Cry it out or Rocking to sleep every night?

Question

I am just trying to hear what other mamas do. I have been rocking my little guy to sleep every night for 30 min -2 hours at times every night. Then he still doesn't sleep through the night most nights. He had a few months where he did but now back to waking up about 1-3 times a night. Sometimes once I pick him up he is instantly asleep and then wakes back up as soon as I try to put him down. Not sure what I can do, considering the cry it out method. Any other suggestions? Or how CIO went for you?

Answer

So I wanted to post an update. After going back and forth about trying it we decided to use CIO after the recommendation of his pediatrician. He now is sleeping within 5-10 minutes of being put in his crib and sleeps all night! I just wish I would've tried it sooner! Thank you all for your responses. :)

Answer

CIO for us. Started at 3 months old. Cried maybe 45 min for a week and since then he's been sleeping 11 hours straight every night. Bed time is 7-730pm he happily goes into his crib wide awake smiling and is sleeping within 10 min every night. 3 hours for mom time every night that means 🤗 it's 730pm here now 🌛

Answer

No CIO. It's short term pain for us and long term gain for baby emotionally

Answer

I would suggest a sleep training book. Find one that has a method that you think you will use and read the whole book. If you are doing CIO, there are rules you need to follow to ensure you are fostering learning and not practicing intermittent neglect or reinforcing old habits. It is crucial to do it right.

I used CIO and it was hard. I was "that" Mom in the hallway outside his room balling my eyes out. But it worked and we are BOTH happier for it. He goes to bed at 7pm and gets up at 6:30am. Every single night.

You can also try putting you baby to bed earlier. Most authors I've read suggest no later than 7/7:30. It seems counterintuitive to put them down earlier for longer sleep but according to what I've read, it totally works.

Answer

We did CIO "extinction" - we took the paci too because he woke multiple times per night when it fell out and he couldn't put it back in on his own. Took two nights of crying (33 minutes the first night, 9 minutes the second night, 30 seconds the third night). He sleeps through the night (7:30 to 6:45) which is an added bonus because CIO doesn't always ensure sleeping through. Anyway, it was the best parenting decision I made. He now takes two naps a day in his crib (usually 1-1.5 hours each) and sleeps about 11 hours overnight. I was suffering from PPD and PPA but now that I'm getting consistent sleep, my symptoms have greatly improved. I highly recommend checking out preciouslittlesleep.com. It's where I got all of my information prior to sleep training. Best of luck to you whatever you decide!

Answer

Had to let her cry.  if I was in the room at all she wouldn't go to sleep and kept looking at me to pick her up. I tried other stuff first but nothing worked   Now she goes right to sleep and sleeps through the night instead of getting up  multiple times

Answer

CIO for us. But I'd go and encourage her without picking her up every 5min, then 7min, 12, 15. The first week or so it took her 45min - 1hr to settle and sleep. But now we lat her down, walk away and she rolls right over. 
We also have a strict bedtime routine that works wonders! Bath, brush teeth, book, bottle, bed. I think these really help trigger the "okay, it's coming, I'm going to bed for the night" mentality. Plus we start at 7-7:30 every night. She's fast asleep by 8.

Answer

I was in the same situation. Honestly I didn't like letting her cry but when she would wake as soon as I put her down, when I first started sleep training, she would fuss for a little and went to sleep right away. Let him cry/fuss for a few min on his own and go back and soothe him and repeat till he falls asleep on his own

Answer

This is my daughter to a T!!! She just turned one on June 21.. one question, she stands up and hangs on to her crib rails just screaming, im so afraid she's going to fall and whack her head or teeth.. did yours do this and did you just let them? I did cry it out at 7 months and it seemed to work great for about a week and then she "relapsed" after a vacation and now I'm back to 0 sleep, long bedtime process of rocking and as soon as she's down she's right back up to sitting up and crying until I come get her.. I am exhausted! A year old and she's slept through the night twice. 8pm-5am. 😞

Answer

Switched to CIO after 8 months of no sleep and now our little guy sleeps like a champ. 8pm-8am every night, no issues

Cry it out or Rocking to sleep every night?

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