cio. is this how it goes?

[Anonymous]

Great news! Keep it up.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you are on the right track – great job Shelby!!

Robin

[Anonymous]

Wow! That’s terrific Shelby! You’re doing a great job. I hope we see you posting in the Hip Hip Hooray section about Justice being a great sleeper one day soon. Sounds like you are making great progess.

[Anonymous]

Congrats for keeping with it Shelby. It sounds like a lot of hard work but it also sounds like it is paying of. Goodluck

[Anonymous]

Shelby,

I just wanted to say that it sounds like it IS working, but it’s just taking longer than you would like. I bet he will be sleeping through the night soon.

Also, with that said, if you find that it is just taking too long and you can’t stand it anymore, you may want to try the “Sleep Lady Shuffle” if you would like something different to try. I’m not sure if it’s already been mentioned here, so I apologize if I’m repeating it. Basically, what you do is create a routine that you can stick to fairly closely each night (ie bath, story, a little rocking or nursing until drowsy but not asleep then placed in crib awake but drowsy) and make sure their bedtime is early enough before they are overtired – ie 7:30pm. Then, when they’re in the crib drowsy but awake, you sit in a chair by the crib and pat their back until they go to sleep whether it takes 10 minutes or an hour! You do that for 3 nights. Then, you move your chair to the middle of the room and reassure them verbally for the next 3 nights. Then, you move your chair to the door or outside the door and do the same. Eventually, you are able to put them down without any patting or verbal reassurance. Supposedly it causes less crying than the CIO method. However, you mentioned that your son doesn’t want to be patted anymore, so maybe it wouldn’t work in your case.

When my oldest son was 7 months old, I did a modified method of this. I just patted his back every night to sleep instead of nursing him like I had before. At first he cried quite a bit, but within a week he got used to it. He never rejected the patting. He tried to keep pulling up on his crib, but I just placed him back down and said, “No, it’s night night time” and kept patting. He adjusted to it pretty quickly.

With Caden, I’m doing the opposite approach and sleeping with him, letting him nurse as much as he wants to during the night.

Each child is different, and only you know what is right for your own. I’m sure you will use the method that works best for you and him with maybe some trial and error. He won’t be scarred by it. It will be hard on YOU the most, and he may be upset too, but as long as you’re reassuring him and not just leaving him to cry for long periods, he’ll be fine.

Good luck!

Please update us again soon

[Anonymous]

That’s great, Shelby, you’re definitely on your way! I’ll be starting sleep training with Dagney tonight. I know she CAN get to sleep by herself, she’s done it a couple of times and even if I put her down asleep and she wakes up, she usually can get right back to sleep…it’s putting her in the crib drowsy that sends her into a tizzy! I know it’s time to do it, and I’m kind of getting pushed along by my MIL (I’m going back to work in 2 weeks & she’ll be watching her during the day) who won’t really be able to rock Dagney to sleep for every nap! My problem is, we’ve had a little routine for several months now, but now as soon as we go upstairs, she knows what’s coming and starts to cry!! Oh well, at least our little ones enjoy our company!!

[Anonymous]

Good luck Denise! It will probably be hard for a short time, but she’ll get used to it soon enough.

Shelby, how’s it going?

[Anonymous]

I feel for everyone dealing with sleep issues as I have dealt with and am dealing with them now too. It’s so hard to be yourself when you’re surviving on extreme sleep deprivation. I can’t even think or talk correctly some days because I’m so exhausted. I just keep telling myself that it won’t last forever…little consolation, I now, but it helps me get by. Plus, having 3 other children, I know that the sleepless nights do end eventually whether you intervene or just let things happen naturally. You just have to do what is best for your family in your situation. No one else can know exactly what you’re going through or how your baby will react to something.

Good luck to you all – hoping for a good night’s sleep for you tonight

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am not sure how bad the reflux was in the beginning. But… my first dd who had reflux would spit up, arch, cry when she was very young. As she got older, the only way I could tell her reflux was bothering her was she wouldn’t nap. I would put her back on the Zantac (that worked for her) and boom – nap time was back. During those times I slowly worked her to take a nap at the same time with a routine and slowly phased me out. She also will absolutly not sleep with out white noise. First we had a fan in her room but then bought a CD with fan noise. Even when she sleeps at Grandmas, she has to have a fan in her room.

I tried (hard sometimes) to remember that when they are older they will WANT to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Sleep deprivation is awful. Sometimes I have to get dh to help out on the nights when I have to work the next day, or I won’t be able to concentrate. I also try to remember that this time is fleeting. One day, we’ll be dragging them out of bed in the morning (I hope!).

Hope that the sleep training has continued to go well. Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Listen to this – speaking of sleep issues! For the first time in a long time, my baby slept pretty decently last night, but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep!

I haven’t done anything differently, so I’m assuming his reflux wasn’t bothering him as much last night, but anyway, I couldn’t sleep well even though he did! Isn’t that crazy? I guess my body is just accustomed now to waking all night!

Oh well, it will all get better soon.

[Anonymous]

I practically need to sedate myself at night to get some decent sleep. I’m so used to waking up, that even if dh gives me a break, I wake up like clockwork.

[Anonymous]

Shelby, when I first read this I had this long message to post to you and then we lost our wireless signal (I just got back from vacation) and it wouldn’t post. I just wanted to let you know that when I first did CIO with Brianna (I swore I never would, but one day I was just at the end of my rope) when she finally feel asleep, she only napped for 30 mins…I was so mad that I said never again. But one day I just had to get somewhere so I had to put her down…wouldn’t you know it after 30 min she was asleep…but 30 min later she was up again. My hubby just told me to give myself a break and let her go and see what happened. It took almost 30 min again, but she feel back asleep for an hour. I stuck with it, and now Brianna is a much better napper. She ofter will still wake up after that first sleep cycle (30-45 min), but she only cries out for like 30 secs…then she realizes where she is, finds her passy and is asleep. Now I know you don’t want to do this, but I am just telling you from my experience. I have to completely leave the room. If I try to stay in there and sing, rub her back, or whatever, Brianna will NOT go to sleep. Every baby is different. Those few days of sleep training were hard. The first time we tried it at night she cried for what seemed like forever. But each night after that got better. Now I know if she cries for more than 15 min something is wrong (ie: poop, teeth hurting or something like that). It really ended up being the best thing for her. Not all babies respond to it like she did. You are Justice’s mom and you know what is best for him. I hope things continue to get better.

[Anonymous]

I definitely agree with Brianna’s mom. No one knows your baby and how he will react to something like you do. So, people can give their suggestions or advice, but you have to do what works for you.

Also, after having 4 children and doing different things with them regarding sleep, I can honestly say that letting them cry a little at bedtime isn’t going to permanently hurt them. My oldest is now 12, and he doesn’t seem the least bit affected by his CIO session at 7 months of age! So, try not to worry too much.

I hope things start to look up really soon! Maybe the next time you post, you’ll all be sleeping well

[Anonymous]

Shelby,

I’m so glad to hear the good news! I have no sleep advice as Lucas still isn’t sleeping like I would truly want or like other kids his age. But I will say to always trust your own gut instinct, it’s your own mother’s intuition that they always used to talk about. You know what’s best and you are with him all the time. Hang in there!

[Author]

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