sleep training?

[Sazzoire]

Lucy is happy, lively, inquisative (sp?), able to play on her own and with me, quite a content little girl but bedtimes are a nightmare...

she slept through the night until 4 months and then the dreaded sleep regression and teething put paid to that..and she wake up, usually once a night, but it wasn't too bad. In fact, I quite like a cuddle during the night. I like to know that she is ok. She always has a bottle and then used to settle back off to sleep fairly easily.

but, for the last 2(ish) months, going to bed has been really stressful. At first, I knew it was a phase and was ok to go along with it during this time but it has got too much. OH literally has to cuddle her to sleep Going from a baby that could quite easily self settle, to a baby that will not go to bed!! Both me and hubby are rubbish at CIO and either or both will give in after about 10 mins. Lucy will struggle, scratch, scream, wriggle, sob and generally do all she can to stay awake. If we put her in her cot and walk away, she screams and then stands up..... she will stay like this for ages, way beyond what me and hubby can deal with, so we always ended up, going back into her room, picking her up, trying to settle her and then the minute she goes back into her cot (either awake of asleep) she will start all over again.

so, we have abandoned this and tried to cuddle her to sleep again... should we consider somekind of sleep training (not CIO) or is this normal I should just let it run it's course? I feel that we have already left it too long and as my mum says, she has us wound round her little finger!

Any help appreciated x

 

[tristansmum]

having the same problems

no advise i'm afraid

 

[cw1975]

I'm having the same problems here. However, if Archie sleeps in my bed, he will sleep 7 - 7. Someone suggested to me taking the mattress out of his cot and putting it on the floor and see if he will sleep on that - so I'm going to try it and if he does that, I'm going to take the rails off, put the cotbed sides on and put it in my room between the wall and my bed and see if he can go the night like that

People are telling me i'm making a rod for my own back but I'm working full time and he will not go back down in the cot once he's awake

xxx

 

[Cattia]

We went through this too and we did decide to do sleep training, we also used the same method to drop the night feeds which went from one or two to four a night at seven months. We used the sleepsensr programme which I liked because you can stay with LO while they learn to settle rather than actually leaving them to cry. There is still crying involved though so if you want a complete no cry method it may not be for you.

 

[Sazzoire]

whats the sleepsense programme? I will have to google it xx

 

[Cattia]

Look in the groups section, there is a support group there for people who use it, PM me if you want more details x

 

[MrsVenn]

We had exactly the same problem and to be honest, we just cuddled her, fed her to sleep etc. For the past 2 weeks, she's started to self settle. haven't done anything different, just given her her bottle half hour earlier than usual and then put her down at 8pm and by 8:10pm she's asleep. No screaming, kicking etc. It's like she's just grown out of it.

My mum just kept saying to me that it doesn't hurt anyone cuddling or feeding her to sleep as it's our house and our evenings. She just kept supporting me saying that time with my husband was more important (Molly could be in bed at 7:30 if I held her soshe nodded off) and that Molly learning to go to sleep on her own would come in time. It worked for us and know it wouldn't for all but just saying what we did. I also know lots who swear by sleep training, you just have to do what you feel comfortable with.