No-cry Sleep Solution Book Help

It's been a while since i read the books, and I will say no plan works for more than a month or so with out getting derailed and needing to start over, but this seems like a caring a gentle method.
If you don't already, try as much as you can to have a routine, (not a rigid schedule) but a routine, where the baby eats, get's changed, played with for a little bit (like 5 mins) and then goes down for a nap, wake up, eat, change, play, sleep, of course if he is older you would stretch it out some or tweek it how ever.
Then the other super important part is really taking the time to get them to a calm quiet place before bed at night. This actually starts like an hour before bed, dim the lights, give a bath or massage with lotion, read stories quietly, sit together calmly, then a routine for turning out the lights, and a good night kiss. done the same way every night.

Also I would try moving bed time by 15 mins every week until you find he sleeps longer. if they are overtired they sleep less. He might legitamately be hungry at night, so plan to feed him again around 11 pm, you don't even have to wake him up all the way, just slip in, give him the breast or bottle, do a quick quiet super lowkey diaper change if you absolutely have to, and slip back out. might even do the diaper change first then the feeding. But that night feed helps them to last longer in the am and not wake early hungry.
Her website might have a synopsis if you have time for that,
l think it's elizabeth pantly.com but I'm sure you could find it easily.

you sound like a great mom, try to take a deep breath, and ask other people for help as much as possible. my kids were hard to get to sleep too, but by age 5 they were going from 7:30-7:30 good luck

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I used this book and I think you can use it anytime, because it isn't really sleep training. It is more about learning why baby sleeps the way it does (or doesn't) so you can make sleeping more likely to happen, and partly about training yourself.

Some highlights-
Consistent routine. This will be hard with moving and such, but very important to do your best. Do the same sleep routine at the same time every night. Bath, bottle, book, rock, bed. Or whatever you need to do. But an actual routine is important to let them know what is coming next. (bath didn't work for me, it always made him hyper).

Low lighting and calm atmosphere at bedtime. After dinner, dim the lights. Close the drapes. Keep things mellow. Rowdy play to tire them out wont work.

No tv- the flickering lights makes them hyper.

Early bedtime instead of later. Moving bedtime up in 15 minute increments until you find a time that works. When it is right, baby should be easier to put to sleep and should sleep longer. If they are over tired, they sleep worse. The same as when we are so exhausted that we are "too tired to sleep".

Getting baby to fall asleep on his own is essential to getting him to sleep through the night. He needs to self soothe so that when he wakes up a little, he can put himself back to sleep. So rock him or snuggle or whatever, but then put him in his crib. I can't really remember what you are supposed to do if they cry, you might want to read that section. It had to do with soothing them by patting talking softly and stuff but not picking up. Then not talking anymore. Then just being close, etc.

Give him a pacifier or a lovey or something to help him soothe himself. Put a lullaby cd on repeat in the bedroom, or use a white noise machine. Use a nightlight.

Use a "transition to sleep" phrase. When you are done with the bottle, book and rocking, tell him something like "Okay it is time for night night now. Mommy loves you." Start doing this along with the routine immediately. Get him used to hearing that cue and learning that it means sleep time. I started my son by still rocking him to sleep and saying this as he was dozing. Then after a few days, I said it right before he was going to doze off. Then moving it up a little bit at at time, until I said it as I was putting him in his crib. Eventually, you will be able to use the phrase as part of your soothing-but-not-picking-up technique. The book described being able to say it from the doorway when they heard baby starting to truly wake up but before the crying started and baby would go back to sleep. (kinda like pavlov's dogs).

I can't remember the whole "method" but all the point was that there wasn't really a method the same way as CIO. Doing those things like the sleep phrase and a routine immediately will get him ready. Then in a few days, start moving bedtime up. Then when you think you have the bedtime right, start on getting him to fall asleep on his own by shortening the rocking time each night. Hopefully one night soon he will roll over and go to sleep on his own. If you co-sleep, that is fine, but put him to bed on his own and leave the room. Don't feel bad about co-sleeping if that is what you have to do to get some sleep. You will have to deal with the sleep issues later, but maybe things will be more settled then. Consistency is the key though. No matter what your sleeping arrangement is, stick to the same thing. Don't try CIO then give in and go get him. Then do it again when you are exhausted. Then bring him in your bed, but the next night put him in a crib. Doing that will make sleep training impossible. Pick a routine and stick to it, no matter what your arrangements are. From all your posts your son sounds a lot like mine. He will sleep one day I promise. Don't be surprised if he totally regresses and you have to start over after a move or teething though. No matter what method you use, this will happen. It is not a one time fix.

