Ok, so I mentioned in my 7 month post that I'm trying to get Levi to sleep through the night. I'm asking for advice:
- How did you get your kid to sleep through the night? (I realize all kids are different, but I need ideas)
- How old was your baby when they started sleeping through the night and how many hours do you consider sleeping through the night to be? (again, I realize all babies are different)
- For moms of completely breastfed babies (no formula, no bottles, hardly any solids to make a difference)...did your baby ever sleep through the night without any supplemental feeding?
If you used the CIO method:
- Did you just suddenly stop feeding them at night or did you gradually space the feeds out further and further apart until they were sleeping through?
- Did you change anything about daytime feeds to accommodate for no night-time feeds?
- When they're crying, what exactly did you do when you went in after 5 min, 10 min, etc?
- Is it normal for a baby to scream on the top of their lungs like never before for 40 minutes straight?
- Do you let your baby CIO every single time they wake up at night?
- How many nights did it take?
- Do I just need patience and a hard heart? haha. Seriously though, is it possible I'm doing it wrong? Or do I just need to persevere through the blood-curdling screams?
Any advice you have is welcome. Obviously I've thought about this lots and talked to a few people...read books and such. So I know a bit about putting a baby to bed and helping them sleep through the night. BUT, assume I know nothing and tell me every little detail of what you know. I'm all ears! Is it possible that he's just not ready?
8 comments:
Some quick thoughts:
* most of my kids were about 8 weeks old when they started sleeping 6 hours or more through the night
* yes, my babies slept through the night without supplemental feeding, however, they were much younger than Levi
* I am sure that I spaced the feedings out further and further but I also cluster fed later evening to give that extra boost, making sure to empty both breasts completely
* no change in daytime feeds
* no, I didn't let them CIO every single time, I would check on the situation and assess each one separately
* I remember Payton taking 5 nights - and it was a long 5 nights but it worked!!
* you do need patience and a timer and a husband totally on board to help you through this time.
* I totally think Levi is ready to do this. I am surprised he wakes up to eat as often as he does at his age and is still such a little thing. Maybe its possible he is getting lots of the foremilk and less hindmilk (where all the fat is?). Of course, my kids were all different sizes, too! But I believe Levi is now trained to wake up as often as he does and it will take retraining to teach him that he doesn't need to eat that often. But, as I said, my babies were much younger. Good for you for asking the questions!
You'll get so many different answers and opinions! But here's mine :-)
Our boys slept through the night at 6 wks, 8 wks, and 12 wks. The method we used was from the Babywise book. Basically, it's feed them every 3 hrs until they sleep through the night. They need to have a full feeding, be awake for a bit, and then be put down to sleep. This way the theory is that they will learn to fall asleep on their own. I'm not sure how it goes since Levi is an older baby already and would need to be "re-trained" to fall asleep on his own?? So I never had to do cry it out at night, they just naturally quit waking up.
For naps though I had to train them to fall asleep on their own...I would let them cry 10 min then go pat them talk to them for a minute and leave without picking them up. If they keep crying go in after 15 min and do the same thing. Go in every 15 min. It only took 2 of my boys a few days to a week to figure this one out. It took Carter a good 1 1/2 yrs though :-) haha
anyways, my recommendation would be to read the Babywise book! It saved me trouble...and you only need to take from it what you feel is right for you and Levi.
My son was supplemented from 2 weeks on with one 8 oz bottle of formula because he wasn't getting enough and starving. He slept through the night at about 2 months. From about 10 at night till 6 am, I'd give a bottle and some times he'd fall asleep till 8 or so. I did the CIO methond at 5 months because he started to wake up because he'd roll on his tummy and he HATED it. Yes it's normal for a kid to cry at the top of their lungs for over 40 mins. My son did it for an hour and a half the first night, 45 mins the second and it got better the more consistent I was. And I did the CIO method because it was dr. recommended to do it around that age and not wait too long to start it. Didn't take long and he was finally content to sleep on his tummy. It's hard but you can do it if that's what you want!
