Hello ladies! I've posted before about my girls not STTN [yet]. They were on the verge [at least Alyssa was 4-5/7 days a week] and then they hit the phase of [what I think is] their first year molars coming in. For the past week and a half they've been waking 2x each per night [this makes mommy get up 4x [brings back ole' memories, lol]. Anywhoo.. we had a 'trial' CIO night with the girls [well, mostly for Rose because she wasn't really near STTN 1/7 days a week] about a month and a half ago. This was horrible! Rose not only cried for 30+ mins but she began to SHRIEK so loud and so fast I don't think that girl was getting any oxygen! She went from a cry to absolutely freaking the f out. This is when I went in to get her and it took forever to calm her down. Scarred by this incident I figured I'd try another route. Just before the teething stage began I tried replacing formula with a bottle of room temp water.. this worked one night. For the following couple days they proceeded to cry 5-10 mins after putting them back to bed with the water and then following the same pattern over the course of the night until they were fed. I do not plan to do CIO while they are teething, however I'd like to set up another game-plan for once the phase is over with [maybe in a couple more weeks]. I know a lot of mama's on her are a big fan of CIO. I guess my question is based more towards you.. If you did CIO, how the heck did it work when the babies were sharing rooms? One wakes the other half the time and then their both crying/screaming and feeding off of each others furry. How did you do it and what 'strategies' worked best for you? Sorry this is long!! TIA!!!
One thing we did was to set up a pnp in our bedroom. Its not ideal, but if you want to sleep train them separately and then deal with putting them back together later it will work. The other thing you can do is just do CIO for both. If the other wakes up, it sounds like she was going to eventually wake up anyway (if you are getting up 4x/night). Any idea why they are waking (aside from teething)? Are they eating/drinking well during the day? How much are they napping during the day? When does their last nap end? What time do they go to sleep? Do you have white noise in their room? GL!
How do you put a pnp in your bedroom if you don't go to bed at the same time as the babies? We go to bed usually 1-1.5 hrs after the girls and they are very light sleepers. They typically nap 2-3 hrs a day with their last nap being 4-4.5 hrs before bedtime [we're on the 2/3/4 schedule]. We have four [well rounded] solid feedings, 2 snacks, and about 4-5 6oz bottles, and offer sippies thruought the day. We've used a sound machine since they were born.
I never split mine up either. My boys are amazing sleepers at night though-so that helps. I do not believe they have ever woken up due to teeth, etc. There was ONE time when one woke up in the middle of the night and I knew his cry wasn't right-he had a fever of 102! Other than that-they sleep soundly at night. Naptime however, one wakes and the other sleeps-through ALL the crying-and he can cry let me tell you! I would say 99% of the time, he'll sleep through the cries of his brother. I would do what Leighann suggested with a PNP. I did try that for a few days when Anthony was taking 30 minute naps and waking up screaming and I wanted to get him to go back to sleep. It didn't work...lol...but he's now sleeping for 60 minutes which is better than nothing. Nicholas is more active and requires more sleep. You do what works best for your family. Whatever it is-I hope they are STTN soon!!!
I put her in the pnp and leave the room! When we go to bed, we just use the light from our bathroom to find our PJs, etc. But I guess our girls are heavier sleepers because they definitely don't wake up when we go to bed. GL figuring this all out. There is nothing more stressful for me than sleep issues with my girls. :hug:
Sleep issues are so hard to deal with! My boys did CIO in the same room. They will sleep through each others' cries most of the time and the rare time they would wake each other up, I just remained consistent and they would both eventually get back to sleep. When mine would wake up the first time, I would get them up, usually give Tylenol in case there is some pain, and a sippy of water. Then I would explain to them in words that it was night time and that they had to go back to sleep. This was not a magic bullet, but it did seem to help - they always understand a lot more than we give them credit for. If they woke up again, I would not go in and just let them work it out on their own. Usually the first night is hardest and then it gets easier from there. :hug: I know CIO is sooooooo hard, but it's really worth it in the end.