Sorry this is so long, I tried to condense as much as possible. If I didn't explain something clearly, email me. Good luck!

Added- Oh yeah, naps. He needs naps to be able to sleep at night. No naps equals overtired babies who can't sleep. Naptime should also have a routine. Same time every day more or less, but watch for sleepy cues- rubbing eyes, crankiness, etc. He should have a nap in the morning and a nap in the afternoon. A few hours after waking up- mine woke at like 830, so naptime was 1130. And then second nap was at 2 or 3ish. (And watching for those sleepy cues at night will help you pick your bedtime better too.) I fed my son and read a book to him at naptime too. Rocked a little and then put him in his bed. I started the sleep training later than you, so it will be a little different than what I did. Use your sleep phrase. Getting blackout shades will help too, mine didn't like to fall asleep in the daylight. They sell them at Target now.

One thing I have heard is to not make bottle the last thing they do before sleep. Don't let them fall asleep with the bottle, because they will need to have it to fall back asleep. So make it an early part of the routine. Fill his tummy, but then do the books or singing lullabies and snuggle time afterwards. Make sure drinking a bottle isn't the cue to fall asleep. Getting your whole day on a routine as best as possible will help with the sleep. Make it about waking up, eating, then playing, then sleeping, repeat. You don't have to schedule play if you don't want to ( I didn't) but nap and meal times should be consistent. If baby is showing sleepiness it is okay to speed up the routine, like reading one book instead of two, or shortening bath time. Getting them to bed before they hit that second wind is important.

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I think the most important thing is routine. I have not read the No-Cry book, but have read and implemented the Babywise Book which is similar. I know it must be hard when you have so much else going on, but babies/children really need routine so they know when it's sleep time. If they are taking little cat naps here and there through out the day and not on any type of schedule, then they are going to be confused on when it's time to sleep and when it's time to play and when it's time to eat. I think if you could take a few days and really work on a schedule with him, your life will be much easier in the long run!

Learn to say NO! It will calm your life down and your baby. Things won't be as hectic. It is easy to get caught up in all the things and events that think they won't survive without you. Just say NO! Calm down. Raised 6 kids. At some time you have to slow down. Especially with the house situation. He can feel your panic and it is catching.

Off top from the book....

You could give him "babycalm" which is a magnesium citrate supplement predosed for babies. If you cant find it local, look online. Or you can put magnesium chloride in a spray bottle and rub it into skin daily. (When applied topically you avoid the loose stool you may get from MG citrate.) Magnesium should help both sleep problems, and also mucosal infections (ear,sinus,lung,etc) and it will help any constipation problems too.
Iron supplements can cause fussiness/sleep problems/constipation and can contribute to infections since bacteria NEEDS iron to survive and replicate. Iron feeds it. Folic acid has similar problems- I would not supplement either one.
You should take magnesium also since you are depleteing yours with all the stress you are under. Take care!

It's a great book--read it later. I also had very large, clingy babies. :) Will he take a longer nap if he's held? If you can get him to sleep, then *hand him* to a family member to cradle, chances are he'll sleep longer. Then you can have use of your hands longer. Otherwise, (this is hard!) can you hold him while verbally telling your family how to pack, etc. for you? It's nice to do it your self, but a baby that needs to be held by mom really forces us to enlist others. Maybe you can borrow a baby sling or back pack from a friend, too. He's most likely going to be more clingy during this phase, but it will smooth out later. hang in there!

