Thank you!

Ladies -
I cannot thank you ENOUGH for your advice on an earlier thread. I have 7 mo old twins who were not going to sleep on their own, and having tons of night wakings. Well, we finally did CIO last week/this weekend. The first night the crying/fussing went on for about an hour, the next night less than 30 minutes. Night #3, 5 minutes, and last night, NOTHING. Just laid them down and they did some babbling and poof sleeping.
Of course night #1 was the hardest, and I was really not looking forward to #2, but my DH helped me have the strength.
During the night the wakings also stopped being as frequent. #1 - only 2 wakings, #2 - 1, and the past 2 nights they've been sleeping from 10-6 straight!!!!!!!!! Ohhhh my, sleep! I feel like I'm able to be a much better, well rested, patient mommy now that I'm getting some sleep!

Now, the newest issue - naps - they don't want to take them. Used to be I'd pop in the paci, walking around or rock them both, and within 5-10 minutes they'd be asleep. They are fighting it like crazy. So now do I do the lay them down and let them put themselves to sleep? This morning we are trying it, and they've been talking, babbling, sometimes fussing, a few outright crys...... 30 minutes later, still no sleeping babies..

THANKS AGAIN LADIES! You have saved this momma's sanity! :grouphug:

 

:clapping: for sleep! I did CIO for bedtime b/c we didn't have nap issues at that time. Around 8 months (and the first teeth) they started fighting naps and I did CIO again. Some naps were short, but it only lasted a few days and they got back on track. Hang in there!

 

:woo: Yay for sleep! Yes, I would do the same thing for naps.

 

Sorry to hijack, but I have a follow up question: When you do CIO at night, do you also just let them cry when they wake up in the middle of the night? How do you know if they are might actually need to eat or have some other issue?

Thanks!

 

Well, at the advice of other ladies, I went to them then in the middle of the night. I am breast feeding, so I offered each time the woke, checked them diaper wise, etc. Once they finished nursing, some pats, and back in the crib. A few pats in the crib, and I left whether they were awake or not. The middle of the night, after they had CIO to go to bed at 7 pm, seemed to fix itself.... at least for me (this time!).

Hope that helps.

 

:woo: for sleeping babies! I would do the same thing for naps as well.

 

Glad they are sleeping better at night. I would do the same thing for naps. If you get the timing of the naps right and have a nice nap routine, there probably won't be much crying. They will know what to expect.

 

We also lay them down for naps at set times (unless looking tired sooner) and let them fall asleep. DS usually falls right to sleep unless he is overtired and then he may fight it and fuss for up to 30 min. DD sometimes plays for a good half hour before she falls asleep...you can hear her squealing and talking. We start the "timer" at when they fall asleep and make sure they stay in their cribs at least 30 min from when they fall asleep. When we first started it DS would cry longer. According to HSHHC Dr. Weissbluth recommends limiting the trying for naps to 1 hour and if after 1 hour they haven't fallen asleep to get them up and try again later.

I also will go in if they wake at night and offer to nurse. If they take it, I feed then lay them down whether awake or asleep and they put themselves back to sleep. We put them down at 7 and they wake between 6:30-7:30. We dream feed at 11ish and they usually sleep all the way through after that. If they cry out before 11 PM or after 5 AM (unless it's a "something's wrong" type of cry) we leave them in bed and let them put themselves back to sleep.

Doesn't it feel so wonderful to be getting sleep again?!? Congrats on your sleeping babies!