[BlessedbySnuggs]

There is no particular rule to go by, but yes, the 10-15 minutes generally works (for us); again, in saying that we are very, very lucky....M doesn't normally wake up. But, yes, if she wakes up, we don't go in there (unless she is sick) and she ALWAYS has fallen back asleep on her own. Never has she not fallen back asleep within 5-10 minutes. Normally, its a lot faster than that. I know its really hard not to go back in; trust me, I have a hard time with the "mommy" calls.

I don't generally go "by the books". Not saying it is a bad thing, I have just realized in reading them, that every child is different and the "rules" don't work for every child.

But again, I still rock my baby asleep. It works for us. She goes to sleep and sleeps all night (99% of the time). But she has been sleeping through the night since she was 4-5 months old. Guess we have been extrememly lucky!!!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[nikkianni]

Originally Posted by cborsa7

LOL, mine called me dada for awhile too.
A note about the 15 minutes. If you are trying what's known as Ferber and waiting to go in. It WILL NOT usually work if you do it incorrectly. The chances for success are slim to none. 15 minutes is to long before returning on day 1. That is why it does get a bad wrap because the system is misunderstood. I'll look for my book and post you the first weeks times, but 15 minutes isn't even close, it's done in increments each time you go back. I'll try to post it by tonight.

Does this work if the baby is in your room? Because I'll move her back to hers and have a bad weekend if someone can promise me I'll be able to sleep an entire night again.

[cborsa7]

First I respectfully disagree that there is no rule to go by. The professionals at the sleep center definatly use a strict process and success is usually seen within a few days. This is usually why you will hear someone say it didn't work for them. Key is being consistent. Rocking may be working for you at this point, and that's great if it is. I will also ask you again in a few years.

We have 3 children 18,10 and 17 months. Both Bio children had sleep issues (like most children). I rocked my oldest to sleep until she was 2 1/2, and then she slept in her crib all night. Once out of the crib I was never able to keep my oldest in a bed on her own and it was always an all night event with her.To this day she has a hard time sleeping alone. A friend from High school lost her child to co-sleeping so this has never been an option for us. When we brought Nic home I knew I wasn't ready to go through all the sleepless nights anymore. I spent a lot of time in Guatemala before bringing him home and waited until I felt he was adjusting well before seeking professional help.

Below is the process we used found in the book. Continue to rock your child and have that snuggle time. Start this process at a reasonable bedtime for the child. When the child is normally falling asleep, that may be different than your time now if you rock for a long time. It is important to start this when the child is getting drowsy on their own. Do whatever your bedtime ritual is, rocking, bathing, reading, whatever. Then as you see they are getting drowsy lay the child in the crib. Don't make a big deal out of leaving. Tuck them in and say goodnight. The crying WILL usually start. When it does follow this schedule:
Day 1: after 3 minutes return to the room, if they are standing, lay the child down, tuck in, say goodnight. No more than 2 minutes of soothing and DO NOT pickup. Remember you are soothing and reassuring, not trying to just stop the crying.
leave the room again and wait 5 minutes. Repeat the steps. DO NOT pickup the child. 3rd wait is 10 minutes, same thing repeat the process. DO NOT pickup. All subsequent waits will be at 10 minute intervals the rest of day 1.
Day 1 took me an hour. I was NOT happy and obviously my little guy wasn't either. But, off to sleep and no wakings all night.
Day 2: same process as above but first wait time is now 5 minutes before return. 2nd wait time goes to 10 minutes, 3rd to 12 minutes and then 12 minutes the rest of day 2 until a sleep.
Day 2 took me 20 minutes. Now, I'm loving this.
Day 3: same process again 1st wait time 10 minutes, 2nd wait time 12 minutes and then 15 minutes rest of day 3.
Day 3 a sleep in 14 minutes. I'm really loving this!

Each day after 3 you increase the increments before you go in. Day 3 for me was all it took. Day 4, no cry and went to sleep. Hasn't been an issue since unless I rock until fully a sleep, then I have to restart this from the beginning again. The only time I do that is if he is sick. The sleep center suggested being patient with this 1 week. Some get it quickly, some don't.

There really is so much information and variations you can try in the book so I still suggest getting a copy. If they wake in the middle of the night, it is the same process. Start your intervals again the same way until back to sleep. Mine still will cry out in the middle of the night, but is back to sleep before the 10 minutes I give it to go in. If your little one is soothed by music, I also suggest a crib soother/music player. I bought this at Target and it sets to play for 10 minutes upon the sound of a cry.

