Remember Operation Cry It Out? Yeah . . . Didn't work out so much. It was going okay for a few days, but then a friend needed to crash on our couch a couple of nights, so I didn't let Elizabeth cry too much. Then, she got a cold, and I never knew if it was hunger or sickness or what making her wake up, so I felt bad letting her cry.Now, she still has a runny nose, but last night she woke up EVERY TWO HOURS. I kid you not. I probably don't need to say that it is killing me. I sometimes think it's the binky; a book we have says at about 4 months babies are aware enough that they'll cry when they wake up after their sleep cycle (90 minutes) and the binky has fallen out. But I can tell when she wakes up and is just fussy as she tries to settle herself down. Lately it's been SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER. Not quite "I fell off the couch on to my face" screaming, but close. Just giving her the binky back isn't enough. I've checked to make sure she's not too hot or cold (but really, how would I know besides cold cheeks or a ton of sweat?) Tylenol has had no affect, nor has a vaporizer or Vicks on the feet w/ socks on. The only thing I can do to calm her is to rock her back to sleep or feed her. Oh, and did I mention that's happening every two hours?!
So what do I do? Try to let her cry it out for real now? And if so, how long will it take? (Cuz it's not just her that will be sleep deprived.) Or is something else the matter and would letting her cry be cruel? Is it gas? Is she possessed? Did I trespass on some Indian burial ground? Voodoo? HELP!
7 comments:
I'm not sure if you've already tried this, but Camille has swaddled her kids, and it has made all the difference, though it took a little getting used to. She told Emily about it, and it has helped them too.
Anyway that's my one piece of info. I'd be happy to ask her for details if you like. Sorry you guys are having a rough time.
We tried the CIO with our son twice; the first time was when he was about seven or eight months. We were soft. We didn't just go in and rub his back - we picked him up to stop him from crying. It didn't work.
The second time was about a month later, and we were consistent. It took three horrible nights, but then it worked. Well, kind of. He would go right to sleep for the first three hours, and then still wake up every three hours. But at least he would just wake up and go right back to sleep. That waking up pattern continued until he stopped nursing completely at about 14 months.
Now we're with the second one and since she's in bed with me, she doesn't cry at night at all. She gets whatever she wants. It's going to be a lot tougher because of the small apartment. Letting her CIO would mean waking up the other one. Argh!
Lots and lots of luck.
I started with letting my husband only go in at night so Damon would know he wasn't going to get fed. He'd rock him for a bit and then put him back in the crib to fuss. After a few days of that, he wouldn't get him up, just pat and sing. Then we didn't go in at all. It was awful for about 3 days, getting a little better each night until he slept through the night. Those three days were really bad--I'd lie there and freak out and cry on Joel's shoulder and it took over an hour for him to fall back to sleep (and our neighbors hated us--yelled down the vent and pounded on the floor). But those three nights of hell (I'd even give it more than that) were completely worth the months of sleeping bliss that followed.
I think it helps that Joel was the only one getting up with him for a few nights. It made him more committed which helped me a ton.
Also, sometimes you have to do it again for a few nights after they get sick or have a routine upheavel.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
How long are you letting her cry for? Sophia had a tough time at about six months, she stopped sleeping through the night. I tried to drop the 11pm feeding to get her to sleep from 8:30pm to 8am and she didn't like it. She'd wake up crying b/t 11 and 1 each night so I decided to let her cry it out (and the binky didn't help. She would just cry). The problem with letting her cry it out was that she gets so hysterical when she's upset that she was so unable to calm herself down w/o a little help from me. She would just cry and cry (my other kids would just fall asleep after only a few minutes). So I let her cry for about 40 to 45 minutes (I would just do dishes or something to distract myself from the crying) and then I would go in and hold her for a minute, long enough to calm her. Then put her back in her bed with her pacifier. She'd get mad and cry for not even a minute and then sleep the rest of the night. I think I did this for three nights until she finally learned to calm herself down and get herself back to sleep. After that she'd wake up sometime in the late evening, cry for 2 or 3 minutes and then fall back asleep. After a few nights of that, she just slept.
There's also a gas medicine you can give babies of all ages which really helped Caitlin at that age.
And are you feeding her solids? One way you know your kids need solids is they have trouble sleeping. She may be hungry. Good luck!!
Thanks for all the suggestions! I hadn't thought of solids. And, Julie, I can't believe your neighbors were so lame! Last night was actually great (only woke up once and I fed her) so we'll see how tonight is.
Hi Emily! I totally know how you feel. I'm not really a big fan of parenting books, but there's a book that helped me with my kids' sleep problems--if nothing else, I'd read it while they cried in the background. Its called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (really corny, I know) but has some really good advice about child development, sleep needs, and when children should be ready to sleep all night. Good luck!
Your picture on this post cracked me up! Good luck with it all, this quote always makes me laugh too!
"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." — Leo J. Burke.
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