I'm doing my own method of sleep training!

I started sleep training my girls yesterday after their pedi advise I do exclusive CIO. My heart could not take that even though I know it doesn't damage them or anything. So we are doing one step at a time! I took away their swaddle blankets yesterday and so far so good! My LO who I thought would do worse is actually doing really well. She has learned to suck her thumb (I sucked my thumb until I was 12 so I am not shocked!). I also have kicked them out of my bed. No more moving in with mommy at 2am! They have had to CIO a little but never more than 5 minutes (and normally its just a little fussing not screaming) without me going in to soothe without picking up. They are still in their swings which I am 100% okay with for now. One LO is rolling back to front non stop so I am afraid she will want to sleep on her belly in the crib anyway which will completely stress me out. I am thinking about getting a video monitor for the next step... I'm feeling very proud of myself and my girls today so I wanted to share

 

I'm glad the sleep training is going well so far. It sounds like they are doing great! And as for not doing CIO, it isn't for everyone. You definitely have to find what works for you. And once you decide to move them to the crib, I wouldn't worry about her sleeping on her tummy. Once they are big enough & strong enough to roll over on their own, my doctor has always said they are fine to just leave that way.

 

I'm glad it's going well so far! Keep up us posted.

 

It sounds like you are doing great. Just remember, it gets harder before it gets better because at some point they will realize you mean it and put up a fuss. Good luck!

 

I'm glad it's going well for you! GL.

 

Sounds like you are doing great! Glad to hear an update. My goal at 4 months (and DH was deployed) was to get them out of my bed. I wound up moving the cribs into my room (mini cribs so really easy) and then every day moved the cribs closer to their room. Once they were mostly down the hallway, I pushed them into their room. I hope that makes sense! It sounds a little silly now!

 

:yahoo: Congratulations!

 

Don't feel like you need to get a video monitor just because of the baby rolling on to their tummy, since they have enough upper body strength to not suffocate. But if you just want to keep an eye on them like we do - then go for it! We LOOOOVE the Summer Infant digital video monitor!! We got one a few months ago when it was on sale at Amazon for $150, which was a lot of money but it had great reviews, and we read somewhere that a digital monitor is supposedly more secure than one using Mhz (as in it was possible that your neighbor could potentially see your monitor images on their Mhz video receiver if they had a baby monitor too - but we haven't verified that statement). Anyway we figured that one video monitor would be enough to monitor both boys since we can use the handheld unit to pan around the room and zoom. But the camera would have to be placed up in a corner and therefore we wouldn't be able to really zoom in good....so we splurged and bought a second one! LOL We mounted a nail over each crib and hung the cameras on them, and now we have two (cordless, rechargeable) handheld units that we use to monitor our babies. When they start stirring we can look and see if they are really waking up (head popped up looking around) or just laying there making noises in their sleep, in which case we don't bother going in there. And we can see when they get their face totally smushed up against the crib bumper, and we'll go in and reposition them. Are two digital video monitors overkill? Yes, totally But we really like having them!

Good luck with your sleep training! Your LOs sound like they are adjusting great, and hopefully they'll be STTN very soon!

 

How long do I let them cry?! I am going in every ten minutes to try to soothe them and it has stopped working. Should I stop going in or just pick them up? It breaks my heart. I know they are just MAD MAD MAD and not hurting or anything but its still horrible. I don't want to lose all the progress we have already made.

 

Okay, they are asleep! I busted out some Christmas songs and rubbed their bald heads but they are asleep in their crib, unswaddled. This has never happened before. This sounds like progress to me! Time to write a 12 page paper...

 

It is so hard not to rush in the second they cry. I heard Brandon start to make a ruckus and saw him twisting and turning on the video monitor, so I immediately dimmed the lights and got ready to sprint in there and scoop him up, but watched him on the monitor for another minute....and then he went back to sleep. Phew.

Glad your LOs liked having their noggins rubbed and went to sleep! I so love to rub, kiss, inhale (LOL) our boys' little baldy heads. They are just so darn soft and smell good too!