We are having issues with ds big time and are wondering if 5 months adjusted age is too little to start. We kind of do it in a modified version but I know for it to work we need to just do it. It is just so hard to hear him scream and cry.
We did it at 5 1/2 months. Personally, I feel I could have done it sooner. My boys were waking to eat out of habit. THey ate plenty during the day. As soon as I began CIO, they slept through which is how I know they were eating out of habitl
I know I'm a contrarian here.. based on research, CIO can affect the kids' brain development. I'd wait until at least 6 months adjusted at minimum. Babies wake at night, not always because they are hungry, but because they need reassurance that you are still around -- it's a developmental thing. Teri D
I did do it at Bea for 5 months because nothing, I mean nothing, would soothe her to sleep anymore. I did not do it for night wakings though, just to initially go to sleep for the night. She used to fall asleep in the swing, but that stopped working. I tried everything before we went to CIO. She was definitely ready for sleep, showed all signs, but would fuss and cry. When we did CIO, she usually only cried for no more than 15 minutes. I did not do CIO with Ainsley until 9-10 months, I didn't feel she was ready until then.
My ped said that after 7 months I could do it which is when he said it was also ok to completely stop giving them any middle of the night bottles. I know I could have probably done it sooner and God knows I was so tired and WANTED to do it but I just wasn't emotionally ready to not be there for them in the middle of night when they woke up and cried. Someone also told me that they are still at 5 months developing a sense of security that no matter what and when, you will be there for them and that kind of stuck with me. I know from most posts I have read over the past year, most people have said not to start until at least 6 months but of course many people have done it sooner. Do lots of research on it and maybe even put in a call to the ped?? then make the choice that you and dh feel most comfortable with. Ultimately it is up to you and no one knows your kids like you and your dh.
I know this is a VERY touchy issue and I am in no way wanting to start a debate. I do just want a couple things about how it was for us personally. Our ped and cranial spec. both said to let them cry and that was around 4 1/2 months. I was not ready at that time though! I know research says (not that I dont believe research was done but I am interested in seeing it) it is not good for development but I must add, that when I did CIO, from the first morning, my boys woke with the biggest smiles on their face and all these months later, I have the happiest babies who go to bed peacefully (almost every night) and wake up happy (almost every morning). Again, I truly respect everyones opinions on this issue and dont want to be a part of a debate. Just want to add a few more thoughts.
I have done it between 6 and 9 months with my kids(all of my boys), because that is when I was ready, and felt that they needed sleep more than anything else in the middle of the night. Sleep is so important. Ilyse, I would personally wait until they were 6 months adjusted, but you know your babies, and know what they need. Good luck with your decision.
Thanks for the feedback. I was actually not referring to overnight wake-ups, really just to going down for naps and to bed at night. I had to do it this afternoon because I was holding ds for a while and he was wide awake but obviously tired and dd started to get really fussy, which is not like her. So I figured she needed to burp or something. So after letting her fuss for a few minutes, I put ds in the crib (for those that know our situation, his breathing was ok so I figured we'd try it for a nap, we do that sometimes to get him used to it) so I could tend to dd and he cried for about 5 minutes (which killed me) but then he feel asleep and they both had a great nap. I guess you could say that I was forced to try it. I hope that I don't have to do that again for a while but at least he did ok with it and he still gave me the momma's boy smiles the rest of the day .
I've been doing somewhat of a modified CIO for naps for the boys, first in transitioning them from swings to cribs for naps, then from one crib to two for naps. When they would start to wail, I'd go in, give them their nuk, and rub and pat their backs and shhhhhhhhh them for a bit, then walk out ... let them go another 5 minutes or so, and do it again. Now if I read their "I'm Tired Mommy" signs correctly, I can put Con in the crib and he rolls himself on his side and falls asleep with no prompting. Chase is still taking a bit, but he's the one who got moved out of the round crib they shared to a regular crib so I'm more lenient with him, but even with that it's taking less and less patting to put him to sleep - maybe going in once or twice. Now this is only for naps, at night after thier nighttime routine I put them in the cribs and they drop right off. They still wake once in the night for a feed, I was actually going to ask the doc about it today but I forgot. If it continues past about 7 months then I might CIO for that feeding, but for now, I'm just following thier lead. Actually last night they didn't get up to nurse until 5am, so I'm hoping they just do it on thier own. And part of me likes knowing that they know that when they cry in the night, Mom is there for them. At least for another month or so cuz then Mom might go nuts if she can't start sleeping the night through too!
