Those that had success with Ferber method - what age?

[corgankidd]

I am thinking about ferberizing my lo within the next month so he will be about 6 months and was just wondering when other people started.
Right now he goes to bed around 9 wakes at 11, husband soothes him back to sleep and then he wakes at midnight and won't stop crying until I bring him into bed with me, so I co sleep the rest of the night. Some nights he will sleep 2-3 hour stretches but most of the time he's up every hour after midnight and just wants to comfort suck back to sleep.

I don't mind right now, but definitely am looking forward to getting a little sleep at some point!

 

[Noelle610]

I have a few friends who have used it. The one who had the most success did it at 9 months, but I don't think there is any reason why 6 months wouldn't work. My understanding is that it doesn't work well if used prior to 6 months (baby doesn't really "get it") and that after 9 months it's harder because they are a bit less adaptable, sleep associations are stronger and they can pull to standing in the crib.

I would definitely start with the book - "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems". It's fantastic. Lots of good info even if you're not sleep training.

 

[corgankidd]

I actually bought that book and am about halfway done with it, it really is a fantastic book!

 

[Noelle610]

I know, right?! It gets a terrible reputation, but it's really quite interesting and helpful even if you're not going to sleep train. That's such a small part of the text.

 

[ARuppe716]

I have a two month old and bought it just for the sleep info- great book!! It's a shame that it has such a bad reputation!

 

[corgankidd]

His analogy of an adult waking up to find their pillow missing really made me understand what a baby must feel when they fall asleep someplace and wake up somewhere else. Definitely made me sympathize with my baby's crying when he wakes up.

I think the only reason it has a bad rep is people get so frustrated with their lack of sleep and try his methods on baby's that are far too young. Though he does say that you can start as early as 3 months which is probably a very controversial statement. Even though he says you can start that early he also says you will have most success between 5-7 months, but I think some people think that's too early as well.

 

[BabyBoyLove12]

I think six months would be a good age to start. We tried with Eli for the first time two days ago, and it would have gone a lot better had he not been so mobile. Unfortunately, OH and I didn't find the book until Eli was 6.5 months old and took awhile to decide to use it. When we did it, Eli cried for 30 minutes then passed out, would've been great, but he feel asleep sitting up. He was standing or sitting the whole time we did it until he feel asleep. We weighed our options, and thought it'd be better if we went up and laid him down, instead of letting him fall over and wake himself. He was sitting for 15 minutes sleeping before we went up and when we laid him down, he woke up. OH wasn't as ready as he thought he would be and ended up picking him up then. So, we decided to stop, since OH wasn't ready. I think it's a really great method, and would have worked better for us if Eli had been less mobile and OH had been more prepared. So, if both you and OH are all for it, then I say go for it!

 

[kimberleyrobx]

about 8-9months with emily - she CIO for three nights and self settled since the 4th easily and quickly, as soon as we put her to bed when she was tired! xx

 

[jaybee]

I think ferberising is similar to controlled crying right?

We used CC on Alex at 7 months and it was a total failure. We have just tried again at 9.5 months and its been 5 nights and he has settled to sleep with no issue at all!!

I personally think there is some developmental thing, separation thing etc at 7 months which makes it much harder. This is from what I ave heard from other mums.

6 months is ok (however there may be a blip at 7ish months) and after 9 months, but not in between.

 

[NoodleSnack]

His analogy of an adult waking up to find their pillow missing really made me understand what a baby must feel when they fall asleep someplace and wake up somewhere else. Definitely made me sympathize with my baby's crying when he wakes up.

I think the only reason it has a bad rep is people get so frustrated with their lack of sleep and try his methods on baby's that are far too young. Though he does say that you can start as early as 3 months which is probably a very controversial statement. Even though he says you can start that early he also says you will have most success between 5-7 months, but I think some people think that's too early as well.

Lots of times it seems people also don't follow the steps and just use it for whatever sleep problem thinking it's the go to solution. After reading the book, I find that there's many things to consider before one decides to do it, and really it's better to try to prevent that situation if possible.

 

[ARuppe716]

I agree the pillow analogy really hit home for me!! And I definitely use the book as a preventative measure so I know what habits to avoid starting.

 

[Noelle610]

His analogy of an adult waking up to find their pillow missing really made me understand what a baby must feel when they fall asleep someplace and wake up somewhere else. Definitely made me sympathize with my baby's crying when he wakes up.

