CIO question

Hi Twinmommies!

I have a question for some of you CIO experts.

My LO's have been sleeping well for quite a while. They would cry out every couple of hours at night and I would go into their room and reset them and they would go right back to sleep.

Just recently they realized that they would rather play than sleep during those visits, so we started CIO. At bedtime, my DD will protest and cry for about 20-30 minutes..but eventually everyone falls asleep. Every so often one of them will cry out but they go back to sleep almost immeditately.

My question is, when do you go in there? How will I know if they REALLY need me or if they are in discomfort? What do you do?

 

Once we started official "sleep training" and they would wake up, I would wait for about 5 minutes to see if they would go back to sleep on their own. If they didn't, I would go check on them. Once I was sure that they were not in pain, dirty diaper, feet caught in the crib, etc. I would leave and not go back in for any reason. Our worst night was an hour and a half of screaming times two. However, it sounds like you are already past this point since they sleep on their own. I would say, you may be at the point to really let them figure it out for themselves since you know they aren't hungry and they can generally sleep on their own. In the short run it will be difficult, but in the long run you will have great sleepers and it will be worth it.

Good luck!

 

I would listen for the length and intensity of their cries. You can probably quickly learn, if you don't already know, when they mean business and when they are just lonely or when they want to see your smiling face. It's a learning process for everyone. :hug99: I hope you get through this hurdle quickly, and end up having great sleepers!

 

I would also listen to the cries. My Annalise will wake and cry for a minute or so and then resettle herself. I don't what wakes her, (probably a sleep disturbance) but she's able to go back to sleep easily. You'll get the hang of it soon :hug99: .

 

I think you'll just learn their cries with time. Most of the time if I know mine are clean, fed, and tired I feel confident letting them cry.

 

I usually give them 5 minutes for the middle of the night cries. Usually they're back asleep by then. If not, I go in to check on them. Usually, I give them some motrin or tylenol and rock them until they're settled. (When this happens, it's usually teething.)

Last night, DS woke up crying. After five minutes I went in and he was hot. His fever was only 100.5, but I could tell he was not feeling well. I gave him tylenol, rocked him a bit, and eventually put him back in his crib. He was playing with me and it was clear he was not going back to sleep while I was there. He cried about 5-10 minutes and fell asleep.

 

Definitely like everyone said, you can tell from the cries...but then again, mine screamed their heads off for a bit and were fine. Just wanted Mommy