CIO for naps

So I finally gave in a few weeks ago and we did CIO (modified - going in at intervals) for night time. The boys are doing much better and going down on their own most nights (they do still cry a bit some nights, but not for more than a few minutes). They are mostly sleeping at night, too, although with the time change they are still getting up around 5am rather than their previous 6am. Naps and bedtime are back on the normal schedule, though.

We want to start CIO for naps because we still have to hold them to get them to sleep....but I'm wondering how to do it. My concern is, I think they are just going to play in their cribs and talk to each other and not nap. If they are playing in the cribs and not crying, do I just leave them be?? I'm wondering if we need to do them one at a time to avoid that?? We did intervals for night, but I'm wondering if we should just go cold turkey for naps. We really want to get them going on this before the holiday craziness starts.

 

Our toughest napping times were from about 10 - 14 mos. Since then we have been glorious nappers. We have no routine for nap as far as the put-down like bedtime. It is time for nap and I put them in their cribs and kiss them goodnight. We let them work it out amongst themselves...I thought about splitting them up many times but I just didn't want to. Now, once they went to nap they got 2 hours up there no matter what. Sometimes they would chat and then fall asleep. Occasionally they would fall asleep after 90 mins for about 1 hour. Sometimes they went right to sleep. It was unpredictable for a while, but I knew that I would have 2 hours and they got used to that too and eventually it clicked. Now they tell me they want to go nigh-night...that is sooooo nice. Anyway, good luck as you enter into this new endeavor. Remember though, if you have a rocky day at naps you should consider moving their bedtime up that day so they sleep well at night and don't get into an overtired state.

 

I used to be against CIO. We used to have pat their butts, rocked them for like 30mins at nap time, some times over an hour at bedding. When they were teething, bedding was a nightmare. It would take like 2 hours. Then my husband started driving them around so they could fall asleep.I didn't care at first.but it got to ridisculous point. We had to give them car rides a lot for naps and bed time.after they turned 6 months, I couldn't take it anymore. So I decided to do CIO. I started with nap time first. It went so well. I put them down after 90mins-2 hours. They talked, played and fell asleep themselves. I was suprised. Then we did it at night time. It was urgly at first. The first night was good.they went down after 15mins.second night was aweful. It took 1.5hrs. Now they sleep much better for their naps and night time.one thing I realize that if I come in check on them, pat their butts, it will get urgly. So after I put them down in their crib, say nitenite, I just walk out and close the door. I stay downstair with baby monitor.and I don't allow anybody in the family rock them no more.my mom always rocked them at nap/bed time. And I told her rocking is forbidden in this family from now on.

So many times we thought that its not going to work that time, but it worked. We haven't given then car ride in like 3-4 weeks. I'm so so happy. We have some bad days too. But its ok. I think the successful number one rule is that put them down before they start getting fussy. So they have 5-10mins play, talk, watch crib mobiles and fall asleep.

I don't know other ppl. But if we put them down and they don't sleep but play and talk to each other, I let them. I don't take them out. Eventually they go down though.good luck!!

 

I'm worried we're in for a rough road, too, especially since they haven't ever been good nappers anyway. And an earlier bedtime is not an option. If they go to bed before 7:15 or 7:30, they are up by 5am, sometimes earlier. I guess we will try it today and see what happens. I don't know if they are teething again or what, but last night was very, very bad. Michael cried from 9:45-10:30, and then one or the other was up at 11, 2, 4, and 5. I finally gave it at 5:15 after NO sleep for me, and put Gabriel in bed with us and we slept until 6:30. I shouldn't have done it and it will probably make tomorrow worse, but I was totally exhausted and needed at least a little bit of sleep. Ugh, this sleep thing is so frustrating!!

 

I just did this 3 weeks ago.

I waited until one was showing signs of being tired and would put them in their Kangapouches (sleep sacs), tell them it's nap time and I love them and turn on the lullabies. The first day I went in every 5 minutes and they were both asleep within 45 minutes. The next day I went in in 10 minute intervals and they were asleep in 20 minutes. The third day I didn't have to go in....but they do cry, I guess they need a few minutes to wind down.

Usually it's working good, today DS was freaking out, so I rocked him for a couple minutes until he fell asleep. I know that's against the CIO rules but it's not a daily ocurance.

Good luck!

 

We tried today....Gabriel did pretty well. He was asleep in about 10 minutes the first time and 25 minutes the second time, and really just fussed and didn't cry too much. Michael, on the other hand, talked, played, sang, and cried a LOT. I ended up going in when he got a high-pitched cry and it turns out he had a poppy diaper. That was after an hour, so I finally just held him and he went to sleep, but only slept 30 minutes or so. Gabe slept over an hour, which is a decent nap for them.

This afternoon, Michael cried and fussed, alternating with quite periods, for over an hour. When he FINALLY was asleep, which I say peeking through the door, he only stayed asleep 15 minutes. It's now two hours later, though, and he seems cheerful enough, so maybe he just wasn't very tired (although he was yawning when we put him down).

I do watch for their sleepy signs before putting them down. It seems like Michael is going to be the harder of the two to train for naps - ironic, because Gabriel fought us harder at nights and still sometimes wakes up. He cried from 4-5:15 this morning. I finally gave in and put him in bed with us because I was exhausted - he is on the tail end of a cold, and I do think he didn't feel well - he sounded stopped up. I know it will probably make tonight worse, but I really wanted some more sleep (he had already been up off and on three times before that).

 

Our girls were very stubborn, and we had several naps where they fussed/cried for the full hour, then I had to go get them and called the nap "over" and tried again at next nap time. But after being consistent they would fall asleep within 5 minutes. I don't regret any of the hard work we did for naps/night time routine, because now at 2 yrs 7 months, they fall asleep immediately at naps and night with no problem.

