How do YOU handle CIO?

So, we started crying it out last night. One of my "angels" cried, well screamed bloody murder for almost 2 hours. How do you handle it? Beyond that I also cried, I had to pry myself from their door many times. How do you handle not going in there to soothe them? It breaks my heart to hear them so upset. :mellow:

 

It is so hard!! You just have to tell yourself that you are teaching them how to soothe themselves and how to put themselves back to sleep so that they learn how to be good sleepers. Just like everything else that you teach them as a parent, you are teaching them how to sleep. I am sorry you had such a hard time! It is so hard the first couple of nights, but it does get better. I hope tonight is better for you. :hug99:

 

Oh my goodness. I am so not looking forward to this stage. But I'm sure I will have to do it for my one little guy when he gets old enough.

Just wanted to give hugs to you and I hope the nights get better for you and them.

 

I was lucky (in a sense) -- when we did CIO at 5 months, it did not bother me as much to hear them cry. I know that's not really a good thing, but it helped for this purpose.

Now, however, it breaks my heart. But fortunately we don't have to do it as often.

A lot of mommies have to actually leave the house -- you could try it (assuming someone else is home, of course) and see if that makes it easier on you.

The first night was by far the worst for us. It got a lot better on nights 2 & 3, then slightly worse on night 4 (though still not as bad as the first night), then better again. If things aren't a lot better in a week, you may have to re-evaluate whether CIO is the right method for you.

 

That first night was super hard. What made it not the worst thing ever for me was that I was so darn tired I could not even function anymore. I also did it when I finally new they ate enough during the day and did not need to eat at night. Knowing that made it much easier. Each night gets easier. I hope tonight is better for you. I also had to remind myself the following nights that if I went in, it would be sending them mixed signals! Stay strong! It is hard!

 

yes it usually does get better! I did CIO with dd and it was SO HARD. She cried. I cried. But it worked in 3-4 nights and sleep was BLISs again. She had been sleeping thru the night but got her first ear infection and was up too much wanting to nurse. Of course I waited until she was all better to do CIO. So once it was time to let the boys CIO it was MUCH eaSier. As I knew it worked for dd and she does not remember or hate me for it (I asked her lol). I was just so sick of the tandem crying that it was more of a noise than something i felt bad about (sorry if that sounds so non maternal but its true for many of us I bet... ). We had to do it off and on until about a year with the boys. Then they slept through eachother cries finally! Its not easy for the babies and parents...but if it works SO BE IT B)

 

I am totally with PP on this. I think that you have the strength for CIO when you realize that "something's gotta give" in your household. You do eventually reach a point of desperation that you start CIO and stick with it because you can't take it anymore. It KILLED me with my first DC, but it helped her SO MUCH (at 4.5 months, went from sleeping 8 hours out of 24 to 17 out of 24) that this time around, it doesn't bother me nearly as much. I now KNOW that it doesn't hurt them. In fact my first was a MUCH happier baby after finally starting to sleep well.

 

Sorry you had a rough start! :hug99: :hug99: I hope tonight goes better for you guys!

 

It was the hardest first night of my life. Basically, my DH had to keep me contained and stress to me that this was for my sanity and well being as much as theirs. I had been going on only a couple of hours of sleep a night for 2 months. I was amazed how one would sleep through the others fussing or crying (I had been running in when one would wake up to remove them before the other was awakened for months!), I was also surprised how they would put themselves back to sleep. My Jacob did have a rough hour in the middle of the night but, we all got through it and now they are better sleepers. They either sleep through the night or if they do wake they FIO for a minute or so and go back to sleep. I only now have to go in if there is a major issue like teething or gas pains.

It will get better over time.......just have patience. :hug99:

 

It is so super hard. :hug99: to you because you definitely need it right now. It took our dd, Emma, 10 days to get used to going to sleep on her own, days 5 and 6 were the worst and I spent the entire night in tears myself. But it worked and I am SO happy now that I did it. Good luck to you!

 

When I was using CIO, I never let it get past the point of a fussy cry to an all out scream. I noticed that if I let it get to that point, once they fell asleep, it wasnt very sound and they woke more during the night. What worked for us was a modified CIO.

First I would lay them down and pat their tummy or rub their legs until they seemed sleepy. Then I would slowly move away from the crib. If they started crying more than a fussy cry, then I would go to them without saying a word and start to rub/massage all over again. I would stand next to the crib and i would see them look to see if I was there and then they would fall asleep. After 2 weeks of moving further away from the crib, they were soothing themselves to sleep and I eventually I was able to put them down, walk away, and shut their door. It was the best thing, and now at 2 yrs old, I have friends remark about how easy my boys go down for the night.

Hang in there !!