This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a month or two. I was so glad to find support for those who are using the No-Cry Sleep Solutions. So few people know much more than CIO methods, MDs included.

I purchased the No-Cry Sleep Solutions book when my daughter Abby was about 4 months old, the time I was told babies can start to learn to put themselves to sleep. She just turned 9 months old last Friday and unfortunately, we have not progressed past phase one. This is in part because life has been pretty chaotic for the past 3 months. We moved from the midwest to the east coast, traveled to family for holidays, and went on a two week vacation at the end of January that was a 5 hour time difference for us. Since we've been back Abby's been getting up at least 8 times a night. Sometimes she's only asleep for 20 minutes. Other times it takes an hour or more to get her back to sleep. Her record is 3 hours. That wasn't fun. The last few nights have been a little bit better, so I'm hoping we are getting on the right track.


Now that we are back and hopefully past the jet lag I hope to move forward with the No cry sleep plan. Honestly, I don't mind being up with my daughter a few times a night, but it really is difficult when it takes an hour to get her back to sleep & she's only asleep for 20-30 minutes before she's up again. And naps aren't much fun, either. She tends to only sleep 1/2 an hour twice a day. I've tried soothing her back to sleep like the book recommends, but I'd say it only works 20% of the time. I even sleep with her & that doesn't help, either.

For a little background info, Abby is our first child. She was exclusively breastfed up until 6 months, when we started solids. She still nurses 6-8 times a day (at least!) and I am very happy to continue this. For the most part we practice attachment parenting, including lots of babywearing. However, Abby does sleep in her crib. She started out in a playard next to our bed for the first 4 months, but she basically "chose" to sleep in her crib. My husband is very supportive of not letting her CIO, but since he traveled for work pretty much non-stop for the first 6 months of her life, he really has no idea how to help. I've pretty much been her only caretaker up until the last 3 weeks, when my husband has really pushed himself to get to know how to help.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks in advance for support on this journey.

I do want to end with a question. Abby refuses to let me soothe her in any way other than picking her up. If I try to rub her back, pat her butt, smooth her hair, she pushes my hand away & slams her legs down. It usually wakes her up more than she already was. Any ideas on how to help her accept this type of soothing?

Again, thanks in advance & I look forward to connecting with everyone.

Nicole

and !!!

Wow! Sounds like you've had a lot of upheaval and change in your life, with the moving and travelling and visiting etc! I know that we were going back and forth from the lake for months last summer, and that was how old our baby was at that time... it made him definately not know which end was up and he really was wakeful at night - up every hour to hour and a half... I think he just really needed us (and particularly me) close to know that even though everything else around him was changing and unstable, that we were still there for him whenever he needed. Things got a lot better when we stopped going to the lake for the winter, which is too bad because we really like going there.. I hope it doesn't happen again this summmer!

How are things going? Getting back to a routine is a great idea! Even if there is teething or sep. anxiety going on, I find that the underlying routine is doing it's work and once the teething or sep anxiety stops, the routine has done it's work and takes effect!

Let us know how things are going for you!

__________________








Host of:
The No Cry Sleep Solution
Attachment Parenting

Nicole,

My suggestion is to take it slow. First concentrate on rocking her to a sleepy state but not completley asleep. That way she is at the very least learning to put herself back to sleep. Here is what we do with our DD :

Rock her until she is sleepy (her eyes are closed but not in deep sleep yet)
Put her down while still rocking her and using the key sounds
Slowly remove arms while using the key sounds
Pat her until you feel she might not move.

If at any time in the above steps, she wakes up, we repeat the process within ten seconds. You might have to do that 5 or 6 times the first time but eventually she'll get the point. We are still on phase one. We still have to pick her up a couple of times, so once she gets the hang of phase one, on to phase to. HTH