Crying It Out - El Dorado Hills,CA

I agree he is old enough to sleep through the night without any problems. Personally I had great luck with the BabyWise method - what finally made the difference for me was putting the baby to bed very early (around 6pm). Maybe you are already doing that, but if not, give it a try and that may make the difference. I found that my daughter slept very soundly and that her big sister didn't wake her up with the typical 2 year old bedtime routine.

Also what really helped me was the idea of giving the baby "big, full meals" rather than the snacks that my older one had been used to. In other words, I'd hold off on feeding her until she woke up from naptime/bedtime, so she would be HUNGRY when she woke up - and would eat a big meal. That big meal would hold her over 4 hours at least, at which point she'd eat another big, full meal. She would wake up after having slept 8+ hours at night, at which point she'd be ravenous. I'd feed her, and she'd go back to sleep for another 4-5 hours. So, I never had to use the CIO method because essentially she scheduled herself into sleeping through the night. It took a few weeks to get her sleeping through the night (she was a newborn when we started the BabyWise thing), but in my opinion it was totally worth it, AND painless, which was great. I'd recommend the BabyWise book whole heartedly - it's a quick read and made a HUGE difference for us.

Hi A.,
Before you do anything, go get the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It is a terrific book with age appropriate sleep needs and schedules. Dr. Weissbluth is an expert in sleep. I have used this book since my daughter was born and she is a great sleeper. What is your current sleep schedule for him? At 4 months old, he may still need to eat at night. In fact, Dr. Weissbluth says to continue night feeding until age 9 months. I wouldn't move him into another room yet, try moving him farther from your bed. If he wakes two hours after the last feeding, wait a little bit before responding. It also depends on if you are breastfeeding or formula feeding. Breast fed babies generally eat more often than formula fed babies. Make sure he is getting enough daytime sleep and going to bed early enough so he won't be overtired and unable to sleep well at night. I can't suggest Dr. Weissbluth's book enough!
Sincerely,
L.

4 months old seems young to expect him to sleep through the night. I hear some babies do it, but it depends on the child. (Mine certainly didn't!) Personally, I think he's still too young to be away from you at night. It's been a while, but I recall my younger one being in a bassinet until she outgrew it and no longer woke up for feedings which was around 1 year old.

I think if you are going to try it, I would work on syncing up the kids' schedules as much as possible and teaching your 2 year old to be quiet at bedtime. Maybe work with reading before going to bed and once he goes to bed it's "quiet time."

I'm not a proponent of crying it out either. It's seems counterintuitive and goes against everything I've learned in childhood development classes. Good luck!

A.,

Your baby is too young for the cry it out method. I personally don't agree with it, but if it worked for you with your other children-- maybe just wait till your baby is a little older before doing it. As far as bedtime goes, this is my suggestion:

2 yr old bath,books, bedtime wait 1 hr before putting baby in the room. Even if your 2 year old wakes up to the baby crying or the baby wakes the 2 year old up, they will adapt with a little time.

Good luck!!!

Molly

4 months seems a little early to me - I always waited till 6 months, then I made them all cry it out. But if you've had luck with 4 months, then go for it.