I loved the No Cry Sleep Solution, but progress can be really slow because it is so gentle. I did this before I went back to work. I tried it for several months and then when I started working I was still unable to function. I ended up using the Baby Whisperer. It is still pretty gentle. There might be crying involved, but you don't let them cry it out. There is one chapter to read on sleep training rather than a whole book, and it took about a week to get my son to finally sleep, rather than the several months that the No Cry Sleep Solution might take. (This also might depend on your baby. Mine was REALLY not sleeping). Either way, they are both great. Good luck! You can do it! It is so hard when you are sleep deprived but it will get better!

Don't Stress...I also have a son that is a bad sleeper. He gets a 10A.M. Nap and a 3P.M. nap. He is 8mths I feed him oatmeal right before bed. He is
doing better and he gets ear aches as well,and is teething. I give him and 8oz of formula before bed and rock him in his room. So it's quiet...hope this will help you. You are not alone,I feel your exaustion:)

The sweet and condensed version (from my point of view)
- What is bothering you about your child's sleep habits? (write this down)
- Make a plan to resolve them (write it down, keep it short, tackle one sleep habit at a time)
- Stick to the plan. If you have to, reread it in the middle of the night to make sure you aren't sabotaging your efforts for good long-term sleep solutions.

A few specifics that helped me:
- Tell your child what you expect of them (even at 7 months, it is possible he understands far more than you think)
- Have a consistent and SHORT bedtime routine
- If your goal is to keep him from sleeping with you, do not rule out sleeping on the floor in his room while you work on his sleeping patterns.
- Review all the advice you have been given and then include ONLY the ones you are comfortable following. You know your child better than anyone, so follow your instincts on what will work for him.

Good luck. I know how hard it can be to do all of this on no sleep, but one word of warning -- with so much upheaval going on around him, it may be hard to get a consistent sleep routine until you are settled in a new place.

As others said, the no cry sleep solution is really about consistency and knowing their signs. That said, it seems you need to get through right now, so my advice is about how to handle the next 3 weeks. I would ask your family to spend time with him while he is awake, so that you can get some sit-down, need-both-hands work done. Then, after he's eaten, if you don't have an ergo carrier, get one! Then, wear him in the ergo on your back (if possible, or on the front if needed) and let him fall asleep there. That will allow you to pack up a little bit, let him sleep and still be near you. It's a great option for clingy kids. This too shall pass. Just keep that in mind! Good luck!

Baby Wise!! Your baby is always fed, full and happy and very good sleepers! Unfortunately you will have to read the full book to understand the concept but it's not very long and you can choose to order audio tapes if that helps instead. You can find the books at most bookstores or online. One of the cons I keep hearing from people who are not reading the book very well is that they try to stretch between feedings - big NO! Double feed rather than make them wait. Feed them when they're hungry and then again at the scheduled time. It's great! The sleep is all incorporated in and it's beautiful! I can't stand for my son to cry himself to sleep and we don't do it. 26 months now and an incredible sleeper! You sound like you have tons on your plate - I hope everything turns around to the better for you very soon! GB!

Whatever you do... do not.... institute a sleep method when the baby is going through a growth-spurt or illness (ear infection) or teething. WRONG timing. It will be self-defeating.

Choose a time, when he is normal and not going through this.
otherwise, it will be very painful and difficult. For him.... and you.

Also, make sure you are producing enough milk... if nursing. If not, he will not be getting enough intake/calories/nutrition. And he will always be hungry and not sleep well.
I say this, because several of my friends had that problem, and once their baby did get enough intake, baby was much happier and slept better.
Your baby... is growing a lot and that is how my kids were too... very big babies... .and GINORMOUS appetites... and they "cluster fed" a lot too. They needed it. I breastfed... it was not easy. But they were growing so much.... and developing so much. This alone, causes tweaks in sleep.

May sure too, that he is not teething.
He has an ear infection too, and these can recur... making it painful and impeding their sleep. Then because they cannot sleep... because of illness... they get over-tired. Then an over-tired baby actually gets fussier and has a harder time sleeping/falling asleep/and they wake more. So it all exacerbates their whole sleep and makes it worse.

Make sure he naps too, daily. Otherwise, over-tired babies sleep worse.

When babies are sick as well or in pain, they naturally DO get clingier.
And, this is also the time of development where they get "separation anxiety" and the concept of "object permanence" develops. MANY things... making it hard for them. ie: growing pains.

all the best,
Susan