Sleep Training, What Had Worked for You?

I used Good Night Sleep Tight by Kim West and it worked fantastically (no cry and ferber didn't work for us). I will say though that whatever method you choose, you have to stick with it b/c unfortunatley teaching a baby to sleep isn't a do it once and then you're done type of things. a lot of things like illness, teething, reaching milestones, etc. disrupt sleep so you can try a method and it'll work and then something like teething wll happen and you have to train all over again. But in terms of methods, like I said I really like Kim West's book. Good luck!

Well for me..in my experience with my two girls who are now 3 1/2 and 18 months and who both got to bed great with no crying and no problems (just lay them down awake and walk out) is that the sleep training did not work until I was completely done breastfeeding them. So for my second she didn't start sleeping through the night until she was 13 months. Once I took out all the breastfeeding she didn't want it anymore and therefore slept all night. Also when you do sleep training you have to stick with it. So say it works for a few nights and then she starts crying again you just have to keep doing the training and not give in. If you are planning on BF until she is a year you only got like 2 more months so I would just keep nursing her until you are ready to stop completely.

Honestly, she sounds like a perfectly normal 10 month old to me. I would just keep nursing her on demand. She is still doing a LOT of growing and may just need the extra breastmilk calories she is getting at night. I honestly prefer to co-sleep with my babies. We all get a good nights rest as I am able to more or less sleep through the nursing sessions.

It's totally normal for a breastfed baby to be waking at night to eat at that age. Normal and healthy for her. One problem with sleep training at such a young age is that there are TONS of sleep disruptions to come: teething, illnesses, growth spurts, milestones. So, whatever you choose to do you may be doing again and again. Here is an article by Dr. Jay Gordon on his night weaning plan, though he doesn't recommend babies be night weaned before 12 mos. But perhaps this will give you some info that would be helpful. http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

Did you really stick with the Pantley method? She says in the book that it is a big commitment of time. I think she says 3 weeks or something along those lines? It's rough but whatever method you do you need to stick with it.

I know it's tough to not get a good night's sleep but it is biologically normal for babies to nurse throughout the night (regardless of what our culture is doing). Though right now it seems like this will last forever, it really is a short time and she will get there before you know it.

are you feeding/nursing her at her growth-spurts?

Your baby... is normal... they wake.

Also, I would make sure that you are producing enough milk... otherwise, she will not be getting enough intake, thus hungry all the time....

Also, do you or your Husband snore at night? Maybe that is what wakes her too?

I used the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"... It really is useful.

Good luck!

Does she have any sort of schedule? I used Babywise. Mainly the routine of eat, awake, sleep. When we were trying to get her to sleep through the night, we were on a 3 hour routine, and I made sure that we didn't go longer than that. At night I would feed in minimal light, no talking, and no changes, and right back to sleep. My son was sleeping through the night by 10 weeks, and my daughter started sleeping through the night at 2 months (although daycare set us back for a week, but we seem to be on track again).

Keep trying the Ferber method. It has worked miracles for me. The first night she cried for 40 min, second night 18 min, then 2min, then 1 min. Now she goes down for naps and night time awake! She is 13 months.

We used the "Sleeping thru the night" by Jodi Mindell. She helped us make the transition to sleeping thru but my daughter was a bit older. I would still check it out. Good luck.

It sounds like you haven't followed completely through with whatever method you're using. Babies are going to have setbacks during the training process and the key to success is to be consistent!
For us The Sleepeasy Solution by Jennifer Waldburger worked wonders.
Good Luck. :-)

My son slept great (over 12 hours a night). BUT he did wake up to eat. As soon as he ate, he went back to sleep. He'd nurse at7ish, then sleep until 10pm, then again around 3am, and then get up at 8ish (he'd eat every 2 hours in the daytime). I was still UP at 10pm, so that was no biggie. 3am, he nursed and passed out again. So I just sleepwalked in, fed him and read a book, and stumbled back to bed.

I count that as 12 hours, because he was actually SLEEPING. I have known so many colicky, ear infection prone, will NOT lay back down, or just "happy to be awake" babies that I counted my lucky stars with just 1 (well, 2 technically) feeding(s) a night (after I was asleep) and that he passed right back out again. He'd occasionally go through a growth spurt and wake up every 2 hours at night, and be cluster feeding every 30 minutes in the daytime... so I definitely had a "comparison" to go off of. Not to mention the times where he was sick and just wanted to be held constantly.

My kiddo was growing, and thus was hungry (he nursed an average of 20oz per feeding). That simple. I had no help... so I learned to read 1/2 asleep to stay awake until he was done.

I've been homeless (back when god was a boy), and as such have woken up starving hungry and not been able to do a thing about it. Each time my son woke or wakes hungry (or on the rare occasions I currently wake up hungry) I *remember* that feeling... the ache and the sadness/fear/pain that happens when you're hungry and 1/2 asleep (instictive maybe?)... and took great joy in having food available. Grumbly "Ugh...Need to pee... what time is it?" joy, to be sure... but there was no way on earth I was going to deny him.

With as fast as he was growing (he was 2 feet long when he was born, and nearly 3 feet tall at his 1 year bday) our ped was surprised he wasn't waking more often... until she glanced at the lactation study. MOST babies can't even hold 20oz in their stomachs. He could.

The Baby Whisperer (T. Hogg) is a more gentle approach. I hated the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. In my opinion, he wanted everyone to basically let their baby cry to sleep for some period of time. We are anti-cry-it-out. I nursed, then rocked, then laid on floor of my son. By exactly 3 yrs. of age, he was falling asleep on his own. He always slept through the night & still does so. We never had problems w/ night waking at all. My 20 mo. old just started sleeping through the night at 18mo!! I think teething really bothered her. We weren't as extreme w/ her. We sat in her room until asleep & still do, but she sleeps well know & it's actually relaxing for us. The Baby Whisperer method worked perfectly for her at 7 months...then teething kicked in again & it went out the window. However, that method allowed us to sit in a chair by the door (no rocking or lying on floor like w/ my son, so it's a big step in the right direction). I'm A-OK w/ sitting in her room for 20 min. 'til she's asleep, even if I have to do it for another year. It's relaxing & she will learn to fall asleep w/out me in the room. I will not let her cry...I don't want any negative sleep associations. I personally know of people where this method really backfired on them. Good luck!

I think you need to choose a method that you agree with, and stick with it. If she wakes up after a few nights, just resume the same method. She needs her sleep, and you need yours. She will eat enough during the day at this age to make up for not eating at night. Definitely do not nurse her when she wakes up. I did cry-it-out years ago with my son and it worked after 4 days. I know some people don't like this method but it's what our pediatrician recommended and it worked. Whatever you choose, don't confuse your child by trying something else. It takes a while for some babies to break the habit and to learn to self-soothe. Good luck.