I think the only reason it has a bad rep is people get so frustrated with their lack of sleep and try his methods on baby's that are far too young. Though he does say that you can start as early as 3 months which is probably a very controversial statement. Even though he says you can start that early he also says you will have most success between 5-7 months, but I think some people think that's too early as well.

Lots of times it seems people also don't follow the steps and just use it for whatever sleep problem thinking it's the go to solution. After reading the book, I find that there's many things to consider before one decides to do it, and really it's better to try to prevent that situation if possible.

Totally agree! It's meant to deal with severe sleep associations - kids waking up frequently because they can't recreate the conditions they were put to sleep with (pacifiers, rocking, nursing, etc). It's a very specific method used for a specific type of night waking.

 

[Noelle610]

I agree the pillow analogy really hit home for me!! And I definitely use the book as a preventative measure so I know what habits to avoid starting.

Same here. I worked to gradually put LO down awake using gentle methods, so we didn't have to go that route.

 

[corgankidd]

I agree the pillow analogy really hit home for me!! And I definitely use the book as a preventative measure so I know what habits to avoid starting.

Same here. I worked to gradually put LO down awake using gentle methods, so we didn't have to go that route.

I wish I would have read the book earlier cause my baby has all the bad sleep associations! He needs a boob then pacifier and pats on the butt to fall asleep. So he wakes every hour and wonders what happened to his boob paci and pats, so it's just a constant routine of doing that all throughout the night!

 

[Noelle610]

I agree the pillow analogy really hit home for me!! And I definitely use the book as a preventative measure so I know what habits to avoid starting.

Same here. I worked to gradually put LO down awake using gentle methods, so we didn't have to go that route.

I wish I would have read the book earlier cause my baby has all the bad sleep associations! He needs a boob then pacifier and pats on the butt to fall asleep. So he wakes every hour and wonders what happened to his boob paci and pats, so it's just a constant routine of doing that all throughout the night!

Eh, don't stress If it's not sleep, it's something else. I think we've all done many things with our first babies we'd probably not do the second time around. I've made 101 mistakes, but we're both still alive

Ferber's method exists for a reason. I also think it's hard to know if your baby is going to form super strong sleep associations. Some babies nurse to sleep and sleep all night practically from birth until they are adults. It's really just luck of the draw.

 

[meya]

We tryed this sleep train when our lo was 4 months but my lo just kept crying. after an hour and 30min i felt it most not be the right time for our lo, so we waited for 4 weeks and tryed again last week. so far it was going well, with the first night he cryed for 30mins, next night for 15 and the third he went off to sleep without crying, waking only 2 times a night for his bottle. that is untill tonight where now all he wants is his bottle....

...aahhh GROWTH SPURT!! Run for your lifes lol

 

[DaisyBee]

I read the book when Megan was 12 months and we did cc with her when she was 13 months. It took about 3 days for her to go to sleep without crying at all and within a week was sleeping through the night. Before then I was rocking her for hours. Rocking was her "pillow".

Jordan I did it when she was almost 4 months and 1 night of 45 minutes and that was all it took. Next day for naps she fussed a minute for the first 2 naps, 3rd nap no fussing. Bedtime that 2nd night no crying or fussing. Would then wake for one night feed. A few months later After doing gradual offering less bottle for 9 days I did cc in the middle of the night for the night feed. I've not had any setbacks and not had to do any cc at all since. If she needs me I go to her, but then she settles herself. She sleeps through most of the time though. Cc with her saved our families sanity. I just needed her to settle without spending my whole day trying to get her to get asleep and stay asleep.

My only regret with cc is that I waited so long to try it with megan.

 

[Shadowy Lady]

I actually used the book at 4 months for sleep association part to get my baby off her soother. It worked amazing for us!

I wouldn't use for night weaning before 6 months though I doubt it would work then. I was planing on doing the night weaning chapter when she turned 6 months but she started sttn on her own so I didn't have to

 

[daisy72]

We did it with our DD when she was between 8 and 9 months, it worked amazing after the second night.

 

[bumpbear]

We used Ferber on our non-mobile 9 month old who had a sleep association problem and woke hourly needing boob. Solved our problems in 33 minutes flat. Amazing. But we did a lot of reading and research before we went for it to make sure it was right for our situation before we applied the method. I have about ten different sleep books in my library and Ferber spoke for our situation the most.