I need an alternative to CIO

I was wondering in anyone had suggestions to putting babies to sleep without CIO. We usually try putting my DD down to bed about 4 times before she will actually lay down and stay asleep. Once she is asleep she sleeps 5-7 hours which is really nice. It is just really hard to get her to sleep that first time. Any suggestions?

 

I was wondering in anyone had suggestions to putting babies to sleep without CIO. We usually try putting my DD down to bed about 4 times before she will actually lay down and stay asleep. Once she is asleep she sleeps 5-7 hours which is really nice. It is just really hard to get her to sleep that first time. Any suggestions?

 

Right now, it's best to gain trust and security from your child. You really shouldn't even try CIO until they are over 6 months old. Keep up what you are doing, they will eventually get into a better pattern and won't need to be put down so many times before sleeping. Right now, they are still so tiny - they just need you to comfort them and be there for them. HTH

 

Yeah, at that age CIO is not a proper tool to use. CIO is for later on, when you are sleep training.

For us, we would swaddle them and give them a binky. That would usually help. If it didn't, then we would rock them (or bounec them on the edge of our bed) or put them in the swing. To be honest, they spent the first few months of their lives swaddled in those swings!

 

Mine just figured out how to put themselved to sleep. During the day they would hang out and nap on and off all day. At night, we didn't put them in the crib until the last bottle of the day--11 pm, and at that point they were drowsy from eating and went right to bed.

 

I agree, CIO is too young right now. IMO, at one month, you just gotta do what you gotta do to get some sleep, if that means in the swing, bouncy chair, holding them or whatever.

 

Our dd was very similar. She also cried A LOT, which was scary sometimes because my dh and I would try all sorts of things to comfort her and she still cried. Thank God nursing usually helped, but I would end up nursing her for 2-3 hours sometimes. We just stayed with her. When she would taper off her crying and notice she was sleepy enough to be put down, she would wake up 10-15 minutes later. It was pretty difficult. We just kept at it by picking her up maybe nursing, rocking, walking, etc... oh, and they were swaddled as well, although she does not like the pacifier. Now, she is so much better. I believe we gained her trust and she knows we are nearby. She doesn't cry nearly as much and wakes up maybe once or twice, huge improvement! Just keep comforting her and putting her down, eventually she'll learn how to fall asleep on her own. Let us know about her progress!!!!

 

I don't know if you're already doing this but what I found most useful was to try to put the babies to sleep at the first sign of them being tired. Even before they start yawning and rubbing their eyes they start to fuss a little and stop looking at me or at their toys. This I take as the sign that it is bed time. After noticing these sings I figured out about what time they start to get tired and I started to put them to sleep at the same time every day.
I will not CIO so I parent them to sleep. Till 3 months I would swaddle them and walk them to sleep. Now just walking and talking softly to them will do it quickly. We also use a noise machine or soft music. We started a bedtime routine each night which included bath and feeding where everything was quiet and the lights are all dimmed throughout the house. I think these things (steady time and routine for naps and bedtime) create cues that they now respond to quicker.
One book I found very helpful is THe No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and William Sears.
Good luck and I hope you all get some sleep.

 

We love the Good Night Sleep Tight book by Kim West aka Sleep Lady.

 

THe Happiest Baby on the Block is a great book for newborns. Swaddle, Shush, Swing, and Suck (pacifier). You can't spoil a baby that young. I agree with what the PP say too.

Another great book to read to help learn how sleep develops in babies is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It really explains how sleep changes in the first year. VERY HELPFUL and wished I had had when my kiddos were your age.

BUT just so you know.. as you have gotten alot of suggestions for books, many of the sleep books tell how sleep progresses in babies, they just tell different strategies for dealing with problems that develop.

y the way the fact that your baby is already sleeping 5-7 hours that young is great!!!! MIne were still waking every three hours to eat.

OH one more thing, in Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. IT says that in ALL babies, 6 weeks old tend to be the fussiest times due a depletion in serotonin.

Melissa

 

My twins are about the same age as yours. We often have that problem; they can be SOUND asleep in our arms, and I mean NO amount of jostling will wake them; but as soon as we lay them down, it's all over!
Dr. Sears has someinteresting points about newborn sleep patterns. He says it takes them on av3 20 minutues longer than older babies to actually fall into deep sleep. So even though it looks like they're ready to go, they're actually in a light sleep and will rouse if you try to put them down too early.

My suggestion (whats working for us) is to followthat advise and wait much longer than you think you should the FIRST time before putting her down. That in combo with swaddling and making sure they're warm should do the trick. There's nothing like going from Mommy's warm heated body to a cold bed!

Good luck and hang in there! Much too young for CIO!