When are they old enough to CIO?

My twins are 4 1/2 months and half of the time they go to sleep with no problem, but the other half of the time, whether it be a nap or nighttime, they cry and wiggle around and just will not to to sleep. I'm thinking they are too young, but I'm not sure. When did you do it, and did it work for you?

Thanks,
Carisa

 

I believe we started CIO around 7 months old ~
I am thinking that 4 1/2 mo. is still a little young?

It took us a few nights until they 'got it' and were sleeping peacefully :lazy:

 

For naps I did 5.5 months, for night time 8 months old.

 

4.5 months seems too young to me, but I do know others on here have done it that young (and earlier) so hopefully they will respond to your post with advice.

Have you talked to your kids' pediatrician? Does he/she feel they are ready for CIO? Are you wanting them to soothe themselves to sleep at bedtime or are you wanting them to sleep through the night? Or both? Just trying to get an idea of what sleep issues they are having so maybe someone can respond with more specific advice. :hug: The sleep deprivation is SO hard.

 

I think it depends on the baby. I have one who I am not ready to CIO with yet, mostly because she is easily comforted and will go to sleep much quicker if I run in and soothe her. The other will stop crying the second I pick her up, but then when I lay her down again (asleep or awake), the screaming will start all over again, so I've learned to let her just CIO. The first week she would cry for up to an hour, now she fusses for a few moments and is then out. If it lasts longer than that, or reaches a certain level, I know something else is wrong (gas, birp, dirty diaper, etc.) and I can go in and take care of it.

Bottom line, I don't think there's a right answer. I think it varies based on the baby and parent! Good luck!

 

we did CIO when the girls were 3.5 months old (8 weeks adjusted) - it was the right decision for us for a number of reasons & i don't regret it at all.

you mention in your post though that you think they are too young - my guess is that you'll have a really tough time sticking with it if you don't think they're ready yet. there are lots of other options for sleep training that you could try (if you haven't already) - they just tend to be a bit more labour intensive on your part. good luck with your decision!

 

I did it much earlier. Yeah, the books say one thng, but the books do not know your life (neither does your pediatrician). You have to follow your heart. You will do what is best for you and your children. If you think that your children are ready for that, then do it.

I do not regret it one bit. The boys go down great and we can have a life with friends and such....

GL,
Jenn

 

QUOTE(carisa @ Jun 22 2009, 05:38 PM) [snapback]1364623[/snapback]
My twins are 4 1/2 months and half of the time they go to sleep with no problem, but the other half of the time, whether it be a nap or nighttime, they cry and wiggle around and just will not to to sleep. I'm thinking they are too young, but I'm not sure. When did you do it, and did it work for you?

Thanks,
Carisa



we never did it, because it wouldnt have worked for our family. We chose another route, if you're interested read a copy of Elizabeth Pantlys the No Cry sleep Solution. Although honestly I think your gut is the best indicator of any decisions that come to your children and family.

 

QUOTE(miss_bossy18 @ Jun 22 2009, 11:06 PM) [snapback]1364746[/snapback]
we did CIO when the girls were 3.5 months old (8 weeks adjusted) - it was the right decision for us for a number of reasons & i don't regret it at all.

This was for naps right?

I think there is a big difference between CIO for naps and CIO for night wakings. Most infants, especially small infants and preemies, have a biological need to eat during the night. It is important for their health and development. The Hea;thy Sleep Habits book that everybody uses around here suggests that by 9 months you can be farily certain that night waking is not hunger related. I think the vast majority of babies outgrown the necessity to eat during the night well before 9 months, but at only 4 months I suspect most still need to eat during the night.

So I guess I'm reiterating that they are probably too young for CIO for night wakings (assuming it's not one hour after you fed them), but for naps it might be a different story. I followed the Healthy Sleep Habits book, and started CIO for naps at 5 months.

 

QUOTE(sullivanre @ Jun 23 2009, 08:09 AM) [snapback]1365137[/snapback]
This was for naps right?

I think there is a big difference between CIO for naps and CIO for night wakings. Most infants, especially small infants and preemies, have a biological need to eat during the night. It is important for their health and development. The Hea;thy Sleep Habits book that everybody uses around here suggests that by 9 months you can be farily certain that night waking is not hunger related. I think the vast majority of babies outgrown the necessity to eat during the night well before 9 months, but at only 4 months I suspect most still need to eat during the night.

So I guess I'm reiterating that they are probably too young for CIO for night wakings (assuming it's not one hour after you fed them), but for naps it might be a different story. I followed the Healthy Sleep Habits book, and started CIO for naps at 5 months.


thank you for pointing this out, i should have clarified - we did it to get them to sleep at the beginning of the night and for naps, but you're right, we did not do it at that age to eliminate night wakings. we had 3 night time feeding sessions at that point, although it wasn't long after that they dropped down to 2. we did a dreamfeed up until they were around 8.5 months old.

 

I never did CIO, but I thought I would need to so I did a lot of research. The absolute earliest I found one doc say is 12 weeks adjusted age, however most experts agree not until at least 6 months.

 

We asked our dr about it at our 4 month appt ... she said it was fine ... like others said, we did it for naps, and for them to get to sleep at night ... ours started STTN on their own at just over 4 months, so that's when we decided to do CIO to get them to sleep. It was just too much spending 45 minutes trying to rock them to sleep, when they would immediately pass out in our arms, but cry as soon as they hit the crib. that's why we did it. It worked in a few nights ... if they cried in the middle of the night, we would always go and check on them ... even to this day! But that's because mine so rarely wake at night, if they do, I worry that something is wrong!

So, when we finally did CIO, they were 4.5 months. They are now wonderful sleepers ... I would like Hailey to sleep a bit later (she's up at 6am on the dot!) but honestly, I can't complain!

 

We just did CIO at 5 an abit months. So far it has resolved bedtime issues, they go down for naps (working on lengthening them) and nightwakings are alot less than before however we do still do 1 feed about 4 or 5 if they wake. It has been the hardest thing i have ever had to do but been so worthwhile i would recommend doing it if you are sure your baby has the ability to self soothe. good luck

 

6 months here.

 

Thank you ladies for all the replies. I was thinking more for naps and the middle of the night. They don't take bottles anymore at in the middle of the night and go right back to sleep after me popping the paci back in during the night, so I was thinking maybe cio may be the next step. I just wasn't sure if they were too young. But it sounds like some people have done it even younger, which makes me feel better. I will certainly ask their Ped next time I go in. I just feel bad listening to them cry, but I also REALLY want them to self soothe. They sleep pretty well as it is at night, so hopefully doing the CIO won't be such a big deal as I'm making it out to be.....

 

In general for most babies, I think 4 1/2 months is a little early for full-blown CIO. I would not think twice about letting them fuss for 10-15 minutes though. Just not full-blown CIO. But, for me, it's really dependent upon your babies temperments and ability to self-soothe. My DS had really no self-soothing ability at 4 1/2 months and wouldn't have learned to self-soothe through CIO at that age, so it would have been inappropriate for us and probably counterproductive. My DD was a great sleeper and benefitted from a few minutes of fussing rather than picking her back up.

We did full-blown CIO at 7 months.