,Sleep Training - Chicago,IL

Hello
I went through a very similar situation. I tried to 'sleep train' my daughter at 4 months. We tried the cry it out method and it did not work for us. I know many parents who swear by it. After about a week of hour PLUS crying each night we went back to rocking her to sleep. Around 7 months she started to put herself to sleep. She is now also most 9 months and MOST nights she puts herself to sleep BUT occasionally we need to rock her to bed. She just started putting herself to sleep for her naps. My suggestion is to go with your gut. If you do not feel right than stop it. You could always try again when she is a little older.

We had great luck starting about 7 months with our twins, and I had the feeling that it was just the right time for them. It might not be time yet for your baby. I do have a friend who had to do 2 weeks before her daughter really got it, but she was much older (maybe over a year.) Were you having difficulty with her staying asleep before? I wouldn't do it unless you think she (and you) really need it and are ready. That said, we did really need it, but the "magic" results didn't totally stick and we've had ups and downs. And napping is harder than nighttime sleeping. When I started putting mine down in their cribs awake for naps they would cry and then only sleep 30 minutes tops, but slowly over time the nap time has increased and they don't protest too much anymore.

I used my sleep-training methods after my kids turned 4 months. However, I did not remove the naptime or bedtime feedings until much later. Yes...I know experts tell us not to allow our kids to become dependant upon a feeding before sleep...blah, blah, blah...but it didn't harm my kids at all. In fact, I didn't take away the nap/bedtime feedings until I weaned them from their bottles at 12 months old.

I'm sure you are replacing the feeding at an earlier time (instead of eliminating the feeding). But it's tough on a little one to make so many changes at the same time. Just work on sleep training now, and worry about weaning from feedings later.

If you return to the pre-sleep feedings...be sure to wipe her gums and teeth with a washcloth before you put her to bed, so she does not encounter dental problems down the line. Wiping the gums/teeth should be enough to wake her up to a drowsy state (my babies did NOT like having their gums/teeth wiped, and I usually had to add one more soothing step!)

Also, your baby is too young to sleep 12 hours through the night without a feeding. Wait until she turns 9 months old (and your Pediatrician is okay with it) to eliminate your night feedings during the 12 hour period.

Hang in there!

There is another sleep regression that happens on at 6mo. There are more breastfeeding friendly sleep solutions out there so CIO is not the only option. After all why ditch the breast completely if it works. Sleep begets sleep in my experience, and it is very normal for kids not to sleep through the night in the first year or two. I tried everything with my son and it just never worked. In the end, he just had to get to that developmental milestone on his own and nothing I did helped before that.

Dr. Jay Gordon has a very good thing that others have used on their younger nursing infants with good results: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp

I forget who wrote it but I also heard many good things about No Cry Sleep Solution.

I haven't used anything on my daughter because it just doesn't feel right to me. Plus, she needs the extra calories she consumes at night despite my preference to stop her. Dr. Jay Gordon strongly advocates that if something doesn't feel right to you don't use it. If whatever sleep solution you are using doesn't feel right stop. I hope this helps. Good luck.