying it at bed time.
I would do the same thing. Do his bedtime routine, & then in his bed he went. Every 10 minutes I would go in there & calm him down, then leave.
It usually took him a good hour to fall asleep.
But after a few nights, he would fall asleep nursing again, so again I just gave up. He was already asleep. Bad move, mommy.
Now fast forward to this past week.
I finally decided that I was gonna try again & stick to it no matter what.
And I have! (:
The first night, he cried for less than TEN minutes. I didn't even have to go in there to calm him down! And it wasn't even full on crying. At first he was just talking & yelling... and then just fusses & some crying. Then, nothing. I could not believe he fell asleep that fast!
And are you ready to hear how long he slept for?!
From 10pm - 5:30am !!!
I gave him a bottle when he woke up & he right back to sleep as soon as I layed him into his crib, & slept until 7:30, when it was time to wake up for the day.
I was SO amazed, proud & VERY freaked out. I woke up at 2am (out of habbit, because that's when B usually wakes up for the first time) I jumped out of bed & ran to his bed to make sure he was still breathing. I also did that at 3 & 4. Cause this was SO out of his norm. I was kind of relieved when he woke up at 5:30, just so I knew he was okay.
That day, he took a fabulous nap that lasted 2 hours!
& Now onto the next night.
I layed him down at 9pm. He cried for a total of THREE minutes!
Oh my heck, I was shocked.
Again, I woke up at 2am & jumped out of bed to checked on him.
He was sleeping peacefully.
He slept until 6am.
This is the longest he has EVER slept.
He has now officially slept through the night.
I was SO proud!
Every night since then, has been pretty much the same.
One night he woke up at 4:30, but that's been the earliest, which is still pretty good for him!
He has a bottle when he wakes up & goes back to sleep until it's time to wake up.
It's crazy how having a good night sleep, can also help him nap better!
I am absolutely amazed at how well the CIO method works. I knew it was gonna help him fall asleep on his own, but I didn't think it would help him sleep through the night so soon.
Funny thing is, I still wake up at least once to check on him because I am so not used to this!
I am NOT giving up this time! My child will be an independent sleeper by the time he is a year old. ;)
Too bad it couldn't of been sooner, but better late then never I guess!
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