Yesterday I finally opened a book quite a few friends had recommended we read, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, in hopes of finding a better method. The author isn't fond of the Cry it Out method and feels parents should try other soothing methods first, as they should be building trust with their baby by going to them when needed. As for nighttime feedings, he says that babies may actually need one or two nightly feedings until they're 9 months old. Don't consider it a problem unless they try to play with you afterward. It's a matter of wants and needs. Does you baby just want your attention? If so, that's when you need to stop going to them. Michael always falls asleep directly after eating and I really don't mind him waking up twice during the night. It usually just lasts a few minutes. Last night, I determined that I would feed Michael when he cried, but he slept from 8:30pm to about 4:45am and only woke up that one time.
After just two nights of crying, Michael slept over 8 hours on his own. I don't know if we should go back to making him cry it out or if I should keep feeding him. Any thoughts?
6 comments:
Have you tried dreamfeeding? Feed him BEFORE he wakes up hungry, so he never fully wakes up- just becomes conscious enough to eat then sleep. For isntance, if he generally wakes up at 1 am hungry, go get him from the crib at 12:30 and fill his belly with him still as sleepy as possible. Do that for a while and his sleep cycle might adjust.
Good luck!
I still have a baby who wakes up to be fed. Babies are creatures of habit, so if you can stop it...I suggest strongly to do so. I was too tired and lazy to stop Luke, and now it'll be ten times harder.
Michael isn't...how to say it...starving. I bet he can sleep through the night without problem.
I mean, he can sleep through the night without being starved. It will be a small problem for a while. And, sometimes it takes a couple of nights of crying, and then it's fixed.
Who am I kidding, though. Maybe I need to put my money where my mouth is. :)
We let our babies cry themselves to sleep when they woke up in the night. Sometimes I'd still go in there and pop a pacifyer into a mouth. They're all pretty good sleepers. A certain 8 year old is a bit too good of a sleeper. She still doesn't wake up to go to the bathroom during the night.
I am a big believer in letting babies learn to trust. If it's not a big deal to you to get up for just a few minutes each night, then I say, keep getting up. I like what your book says.
I didn't let my babies cry themselves to sleep. I couldn't sleep when they were crying,so I took care of their needs,was over a lot faster,all was good,then we all slept. I tried the cry it out, then they were all snotty and couldn't breathe. Michael is precious and dependent on you, you can sleep when he is older, He has only been here 5 months he's just getting use this old earth, and ours rules of eating, sleeping and all the other stuff we come up with. Love you all. Grannie
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