Sleep help!

[fluffhead]

We (I, actually) ferberized them all. I got much better after the first - it was sheer hell with DD1. The later kids seemed to "get it" faster. But there are periods when they just will wake up - teething, adjustments, whatever, and you have to roll with it. I generally walk around in a daze for months at a time.
And reconditioning with ferber is part of the game - if you give in, they'll take full advantage.

[moonlight]

Mine will cry like that but it's because her diaper is too wet or she has pooped. Is he dry when he wakes up? It seems like this colder weather/house makes for a cold wet diaper. She seems to hate that (as would I!).

[SuzySunshine]

He's not overly wet since he's not eating as much at night as he used to. We don't have a humidifier in his room but do have one, I have a thermometer in his room with a humidity reading - does anyone know what it should be? Maybe I should try that.

I don't think to warm is the reason, he's in our lower level which is cooler, it only gets to about 64 in his room which is why he's in a sleeper and a heavy sleep sack.

Thanks for all the advice gang, I got the Ferber book today and hopefully will get a chance to read it tonight after A goes to bed.

[alison]

I don't know about humidity, but that's a good question. I'd actually go with what you would consider comfortable and go with that.

For awhile, dd would wake up at night when a motion-sensing light would go on next door. She could see it through her window. But you have those darkening shades, right?

Ferberizing and the method we used really pull at your heartstrings. It will probably be worse before it gets better. But a well-rested (eventually) mama is a sane mama in my book. Good luck!

[SuzySunshine]

Ok, so I put him to bed in his sleeper and his sleep sack. I put the humidifier in his room on low, I changed the sound machine to a "jungle" sound basically its birds. He seemed to like it. I made sure he was wide awake after his bottle, read him a book and put him down. He fussed as I left the room but was quiet and/or asleep by the time I got upstairs and turned the monitor on.

So we'll see, of course going to sleep has never been the problem

[poky]

40%-45% is what you want to aim for with humidity.

[Tenacious_D]

I have a friend who just took her 2 year old to see Ferber and his team (one benefit of living in Boston). I'll ask her what he said to do because it seems to be helping the whole family. We also still have issues with E where he will get up once a night and cry for milk...he's bot the best eater so I think hunger is part of if.

[spotty_dog]

Shout-out from the crunchy camp. Sometimes a little person just wakes and needs comfort, you know? Natalie is up 4-5 times per night but hey. She's only young once. (Eddy's pretty self sufficient most nights and has been since about age 3.)

[SuzySunshine]

Ok so its 6:54 and he just now turned on his music box. I heard him cry once in the night and it was less then 10 minutes. I also remember that I slathered him up with his lotion before I put his pj's on so its possible his dry skin has been bothering him.

I think happy momma will now go downstairs and get her happy baby!

Who know if it will continue but I'll take one night to start.

[v-girl]

I do the same, spotty. But then we put our three year old to bed on the loveseat and then move him to his room. I tried Ferber on my first. She cried so hard she puked each time. We gave up fast. Second two slept with us until we could get them to sleep on their own.

[PrincessFiona]

Shout-out from the crunchy camp. Sometimes a little person just wakes and needs comfort, you know? Natalie is up 4-5 times per night but hey. She's only young once. (Eddy's pretty self sufficient most nights and has been since about age 3.)

Another shout out ... from a co-sleeping mom who wouldn't change the sometimes less than sleepful nights she had with little ones for all of the gold in the world... I'm not into a CIO or Ferber, so I can't contribute to this thread.

Kris

[fluffhead]

It's doubtful that any method you choose is going to have a disastrous effect on the child. Go with whatever works for you.
Personally, co-sleeping would have been the end of me, especially during residency.

It's doubtful that any method you choose is going to have a disastrous effect on the child. Go with whatever works for you.

ITA!

I guess I didn't feel like Ferber was all-out CIO. We do co-sleeping for the first several months. But when my sanity can't take it anymore - especially when they wake up several times just for comfort nursing, or when I'm spending an hour patting their backs so they won't cry before falling to sleep (which is what I did with the twins), we start in with Ferber. The way I interpreted it, you do go in to comfort, reassure, and help them stop crying. Then you gradually increase the time in between comforting. It wasn't fun the first couple nights, but after that, my kids would fall asleep within five minutes of putting them in their cribs, with very little crying. It was a huge sanity-saver for a completely exhausted mom. Now that they know how to get themselves to sleep - so it's not a nightly problem - we absolutely comfort them if they wake up crying in the middle of the night. They are welcome to sleep in our bed if they wake up with a bad dream, but that doesn't happen often.

I think Ferber actually wrote something in the foreword of a revised edition trying to explain that he is not a Tony Ezzo CIO fan. And I didn't interpret his book that way.

As with anything, different kids & different families need different things. You have to listen to your parenting instincts.

[PrincessFiona]

As with anything, different kids & different families need different things. You have to listen to your parenting instincts.

Absolutely.

[alison]

A personal anecdote here:

I was a CIO baby, slept through the night at an early age, and I go to bed at a reasonable hour as an adult.
Dh was a terrible sleeper as a child, and his mom used to sit with him until he fell asleep. To this day, it's almost as if he fears he's going to miss something, and going to bed is a major chore...

When we told my mil this, she was very defensive, and said "well, which one of you turned out better?!"

I agree with fluff!