To Cry or Not to Cry.....
We've been struggling for the past few weeks (or should I say months?) getting Kyle to sleep through the night - or at least to limit his wake ups. I am not the type of person to fixate on my lack of sleep. But, yeah, I'd like more sleep. What Mom with toddlers or babies would not? This week we've reached our breaking point. And as Kyle is nearly 6 months, I'm dying to help him learn to fall asleep all by himself. If possible..... as I know this might be a bit of a pipedream!
Kyle has been totally inconsistent in his sleep patterns. He's had some curveballs with the RSV and sleeping in a car seat for 6 weeks and then re-adjusting to a crib. A bunch of random fevers that I think make him feel Blah! and cry for us at night. Yet, he is so sweet and goes right back to bed.... but like I said we really would like for him to learn to fall back asleep all by himself!
The pediatrician whom we adore thinks the way I describe his inconsistent patterns - that sometimes Kyle is probably hungry - partially due to my inconsistent milk supply. I can not keep up with the calories and the hydration.
But lately, I think the teething is really causing a crazy amount of waking - last week the teeth started cutting through the gums and it has been all downhill from there. Causing me to want to ditch the binky as I find him battling with it and taking it in and out. Yet, he seems to totally need it to soothe himself to sleep. (He never uses it during the day) I'd be fine if he only did the binky when he fell asleep, but he wants it when he wakes up multiple times during the night.
Some Moms are telling me to scatter binks throughout the crib and that soon he'll be able to find them and put them in his mouth himself. Sounds like a good strategy - but I can't be bothered setting him up to rely on the binky when I know I'll be taking it away for good at 12 months. This seems a little extreme to me. But I know if I'm desperate and nothing else works, I guess this is what I'll do!
To cry or not to cry. To bink or not to bink. That is the question. What would you do? What do you think? Do we just cry it all out (of course checking on him every few minutes) and ditch the binky all together..... so we don't have to go through taking away his binky when he is 1 year old and we are ready to be done with a pacifier. Or do we keep on giving him the binky when he wakes up?
I loved the cry/soothe method my pediatrician had me use with my daughter when teething disrupted her sleep. It worked like a total charm and I think my doctor is a saint ever since. He said it would work in 3 days. I think it worked in 3 sessions of crying (1 day!)
So we took the plunge last night. Ditched the binky at bedtime. And made cute Kyle cry it out when he woke up. Heartbreaking right? Mike and I went back and forth in his room every 5 mins for a 1 minute visit. No binky. He cried for about 35-40 minutes. We felt terrible but then he totally fell asleep and didn't wake up till 630 when Kenzie was making a racket. So he never even ate 1 x during the night.....
Promising results.... And this photo today shows his little finger soothing him. Let's hope he finds it tonight! Feel free to offer advice if you are inspired!
posted by Classy Mommy at 5:43 PM
6 Comments:
Oh Col, I feel your pain. Jude at almost 9 months STILL won't sleep through the night laying flat. He sleeps like a rock all night if he is in his papasan chair that I have rigged (since he out grew it months ago).
The RSV did him in. He got used to sleeping propped up. I know I have to get him to sleep flat just to avoid posture problems but.. he cries so hard and I can't bear it.
Let me know how the crying it out method works.. I may just have to suck it up and go for it. Ugh!
My daughter has similar sleep issues. She is so totally inconsistent. 2 weeks ago she was sleeping in her own crib and only getting up once to eat. Now she's back to waking up every 20 minutes unless we put her in bed with us. We tried letting her cry it out a few days ago and now she is so hoarse she sounds just awful! She too is almost 6 months old and I really could use some more sleep!
Good Luck, and great site!
Thanks for the comments and encouragement. Nice to know I'm not the only parent struggling! I think I'll be able to judge better in 1 week what we've accomplished. Sarah - I think you might need to take the plunge to the crib soon. It might be awful at first - but I found the longer Kyle got used to being up-right - the harder it was to switch.The RSV was so tough wasn't it? Kyle did a car seat from 6-12 weeks. The night we switched to the crib he was awake practically 1-2x per hour. But within 3 days he was back to 1-2 wake ups per night and within 1 week he was flat on his back in the crib.
Both of my children became addicted to sleeping in their swings. I didn't fight it. My daughter is now 6 and she is fine! She's tall and long-legged and built like a little colt! I think the think I learned from my first child is not to fight the small things. My moods affect her and so does anxiety. Do what seems right for your child and everything will turn out the way it should! Trust yourself!
Col - here's the link to my video diary from Baby Center for trying the Ferber Method: http://www.babycenter.com/2_baby-sleep-the-ferber-method_1487482.bc
And if you read my update (http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-i-got-my-baby-to-sleep-through-the-night-two-families-te_1495436.bc)you'll see my best advice is to follow YOUR OWN instincts and modify to your style :-)
I would try the book "Baby Whisperer", you can get it at Target or any bookstore. It worked get for my kids. Both boys have slept through the night since about 4 months old. Good luck!!
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