EX-Ferber hater

[Ladybug]

We only let DD1 CIO. It was way overdue and she was 10 months old by then. Luckily I haven't had to with the other ones. It's logistically impossible when you have older kids sleeping in the next room who need to get up and function for school in the morning. I figured it was easier for just me to be tired than for all my kids be tired and cranky. Oy. I can't even remember what I did with the last few kids. Those months are a blur!!! It's probably a blessing.

[TigerLily]

Ladybug, that was part of our problem! Every time I let the little one cry, the big one wakes up. And if it's any time after 4 am she thinks it's morning. yikes

[GrayMatterWife]

Maybe letting a baby cry doesn't come as naturally to everyone. I always felt the thing that came naturally was picking up my baby when she cried. funny!

Sorry..no, no...that's not what I meant. I think almost every mother's natural inclination is to comfort. I guess I just always viewed "letting 'em cry it out" for its long-term value--self-soothing. It worked with my kids, although every kid is different. May not work with others.

By the way, my "let 'em cry" approach drove my husband NUTS. He cannot stand the endless crying--and he cannot understand how I could. I would go back to bed, put a pillow over my head and go back to sleep. He lay there, steaming at me for preventing him from sleeping. Fortunately for him, he often worked overnight!

[alison]

I think crying it out doesn't always work. While it did for my dd, I know that Laurie struggled like mad. She can tell you better than I can, but I recall hours and hours of her being up with her ds. He just seemed to be like my dh--just wasn't a sleeper, didn't like it, didn't seem to need it, etc. etc. To this day, my dh sleeps 4.5-5 hours/night!!! Gahh!

[scrub-jay]

There really isn't a one-size fits all to parenting, I think it is miraculous when you find what works for your kid. Thanks everyone for not turning this into a parenting-debate, I love you all!!

[peggyfromwastate]

Our twins were a trip to "sleep train". They are boy-girl twins, and ds always has needed much less sleep than dd. We all survived--- dd frustrated at lack of sleep, ds frustrated at too much crib time, dh and me bleary eyed...

We did some CIO with the kids-- definitely works differently with different kids. We have sound machines for the sibs to help sleep thru it all. But no one really sleeps when a baby is crying. Except my dh. He can sleep thru everything lol.

Glad you found a solution-- I never had stamina for Ferber. I think babies sleep thru the night when they are ready to for the most part. I have tried just about every method out there-- even baby whisperer!!!

[HouseofWool]

As DD is 3 and is just now starting to sleep through the night reliably, I will vouch that every kid is different. With DS we did a couple nights at CIO at 10 weeks (as in he cried for 10 minutes, but wasn't full on screaming) and he slept through the night - like 10-12 hours it was fantastic. DS still cannot completely settle herself down if she gets wound up. They are so very different from each other.

[Lala]

Good work! No matter what method you use, sleep training is HARD!! I am pretty hardcore about sleep training, and I did CIO when my daughter was 3 months old (which is younger than the books recommend). I was a little nervous letting her do it so young, but I instinctively knew she was ready for it (and needed it, because she was often crying out of frustration at not being able to get back to sleep). Letting her cry gave her the opportunity to learn to fall asleep on her own, and now she's a pro at it, and a much happier baby because she's getting the sleep she needs.

[v-girl]

I'm glad you're getting sleep! CIO didn't work for our oldest. She'd cry until she puked and when you're changing the sheets 2-3 times a night, it just becomes easier to sit in the rocking chair and rock the kid to sleep. LOL