If you didn't cry it out...

My fellas are almost six months and, while sleep has improved, bedtime and settling oneself back to sleep remain a challenge. I do not want to CIO so am wondering if others who did not CIO did anything else that helped their babies go to sleep and resettle smoothly. Right now, we rock them until drowsy and then use soothers and bum pats in the crib to finish the job. They both seem inclined to suck their thumbs, which I am ok with, but they don't do this consistently, especially because the soother is there. Any strategies or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Amy

 

I've found Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry series helpful (there's one for babies, one for toddlers & one for naps). That being said, Emmett (at 7.5 months) is still not on a completely predictable routine and/or schedule. It's getting better & I have a plan I'm working on & goals I'm slowly working towards, all of which came from re-reading the books. The biggest issue really is my type-A personality. If I could let that go, E's current unpredictability wouldn't be such a "problem". As for STTN, I don't expect him to be yet, so am not overly worried about that. We co-sleep and/or co-bed as needed to make sure I'm getting adequate rest.

 

I coslept the girls once they were bigger but I rocked to sleep for around a year. They would never take a paci and didn't suck their thumbs :umm: we swaddled and patted as other soothing aids. I never could let them cry and there is a study that has came out recently stating that CIO is as bad as or worse than severe spanking

 

It takes a little while to work but a set bedtime routine (I think mentioned in Pantley's book) works pretty well. It's never too early to read or sing to your kids so you could pick a couple of things that you like to create a routine. With my oldest, we would get her dressed for bed and then I would nurse and rock her while my husband read to her. Then I would hum Brahms' Lullaby and we would use certain key phrases for just before we left. We still use a modified version of this routine: I change her diaper and get her dressed for bed while her dad reads her a "story" (a few pages from a big kid book), then I read her a Sesame Street bedtime book, then we hum Brahms' Lullaby, and we use the same bedtime phrases.

That being said, we also used some CIO when she hit a particularly sticky phase with bedtimes. It backfired for us and she got to the point that nothing you do really helps her go to sleep, it just helps her stay quietly in her room. So I don't know how helpful I am when it comes to CIO versus not!

 

I did the HSHHC but not the cry it out. Basically, I followed the rules for how long to let them stay up after waking, etc when they were really little and then when older, I did a consistent routine through the day. With my oldest, I nursed him to sleep for 9 months. At that point, I started nursing him to drowsy and letting him fall asleep on his own. It took some time but once he got the hang of it, it solved the night time issues (for the most part). I second the No Cry Sleep Solution.

 

We did a mix of co-sleeping and ideas from the No Cry Sleep Solution. My LOs needed (flexible, i.e. +/- 30 minutes max) routines throughout the day and needed naptime and bedtime routines which involved calming down time with books and nursing before singing to them and cuddling or patting/stroking them. Mine still thrive on music at naptime and singing at bedtime.

 

I just posted about this somewhere on FB...This is what I've learned by trial and error. Have a night time routine and preferably a set bedtime. Put them down drowsy and walk out of the room. If they fuss, let them fuss a couple of minutes, wait till they escalate to go in, unless they are the type to get so worked up that it's better to head it off. Dream feed for as long as possible. Keep a good schedule of naps, I like the 2-3-4 schedule with a catnap around 5 pm. My next kid I plan to encourage thumb sucking not pacis, they can find it by themselves . Light blocking curtains to prevent waking up to early in the morning. Sorry this is in short, I'm not really in a typing mood. Feel free to ask if you have any q's