I am having a very hard time with Daniel. He's almost 5 months adjusted age and has decided in the last week or so that he does not want to go to bed. I think that he just wants to stay up playing. I wasn't sure about CIO but once he gets really tired, he just cries and cries anyways...so we figured he might as well cry in his crib. So...the last 2 nights have been hard but we're hoping to see progress soon. My question right now though has to do with naps. I put him down awake at 8:40. He cried for 15 minutes and then fell asleep. For only 20 minutes! So I left him there. He's now been crying for 45 minutes!! What do I do? How long do I let him cry??? It's killing me!
I am not an expert but maybe you can go in and pat his back (give him lovey or paci-whatever he takes). Or stick to your guns and take him out when you think it is an appropriate time. I remember there are weeks about a month ago where they would be totally off with sleeping habits for about a week and then all of sudden go back to "normal" GL, HTH
Not a CIO expert here, but if it were me (and I know it's not), I would probably get him up and give him TONS (!!!!) of exercise--tummy time, play time, standing time, whatever works in your family--so that he's ready for sleep and to sleep well at the next nap time.
I just let mine cry.. I know it sounds cruel.. but i do go and peek in and make sure that they are not hurting themselves (stuck in the corner, cant roll over, ect) My DD sometimes cries for 30 mins. and then when she wakes up, she wakes up. they dont get a nap until the next nap time. At night its a different story. They can get up and cry all they want but i will not feed them before 10pm
What worked for me was just to let them cry. I did check on them, but it would ENRAGE them if I came in and didn't get them. Everyone's technique is so different. You have to figure out what works for you and your baby. Trust your instinct!
:hug99: According to HSHHC, you should let them cry up to an hour for naps without going in (although I always peek through the door unnoiticed.) Whatever you decide, just be consistent! With anything I've tried I've found consistency is the key!
I'm probably getting to this too late, but I let mine cry for one hour when trying to get them to nap and 20 mins if they wake up too early from their nap. I agree with Nicole, you need to be consistent (which I'm not). What did you end up doing?
I ended up getting him up after an hour of crying. He was still exhausted. I put him down for his next nap just 40 minutes later. He only slept for about a 1/2 hour and woke up crying again. I soothed him back to sleep. He slept another 15 minutes. I soothed him back to sleep. He slept for 40 minutes more. Still a tired boy. He went down for another nap an hour and 20 minutes later. It lasted a 1/2 hour. I've now sent him out for a walk with a friend for an hour so he'll actually get some sleep before we try bed time. I am SOOOOO conflicted about all this. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm going to start another thread on this... Cary
Do you think he could be having problems with his reflux? Whenever my girls are having a bad reflux day they do the same thing...short naps, waking crying, not wanting to go down... Is there anything else that could be bothering him? Im sorry you have had such a rough couple of days, I know how hard it is. I don't have many answers because I am in the same boat. Let us know how it worked out.
Well...bed time went a thousand times better tonight! He was in bed at 6:10 after just 6 minutes of soothing! And he's still there an hour and a half later...I'll let you know how the rest of the night goes. Keep your fingers crossed!
