CIO question

Ok, so I have been reading a lot about CIO, Ferberizing, etc. and I have a question. Everything I have read talks about doing it to put your babies to sleep - ours have no problem going to sleep and are typically just fed, swaddled, put in their crib and then they are asleep shortly thereafter with no crying. Our problem is that they wake at about 2:00 AM, not super hungry (although they will eat if offered), but just crying and fussing and generally ready to get up. We usually get them up, re-swaddle (since they are becoming little houdinis), feed them, and put them back down and then they go back to sleep but what I am wondering is if I can use the CIO method for the middle of the night? It seems like I may be creating more problems for myself since typically it is about 30 minutes all told before we get them back to sleep and if I let them cry it could go on for hours. Have any of you used CIO to drop the middle of the night wake-up/feed?

 

IMO if they eat, they're hungry, and that's why they wake up. I'd honestly wait until 6 months at least to stop feeding them at night when they wake up.

 

You could try CIO, but at that age I think it's more likely that they're just hungry. 4 months is still sort of early (despite what you hear/read) for a baby to go 12 hours, or even 8, without eating. Some do (one of my DDs did) and some don't (my other DD!).

So, give it a try, but honestly if I were you, I'd count my blessings that they only wake up once and go back to sleep fairly easily. Also, the fact that they are falling asleep easily at bedtime is a very, very good sign for the future.

FWIW, I did try CIO (meaning, I just didn't go in when she woke) for my night-waking DD at 9 months and it totally didn't work. She just outlasted me and I finally decided it was easier to just keep feeding her. At 13 months I tried again, but instead of straight CIO, I reduced the bottle size and watered it down a bit every night. When she was drinking less than 3 ounces of mostly water mixed with a little formula, THEN I did CIO again and that time, she gave up within 2 days.

But I hope you don't have to wait till 13 months, though it isn't the end of the world.

 

If they are 4 months old and waking only once to eat and then go right back to sleep I would continue what you have been doing for now. It doesn't sound like they are waking just for play time and if you continue what you are doing I bet they'll start sleeping through on their own soon.

You can do CIO in the middle of the night though, you just don't go to them when they cry. It is okay for you to do whenever you feel comfortable and like it is what's best for your family.

 

I'm another if they eat they are hungry mama. I think 4 months is too little to expect them to go for hours without eating. FWIW - my twins slept through the night for the first time ever the day before yesterday, and again last night, at almost 10 months old.

 

yup, you can definitely do CIO to drop a middle of the night feeding, although i agree with PPs that at 4 months it's quite likely they still need that feeding. your best bet really is to check with your pedi - they'll have the best handle on whether your babies can do without that feeding or not. on the other hand, you know your babies, and if they don't seem hungry at night & you think they're ready, then you can certainly give it a go. GL!

 

When we were down to one middle of the night feeding, I started waiting a few minutes when they woke up to see if they might settle back down. I'd wait about five minutes and if they were still fussing I'd try to sooth them for a few minutes. If that didn't work, I'd go ahead and feed them but by then it was about 15 min later than normal. I kept doing the same thing and eventually that 3am wake up became 3:30, then 4 ,etc until they were waking at 6:30. If they won't let you put it off, they are super hungry and still need that feeding for a little while. Make sure they are getting a good amount of calories during the day so they are less likely to need them at night. We stayed at feeding every three hours during the day until they had been sleeping through (7 P to 7 A) for several weeks.