I could not let my child "cry it out". We tried it, but when things didn't go well, I had to ask myself, "Why am I doing something that goes against every fiber in my being?" Babies need to know that they can count on someone to meet their basic needs. You hear about people who resort to shutting themselves in a room and turning on appliances to drown out a baby's cry. Why in the world do people do that when everything in your heart is telling you NOT to? I read tons of different "sleep" books before my child was born and the one author that made the most sense to me was Dr. Sears. He is a big supporter of "Attachment Parenting" and co-sleeping. Our baby has been a great sleeper and sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. I firmly believe it's because she feels safe and secure in knowing that her parents are there and will be there when she needs us. We're benefiting because we get a solid 8 hours, too! Research also suggests that babies who received more attention early on from Mom and Dad tend to be more independent and confident later on in life. I'm sure there are folks here that won't agree with me, but you have to remember that every child is different. Attachment parenting worked for us. If the CIO method doesn't work for you, do some research on attachment parenting. It may make the difference for you.
hi Ronda...
We tried the cry it out method with our daughter and it does work. The key thing is to be consistent, eventually the crying will subside. It is hard at first, but eventually it gets better. I have also noticed that if you put them on a schedule/routine that makes it alot easier as well.
Good Luck to you!!
I started the CIO method when our son was one. The doctor said it was fine at that age. He also told us to go in a sooth him. Our son got so mad that I didnt give him a bottle or pick him up and he screamed and cried. The next night when he cried I decided if he cries for more than 15 min then I will go in. He stoped at ten mins. The next few (3 ) nights he did this and after that he sleeps threw. Every once in a while we will hear a wimper but we leave him alone. He has had a dirty diaper perhaps twice and really lets us know that something is wrong. Three nights he should be good.
3 nights is average.
I used the cry-it-out method with my son when he was six months old. It took about a week for him to go down without any crying.
Good luck, and stick with it because it really works.
Hey Ronda -
I have experience with this - my first child did fine with it although it is hard to let them cry the first few nights. By the fourth night things should do well. If it isn't going well by the fifth night i would not try any longer. It is supposed to do fine by the third night - three times is a charm in behavior changes like this.
Now, my third son could not handle this AT ALL. And the reason why is that he has sensory issues and cannot self-soothe. When you have a child that is latent soother/or unable to self-soothe, you must throw in the towel and help them until they can self-soothe. They don't process normally and need a lot of help from their parents. They will let you know clearly if they cannot handle this by not changing their behavior, or changing it once and then going back to lengthy periods of crying and screaming.
Good luck to you!
Alli
I used that method when my daughter was little, it worked, I do not remember how long it took. I do remember that it took the last nerve in my body to listen to it, like you it hurt. I did this while my husband was out of town and was not having to get up early for work the next day. Good luck been there also.
Hi,
I had to do this with my son at 8months old. Night sleeping was fine (as soon as I figured out he needed more food!) but his daytime nap was not fine. I had trained him to go to sleep only with my holding him. He was getting too big, my back was suffering, and he would often wake when I put him in his bed. So we did the cry it out thing.
It took almost a week. A few times he cried/screamed for an hour and a half! It was pure torture and I felt like the world's worst mother. But we all needed sleep.
Just remember, have a good routine, plenty of healthy food, and when he's crying at night its because he's tired and needs sleep. You cannot go to sleep for him, he needs to learn to go to sleep on his own. I know it's so hard, don't beat yourself up over the crying. It should last 3 days to a week. Good luck!
For me its usually about 15 minutes, and after 3 days it went down to 5 min. Now he goes to sleep with out a fuss 99% of the time!
I won’t recommend crying out method. I have used babies magic tea for my uncomfortable baby who used to wake up every 2nd hour in the night and after getting this tea he sleeps all the nightr without any fussiness.
Last night went better then the first. He woke up around 2:40am and I decided to feed him a bottle, he drank 2 ounces and rolled over and went back to sleep. He didn’t wake up again until 7:30am! I noticed yesterday that he took better naps also. Thank you everyone for all the advice and encouragement, it’s always nice to have the support of other moms hugs