Advice for CIO with 6 month old

My 6 month old DD will not sleep through the night and my DH and I are tired. At first she would wake up at 3:30 and I would give her a bottle but now I stopped the bottle and she is still waking up and it's getting earlier and earlier. She shares a room with her almost two year old brother so I get nervous that he will wake up when she cries so I run in there. I rock her and just as I am about to put her down in the crib she wakes up. I have been taking her into bead with us which I know is a horrible habit for her and it makes me more nervous so Im still not sleeping.
Everyone is telling me it is time to have her CIO and that it will make her a better sleeper but it breaks my heart to hear her cry and I can't help but run in and get her. My parents will take my son for a few nights so I don't have to worry about waking him. Just wondering if you did CIO how long did it take for your child to sleep through the night and for the crying to stop. If you didn't how did you get your child to make it through the night.
Thanks

Advice for CIO with 6 month old

DD was a great sleeper and at about 5 months regressed and wanted a 3am feeding. At her 6 month check up our ped said she no longer needed that feeding and we should cut it out of the schedule. He said at 6 months she should be STTN again. We did CIO, 1st night she got at up 3am, cried for maybe 10-15 mins and fell back asleep. Second night again but only cried for maybe 5 mins. That's all it took and since then she has been sleeping 12 hours at night. Best of luck!

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old

there are parents that will tell you that CIO is not the only option so if you dont think you can handle it - see what else people can recommend

but for us, we did CIO around 6 months because i couldnt handle the middle of the night wakeup and function for work.
i tried rocking her to sleep (never took her in bed bc i was scared i would roll onto her so i couldnt sleep comfortably) and we finally gave in. it took 3 nights - night 4 she sttn and has been ever since (for the most part - there are night she is sick or teething and she wakes but its not the norm - she is now 9 months old)
at first we tried the "progressive" method where you go in and soothe them but never take them out of the crib - just rub their back and tell them its bedtime then leave. that did NOT work for us at all. DD got more worked up when we would leave it was awful.
so we waited another 2 weeks and did just plain old CIO. we didnt go into her, we didnt do anything - just let her cry. it was about 45 mins of crying the first & second night and about 30 minutes the 3rd night. night 4 - nothing.
is it tough - yes
is it heartbreaking to hear them cry and not do anything to calm them down - yes
am i glad i did it and will i do it again - yes

good luck

Message edited 11/20/2013 11:55:06 AM.

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old

At 6.5m we decided to try CIO. DS was still waking up around 4am every night, but we had since stopped that feeding. Anyway, we made the decision to try it and that we would be firm with it, otherwise it wouldn't work. The first night, DS cried for about 45 mins. I'm not going to lie, it was very tough to listen to and it was very hard not to go in and comfort him. But - he eventually fell back asleep. The second night, he cried for 15 mins, then fell back asleep. The third night, it was 5-10 mins. Fourth night? Nothing. It was done. Just like that! He is now 3yo and has STTN, every night, ever since. Best thing we ever did!!!!!!

Like I said, it's hard while you're in the middle of it, but once it's done, it is so much better for everyone. You and DH get the rest you need and so does the baby. Win-win!

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old

Is the baby def not hungry? If not then let the baby cry for 25 min or so. I really couldn't see doing it for longer than that.

Advice for CIO with 6 month old

We found that giving dd a bottle right before we put her down helps her sttn. Even if she had a bottle an hour before it seems to top her off.

Advice for CIO with 6 month old

Thanks everyone. I actually had her cry a bit before her nap today and it only lasted 15-20 min. She does get a bottle before she goes to sleep. She usually falls asleep during it and I was told to wake her a little so that she can soothe herself before she falls asleep. Ill see how tonight goes. She is def not hungry, she has 3 bowls of cereal and bottles in between. I know she is probably going through the growth spurt and she is teething. I really just have to stop bringing her into bed with me.

Advice for CIO with 6 month old

If you bring her into bed, that is totally what she wants. I know its hard but try & stay strong. I tryed CIO with my twins at 6 months & didnt work. We finally did it at 8 months and worked.

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old

I hope tonight goes a little better for you

Advice for CIO with 6 month old

If shes teething then i would.def not do cio right now. Shes in pain andnlooking for comfort. Im sorry im not trying to be that mom to each is own. When your ready for cio by all means do it. But i wouldnt do it when shhes teething.

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old

I don't know if I'd attempt CIO if she shares a room and I agree with a PP, def don't do CIO when she's teething.

We did the progressive method when my DD was about 7 months. It was awesome.

I can bump that thread if you're interested in it...



Good luck momma, sleep training was the best thing we ever did. Zzzzzzzzz

Re: Advice for CIO with 6 month old