I just figured out how many ounces a kid needed in a day and made sure he ate that during the day and that he had a full bottle at night so I knew when he woke up that he wasn't hungry. I breast fed till he was 5 and a half months.
Hey Niki! I don't think I've commented before, but I've began to read your blog every once and a while. Caleb started sleeping through the night at 2 1/2 months... since he was a formula baby we didn't feed him during the night after that since we always knew exactly what he consumed during the day. Caleb just started sleeping all the way through on his own... we did nothing :) Emerson started to sleep through the night from about 2 months, but began to wake up once to eat at about 5 1/2 months. Since I had to wait an extra few weeks to introduce solids due to the wait for allergy testing, I decided to give into the middle of the night feedings since I knew she was getting hungrier-- since she's a breastfed baby I felt like I had less control over how much she ate. Once she began to eat solid food more regularly I cut the night feeding with the CIO method. First night was 2 hours of crying-- I went in to soothe her (didn't work :) but didn't pick her up. Next night... she slept straight through. She wakes up every so often, but we just let her "talk" in her crib until she goes back to sleep-- if she gets worked up we'll go check on her but never pick her up. I hate the CIO method... but it's worked for my kiddos. Once they slept through the night one time... there's no going back. I know they don't need to eat... so it's easier not to give in!! Hope things work for you! Once you get into a pattern it should get better...
We also did the CIO method starting around 6.5 months. I definitely agree with what the others are saying - you and your husband need to be totally on board and committed to doing this if you're going to. As soon as your baby learns that crying for long enough gets them picked up they will keep crying until that happens. What I figure is this: I know my son isn't hungry, he isn't hurt, and he certianly does need sleep. It takes a few VERY painful nights of crying, but it DOES get better. It really does. I figure I'd rather have a few sleepless nights in exchange for many nights where I can sleep all the way through :)
Rebekah said:
My son was supplemented from 2 weeks on with one 8 oz bottle of formula because he wasn't getting enough and starving. He slept through the night at about 2 months. From about 10 at night till 6 am, I'd give a bottle and some times he'd fall asleep till 8 or so. I did the CIO methond at 5 months because he started to wake up because he'd roll on his tummy and he HATED it. Yes it's normal for a kid to cry at the top of their lungs for over 40 mins. My son did it for an hour and a half the first night, 45 mins the second and it got better the more consistent I was. And I did the CIO method because it was dr. recommended to do it around that age and not wait too long to start it. Didn't take long and he was finally content to sleep on his tummy. It's hard but you can do it if that's what you want!
Elissa said:
Hey Niki! I don't think I've commented before, but I've began to read your blog every once and a while. Caleb started sleeping through the night at 2 1/2 months... since he was a formula baby we didn't feed him during the night after that since we always knew exactly what he consumed during the day. Caleb just started sleeping all the way through on his own... we did nothing :) Emerson started to sleep through the night from about 2 months, but began to wake up once to eat at about 5 1/2 months. Since I had to wait an extra few weeks to introduce solids due to the wait for allergy testing, I decided to give into the middle of the night feedings since I knew she was getting hungrier-- since she's a breastfed baby I felt like I had less control over how much she ate. Once she began to eat solid food more regularly I cut the night feeding with the CIO method. First night was 2 hours of crying-- I went in to soothe her (didn't work :) but didn't pick her up. Next night... she slept straight through. She wakes up every so often, but we just let her "talk" in her crib until she goes back to sleep-- if she gets worked up we'll go check on her but never pick her up. I hate the CIO method... but it's worked for my kiddos. Once they slept through the night one time... there's no going back. I know they don't need to eat... so it's easier not to give in!! Hope things work for you! Once you get into a pattern it should get better...
Josie said:
We also did the CIO method starting around 6.5 months. I definitely agree with what the others are saying - you and your husband need to be totally on board and committed to doing this if you're going to. As soon as your baby learns that crying for long enough gets them picked up they will keep crying until that happens. What I figure is this: I know my son isn't hungry, he isn't hurt, and he certianly does need sleep. It takes a few VERY painful nights of crying, but it DOES get better. It really does. I figure I'd rather have a few sleepless nights in exchange for many nights where I can sleep all the way through :)
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