I hope this gives you something to try and be successful with. Remember, the first night will probably be awful. Mostly for you. Good Luck!

[Stormster]

Well T I guess Kelly said it all!

[BlessedbySnuggs]

Yes, we can respectfully disagree!

I am definitely not saying that that method doesn't work; I'm just stating that every child is different and therefore certain methods aren't going to work for every child. Honestly, I believe that to be true for life in general. What works for some people doesn't work for others.

Anyway, off to bed....hope everyone has a great evening.

[nikkianni]

Kelly: We'll start Friday night! It's going to drive DH nutty but he'll have to deal with it. Did they say anything about doing this when the child is sleeping in your room?
I'm wondering if we should move her crib back to her room or if it will just cause extra stress.

Storm: The daddy thing has gotten to be a game. She'll call me daddy, I'll say mommy, she'll grin and then start babbling away.
She also calls my Dad "Daddy Gwampa."

[cborsa7]

Not sure what I would do about the crib in your room. Of course, for this to work you will need to be out of the room. My thought is if they wake in the middle of the night you will have trouble because you are all there. Does she normally sleep through the night once down? If not, I would probably move the crib to her room and start fresh. Make a deal about the move as if it were a toddler bed situation and take time to play and comfort her in there before bed time. Also, I have no idea if this helped or not but we tried it because someone suggested. I put one of my shirts I wore in the crib with my son. He loved to snuggle with it, so I have no idea if this worked for him, but he liked it.

Good Luck, Let us know how your doing!

[finallyamom0310]

Originally Posted by Stormster

Well T I guess Kelly said it all!

Yes she did. Thanks Kelly. I will look for the crib soother though. She falls asleep to music and has a fan all night so I have been looking for something that will start up again when she crys. does it go off when they cough too?

[cborsa7]

Yes, funny you should ask about the coughing. When I am rocking if it goes off before we are to drowsy state, I cough to set it off again. I love this soother, I do think it helps for him to fall back asleep on his own in the middle of the night. It also comes with a mattress vibration that you can use as well. My son likes this, but I'm sure some may not. It does take a ton of batteries though, be prepared.

[finallyamom0310]

Guess I need to go shopping. Thansk.

[finallyamom0310]

Guess I need to go shopping. Thanks..

[finallyamom0310]

So one night she sleeps through the night and the next she is up again at 3:15 am. I did check on her a few times last night though and I came to a new conclusion as to why she is waking up. Every time I check on her, her head is cm away from the top of the bed. Last night she crawled on top of the covers and was cm away from the foot of the crib. I am wondering if she is waking her self when she tosses and hits her head on the bars? I don't want to invest in a night cam / or somethign that will record her sleeping so anyone have any suggestions on how to determine if this is the issue?

[Stormster]

Is the room warm enough? The question is not if she wakes up but if she can get herself back to sleep. Aclee sent E a glow worm and he loves it. Might be worth a try!

[finallyamom0310]

Yes, the room is warm. Last night was the first time I saw her crawl out of the covers as we just put the film on the windows to keep the heat in.

He has the glow turtle that she can reach and turn on. My thought was more that if she is hitting her head that might be why she stands up in the crib crying for me till I come. I think she is looking for me to kiss it and make it better since she usually is back to sleep after a hug and my starting her music again.

[JGarrick]

Originally Posted by cborsa7

...Day 1: after 3 minutes return to the room, if they are standing, lay the child down, tuck in, say goodnight. No more than 2 minutes of soothing and DO NOT pickup...

I've never read or heard of the book, but that's pretty much what I did and it worked like a charm for all four of ours.

RE: Time to get out of the crib and into a bed

I guess I'm of the opinion that you should get them out when they're capable of climbing out, whether they've tried it or not, because you don't want the first time they try it to be at 3:00 a.m. when you're sound asleep. When we moved them we put a baby gate on the door and baby-proofed the room.

RE: Rocking

If you dont' want to give it up entirely, you could rock for a while at bedtime, then when she's about to fall asleep, walk her to her room. I used to sit with them in their room for a few minutes too, but it made things easier in the long run if I left before they were sleeping, just to establish the idea that they fell asleep without me being there.