Just as an FYI, we did have to seperate the girls for nap. One slept in their crip in their room and the other in a pack-n-play in our bedroom. It allowed them to nap on their own schedule, rather than being woken up by their sister. Plus, they went to sleep much quicker when they were alone, then together. They still nap seperately today.

 

Today they did much better - this morning, they were both asleep within 10 minutes. This afternoon, it was less than 5 minutes. I hope it continues, but today went WAY better than yesterday!

 

Yay - that's great! It gets better and better - and sometimes you'll have the poopie diaper situation or just a bad day for some reason. But, on whole it should get better. Congrats!

 

Glad to see it's improving!!! It's amazing what a little sleep can do for mommy-and the kids!

 

We did good this morning again, but afternoon was not so good....Gabriel was tired about 40 minutes before I expected, and we were in the middle of lunch....by the time we were done, he was frantic and overtired. I tried just putting him down, but he screamed frantically for 10 minutes, so I finally held him and got him to sleep....then he only slept 15 minutes before waking up screaming, so I ended up laying down with him for an hour. I hope I didn't just set us back to the beginning with him, but I guess we will see tomorrow. It was definitely my fault for being in the middle of lunch when he was tired....I think I will make lunch a bit earlier tomorrow.

 

I just wanted to give you a hug. :hug: I do remember this time of instability well. Jude was my tough one and each day I didn't know what to expect. But even to this day those cries get to my very core...but that is me...I am a very sensitive person - I work on that and it is a harder task with my children. Practically drove me insane the first year. It helps when they get more attitudes and the cry becomes more temper tantrum...lol. Anyway, in hindsight I did go through short periods of napping one in a pnp in another room. I remember this. Because Zoe was a good sleeper and Jude would bother her. I think what happened is I was so wishy-washy from day to day. I changed my technique too frequently. One day the exhaustion built up and I announced that I had a plan and we were going to follow it. It is like they knew they were in for it so they started behaving...lol. Who knows. But, I think you outline a plan of action that you may develop or tweak week to week and you don't deviate. This is soooo hard. You may have to split them. Are they fraternal? Fraternals can take a while to get on the same schedule especially nap wise. Jude was ready for 1 nap by 12 mos easy...but I made her transition slowly until her sister was ready, which wasn't until 15 or 16 mos. That was a long period in my life. Good luck momma...these are hard choices when things are not cut and dry.

 

Thanks. Michael went down without a peep again this morning - Gabe only cried for about 3 minutes. So I guess yesterday didn't totally ruin us. I'm trying to be consistent, but it is hard!! They are identical, and for the most part, they still seem to be sleepy about the same time, although Michael usually takes a much shorter nap than Gabriel. I'm wondering what will happen with the transition to one nap, too. I think Michael is going to be ready way before Gabriel, but I guess we will see. For now, I'm just trying to keep plugging ahead and being consistent. It's difficult some days!! Thanks for the moral support. :grouphug:

 

My pedi just suggested we try CIO for both naps & bedtime. It has only been 2 days... I am not sure I can take this. They cry for an hour... today one cried for 90min.

Healthy Sleep Habits says let them cry for an hour, my pedi said to expect them to cry for 30-90min.

I hate this. I am crying with them. They are only 4 months old. I am fine with rocking them to sleep for now. For those of you that did CIO, when did you start, why didn't you choose a no-cry method?

 

I am surprised your pedi would recommend CIO for 4 months... most will wait until about 6. If it's not working for you and you feel like they're not ready for it, you don't have to do it! At 4 months rocking is still a great option if you're up for it.

We started CIO at about 8 months when we found that the kids were waking at night just so we would go in and rock them. They didn't need night feedings anymore and they would calm down as soon as we picked them up, so we knew we were being played. That was our sign that they needed to learn to self-soothe and then we did CIO.

 

I am surprised, too - 4 months is very young, and my kids weren't on ANY sort of schedule yet. I have always heard 6 months as the earliest age for CIO. We waited until 9.5 months. We stopped rocking around 9 months and just held them to go to sleep for awhile. Then we did CIO for nights - that is what FINALLY got them STTN (although they are still early risers and up between 5:30 and 6 most mornings, they now go down most nights without a peep and we only hear from them occasionally before 5:30ish). Naps have been a struggle for us. Some days, they go down easy, some days, they cry for 20-30 minutes. Usually if they are at 20-30 minutes and still crying for naps, I get them and hold them to get them to sleep. I was hoping CIO for naps would solve our catnapping problem since it solved our night-wakings, but so far no luck.

At the age of your LO's, I personally would still be holding or rocking them and wait until they are on more of a nap schedule to try CIO.

 

I think I am going to have to adopt this policy. I am alone most days and can handle the naps and any crying - maybe 10 minutes if any. Usually they fall asleep BF'ing at night, last night I was so tired and they were both just playing around so I put them down...then DH got home from work. He doesn't like to hear them cry, so I gave in and told him he could pick one up - WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! Today's naps have been awful. Lesson learned

We started when they were about 5.5 months corrected age because they primarily napped on me and I wanted to get them in their cribs. I'm not sure why I didn't choose a no-cry method. Many friends have tried CIO and they all said it worked. Also mine are good night time sleepers so I knew I just had to get them accustomed to falling asleep in their cribs. I did the graduated CIO, after 10 minutes - even now - I'll go in and make sure they are ok. More often than not they are asleep by then anyways.

 

I forgot to address this part of your post....we tried every no-cry method I could get my hands on - I read a gazillion books and tried them all, and nothing worked. I resisted CIO until they were 9.5 months. At that point, self-preservation won out - I couldn't handle being up 4-5 times a night anymore, and new they needed to learn to go to sleep on their own, without our help.