Thursday, March 13, 2008

SLEEP S.O.S!


The time has come. I can't go much longer without sleeping next to my husband! Jackson must go to sleep in his crib. There is nothing that can put a damper on intamacy in marriage like a child sleeping in between you and your husband. We are looking into the "Cry it Out" method that has gotten some bad publicity, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. It doesn't involve you leaving your child in his/her crib to cry with the door shut. This article on BabyCenter.com sums the method up nicely. What do you all think of this method? Does it work? Is there another method we can try?

We have tried putting Jackson in the Bassinet, but with no avail. If he sleeps in it, he will only sleep for a couple hours, and then he won't go back into after a feeding. We are going to move onto the crib. So, with that, I must ask...plea...with all you mothers/fathers who read this blog to comment. Please share your advice, even if you've never left a comment before! We can use all the advice we can get! Also, if you have tried rice cereal with your child to get him/her to sleep through the night, let me know how it has worked out for you!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

With my oldest we had to let her "cry it out" and it wasn't the gentle approach outlined in that book. But my oldest is a special child and wouldn't even sleep in our arms. We just figured if she was going to cry and scream whether she was with us or in her crib, it might as well be in her crib (sometimes for 30-45 minutes). She still doesn't go to sleep well, but is a good sleeper once she's asleep, and I don't think she's emotionally scarred from us letting her cry it out. My little one (the same age as yours) goes to sleep with just a few minutes of fussing in her crib. One of the things we did with both girls was loosly follow the "Baby Wise" books. We had the basic routine of eat, awake, sleep throughout the day, and that seemed to help. During the night it was just eat, sleep as needed, but with both of them they were sleeping through the night at 2-3 months. This is just what works for us, and I know it can vary from child to child. However, after reading that article, it sounds like a very reasonable approach that I think would work well (unless your child has an incredible stubborn streak like my oldest).

Maggie

Anonymous said...

We had to do the "cry it out" method with Kayla after a point of needing sleep. It was hard for a couple weeks to listen to her cry- I would even cry at times. But after doing it for a while it helped. She learned that bed time is bed time and crying does not always get her way. She even slept longer from exhuasting herself with tears. It works, but is hard to listen to, and keep your mind from running away with all the things they suddenly need. Before this we would rock her in our arms to get her to sleep. It helps to make sure naps are not too close to bed time also. A schedule helps even if it is not perfect. It takes some time but you will find what works.