my 8 month old is still not sleeping through the night and on many occasions, wakes up several times at night crying to be rocked back to sleep. we are going to try control crying next weekend on him. would really appreciate it if other mothers who have tried control crying can tell us what to expect and how long does it usually take for them. i stressed that we are going to do it, i appreciate those who are against it or have alternatives suggestion for us. but we are pretty sure that we want to try it, so dont try to talk us out of it. we have tried other soft methods and it doesn't work.thanks!
control crying
- Thread starter shalom
- Start date
Hi,
I am a mom of a 10 month baby and it?s very strange to read your note. I went through exactly what you are going through, I hadn?t slept for more than 3 hours at a stretch. Finally after trying all the possible soft methods as mentioned by you, decided to give controlled crying a go. I did modify it a little as I am not comfortable with leaving my baby to cry. I turned off the lights, left him wide awake in his cot and started singing to him, kept doing it for half an hour and yo! he slept off without me rocking him to sleep. He did wake up that night at 2.30, I did the same thing, kept singing to him for 15 minutes and he did go to sleep and woke up at 7.30 the next morning. It?s been 3 weeks I put him in his cot wide awake and he sleeps off and wakes up only at 7.00 in the morning. I still can?t believe it; I had absolutely no hopes of my baby ever going to sleep himself. Good Luck to you.
I am a mom of a 10 month baby and it?s very strange to read your note. I went through exactly what you are going through, I hadn?t slept for more than 3 hours at a stretch. Finally after trying all the possible soft methods as mentioned by you, decided to give controlled crying a go. I did modify it a little as I am not comfortable with leaving my baby to cry. I turned off the lights, left him wide awake in his cot and started singing to him, kept doing it for half an hour and yo! he slept off without me rocking him to sleep. He did wake up that night at 2.30, I did the same thing, kept singing to him for 15 minutes and he did go to sleep and woke up at 7.30 the next morning. It?s been 3 weeks I put him in his cot wide awake and he sleeps off and wakes up only at 7.00 in the morning. I still can?t believe it; I had absolutely no hopes of my baby ever going to sleep himself. Good Luck to you.
carang
Registered User
my boy has always been a good sleeper, he slept for 8 hours at 10 weeks and around 10 hours at 13 weeks. however, he was always rocked to sleep.
i decided to try to put him to bed when he was awake. the first day, was really hard. it took about 1 hour and 15 minutes for him to sleep. i went in after 5 minutes of crying. comforted him for a few minutes. then left. i waited for 10 minutes and then went in and comforted him again. i found after a while that my going in only started him up again. so now, i wait 15 minutes. then i go in once, cover him up again, then give him another kiss and leave(he's 7.5 months). after another 15 minutes or so, he's asleep.
some nights he cries a lot, others not at all.(tonight was one of the latter
:dance: :dance: !!!
my biggest problem was listening to him cry. i had to distract myself in order to be strong. so after i put him down, i went to the computer and turned the telly on. i found that because i was distracted, the time went faster for me. if i had to wait outside his room, i'd be a wreck!
:gl:
i decided to try to put him to bed when he was awake. the first day, was really hard. it took about 1 hour and 15 minutes for him to sleep. i went in after 5 minutes of crying. comforted him for a few minutes. then left. i waited for 10 minutes and then went in and comforted him again. i found after a while that my going in only started him up again. so now, i wait 15 minutes. then i go in once, cover him up again, then give him another kiss and leave(he's 7.5 months). after another 15 minutes or so, he's asleep.
some nights he cries a lot, others not at all.(tonight was one of the latter
:dance: :dance: !!!
my biggest problem was listening to him cry. i had to distract myself in order to be strong. so after i put him down, i went to the computer and turned the telly on. i found that because i was distracted, the time went faster for me. if i had to wait outside his room, i'd be a wreck!
:gl:
We did it at 8 months after an overseas trip threw things into turmoil! We dug out some very dusty spirit bottles out of the back of the cuboard (hadn't moved since we'd found out I was expecting) and went and sat in the garden - in other words, as far away as possible. We too found that going back in at the alloted intervals just made her get even more annoyed when we left again, so just stayed away and within three nights she was cured!
If you have a baby over 6 months you have to be careful if keeping him unattended, even in his crib. When my daughter was crying once at 8 months old at 12:00 am, I decided to ignore her. My husband went in to have a check and found her dangling from the mosquito net above her crib and she had half her body and one leg out of the crib (the other leg on the rail), and she was crying for help. I threw the mosquito net away immediately.
jah, maybe you find it strange because i am so insistent on control crying. i have tried many other methods and it just made things worse. i post a thread of asia expat asking for advice and feedback on control crying, instead i receive many replies on why i SHOULD NOT try control crying. it doesn't help me at all because what i need is to speak to people who have tried it, not people who are against it. maybe that is why you find my thread very strange. i have come to a point where i am so lack of sleep that sometimes i do not know what i am doing, like i am floating on air. i believe if control crying really work, a few days of crying in exchange for better sleep for baby, me and my husband, it is worth the try. thanks everyone for your feedback. wish me luck.
wandasmart
New member
is there any guideline as when is too early to try controlled crying? from what i have heard, it was implied to me, that for any baby under 5-6 months it is too early to try this? my baby is 5 weeks old. but she will not stop crying. i can't bear to hear her crying, yet i am sure that it must be hard for her to cry as well. we have tried everything yet she cannot settle herself and as a result she is not sleeping during the day, she does have nights where she does sleep with the occasional feeds but surely a 5 week old baby must need more sleep during the day as they are so young?
pls help any advice would be great.
i am not sure how i feel about controlled crying... part of me feels a week or so of pain for my baby, my husband and myself is better then her crying for months to come which sounds like she is going through so much.. it breaks my heart!
pls help any advice would be great.
i am not sure how i feel about controlled crying... part of me feels a week or so of pain for my baby, my husband and myself is better then her crying for months to come which sounds like she is going through so much.. it breaks my heart!
Mamalicious, you definitely don't want to be using controlled crying, it is for a totally different age group and problem. It sounds like your daughter has colic or is getting too tired by the end of the day and thus wound up and unable to sleep. For starters, try settling her earlier in the evenings before she gets overtired (bath, massage, dark room etc) but I really recommend you call a midwife for some support and guidance and to find out what is causing the crying. Hulda at Annerley is fantastic from personal experience (www.amidwife.com) and I've also heard lots of good things about Yvvonne Heavyside.
Once you've got your nerves back (if you are feeling anything like I did at that stage), there are some good books about that might help. Have you read the Baby Whisperer or The Contented Little Baby? Both are good for learning about waking and sleeping, especially how to settle a baby. I'd start with the Baby Whisperer as she really gives a lot of insight into what babys feel, what their crys mean (different sounds = different needs) and lots on how to sooth. She is also less hardcore then The Contented Little Nazi author Gina Ford, but during a time of despiration her routines worked for our daughter!
Once you've got your nerves back (if you are feeling anything like I did at that stage), there are some good books about that might help. Have you read the Baby Whisperer or The Contented Little Baby? Both are good for learning about waking and sleeping, especially how to settle a baby. I'd start with the Baby Whisperer as she really gives a lot of insight into what babys feel, what their crys mean (different sounds = different needs) and lots on how to sooth. She is also less hardcore then The Contented Little Nazi author Gina Ford, but during a time of despiration her routines worked for our daughter!