Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Swing..Sleep..Swing..Crib..Wake..Sleep..Wake..You Get The Picture
This is a question to all the moms out there. How do you get a 4 month old to fall asleep on his own without the use of a swing, without putting him in his crib to "cry it out"? That is my question. I do not mind putting him in his swing to fall asleep, it saves my arms! But once the transfer from the swing to the crib is complete, within 10 minutes he is up, usually being fussy. So I go in and give him his binky which calms him down, but forget it, if that binky falls out of his mouth it wakes him up again. This routine will go on for about 2-3 times and then by the last time he is out. My sister says I should do the Dr. Ferber method, but it is really hard for me to just put him in his crib and let him cry. Since he really does not cry a lot. So to all the moms out there, I need your advice on what has worked for you, what you might suggest, what you have heard works. I will take any advice on this. Gotta go...watching "So you think you can dance". Don't you just love these shows!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Oh Jenny! I so feel for you! I went through the same thing with Matty...and it.was.a.NIGHTMARE! I ended up reading the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and the one piece of advice that really worked for us was the introducing of a Lovey. Would you believe Matty still sleeps with his little Lovey every night?? He is almost 4 years old!
Good luck!!
Hey, thanks for stopping by and saying hi. I think it's a coincidence that this is your post. I am always thrilled to share my GEM of advice for sleeping babies. Go to this site
http://cswcook.blogspot.com/2007/10/where-is-mr-sandman.html
I put it there, and also a follow up comment below it. Also, if you have more ?'s, just ask. Good luck. (I don't know if you need to do the all night thing if you are nursing and he's still eating at night, but whatever you need.)
I read No Cry Sleep Solution too - it was a good read and you can pick and choose what you like for baby. If you can put him in his crib *very* groggy, sometimes you can train them (babies, lol) to go to sleep on their own. I have a four month old too (jan 22) and my hubby was just saying tonight "shouldn't we start putting her in her crib slightly awake??". Good luck, but don't worry, the time goes by very fast (she is my youngest of three).
I have to say I was horrible about sleep with my first. I rocked him to sleep everynight and once I would lay him down 5-10 mins later he was awake. So the cycle started over again! But with my second, who will be ONE tomorrow, I started at about 5 months training her. Are you breastfeeding?? If so sleep training them will be a little harder, or at least it was for me. Anyway, here is what I did with my baby girl. I would give her last feeding her in her room in the dark. Then when she was done, she was usually drowsy, I would give her kisses and say "It is night-night time" and lay her in her bed. I did not leave her room. I just sat on the floor. If she cried I would let her. After 5 minutes of crying I would pick her up and love on her only saying "It is night-night time". I continued this until she feel asleep. The first night it took about 45 mins for her to fall asleep. But each night got better and I was eventually able to lay her down and walk out of her room. Yes, she did cry but I just did the same routine above and within about 2 weeks she was falling asleep with NO CRYING!!!
It does work if you stick it out for the long haul.
Most important thing of all, when you go back in the room only say "It is night-night time" or what ever phrase you have. So they can associate their bed with that phrase!!!!!
I hope this helps you if you decide to try it. It was my last resort with my daughter and the only one that worked!!!
Good luck. Sorry this is sooooo long!!!
I'm sure that I'll get the "bad Mommy" award for admitting it, but the secret to getting my daughter to sleep like a champ from the time she was 3 weeks old was that I let her sleep on her stomach. It was quite simply the only thing that worked...and boy did it work!
Yes- I know that the "experts" will tell you that doing such a thing is virtually on par with handing out a death sentence, but even my pediatrician gave me an "unofficial" ok to do it. He said that for a child at low risk for SIDS the difference in risk between sleeping face up or face down is minimal.
I'm not suggesting that you do the same, just sharing what worked for us.
I hope that you find a solution that works for you and your adorable little baby!
I know it is hard but you really do have to let them fuss it out a little to learn the skill of falling asleep on their own. I also recommend the "No Cry Sleep Solution", but sometimes a little crying (not all out wailing, but just fussing) is ok, even if it lasts awhile.
Good luck!
Post a Comment