How to self soothe 6 month old?

Jay - posted on 10/08/2012

I can't really comment on the pacifier use as we never used one. We let our little one cry for a max of 10 mins, if he's still going we place our hand on his chest and gently shush him, or I put the iPhone near him and play some noise to him. I use this iPhone app

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/soothe-my...

Cathleen - posted on 02/08/2012

When my daughter loved her pacifier, I also went through the constant getting up because she would lose the pacifier, what I would do at night and at nap time was place 5 or 6 pacifiers all around the crib so no matter where she grabbed she could reach one and self soothe. Worked like a charm!!! Sounds crazy but it worked!! Good luck!

Stephanie - posted on 02/08/2012

what I did with my daughter when she was about 2 months old, which I realize was possibly too early, was when she started crying after putting her to bed, give her her pacifier and then if she kept crying, I would let her cry for 1 minute and then go in and give her her pacifier again and start the process all over again. The first night it took about 30 minutes but within about 4 days it was about 5 minutes at the most that she was crying. I did not feel that this was as bad for a CYI method since I was going in there so often

Summer - posted on 02/08/2012

I used the "pick-up/put-down" method for my VERY stubborn son, we co-sleep half the night but I need a little alone time at first. It was the only thing that worked. With my first, my husband would just go in and rock him and he would cry but was ok. There is a HUGE benefit to In-arms crying vs. crying alone. In-arms crying allows them to discharge the stress of something versus crying alone only adds more stress/tension. There is a lot of research about this. I wouldn't do CIO. It's not the way babies are to be treated. I wouldn't treat my husband that way, why would I do that to my son?

Carrie - posted on 02/08/2012

My Dr gave tips to go in the room and say shhh and pat/rub their back, because I refuse to use pacifiers I understood they were needed in the hospital but if they were in my room I hid them. It takes a few times but it's something we still do. I only pick them up is after the 3rd time I go in their room. I then pat/rub the back and talk softly and sometimes bounce a little walking around their room. At 6 months they possibly miss the sound of your heart my son is 18 months and we still sometimes have this problem so I bring him to our recliner turn all the lights off and rock until he feels better or falls asleep.

Lynzi - posted on 02/07/2012

Also, I would like to throw out there that my son already has 2 teeth on the bottom and cut them at 3.5 months..he went thru the same phase he is going through now so it might be teething...I definitely would NOT let any of his cries unattended if I knew he was for sure teething! Ive tried orajel, teething tablets and tylenol and none of it seems to phase him. Tonight is going good so far though!! :)

Lynzi - posted on 02/07/2012

Jennifer- he slept in my bed until he was 2 months old, and I recently let him sleep in my bed but he has a harder time actually...any little movement I make, it disturbs him. He does alot better in his crib.

Lynzi - posted on 02/07/2012

Toni- I definitely agree with that! I dont have the heart to let my son cry for hours on end, no matter how exhausted I am but I do want him to have the opportunity to learn for himself. I let him cry for 3 minutes yesterday, went to soothe him and he kept crying so I gave in and gave him his pacifier. The funny thing is, he hasnt woke up ONCE tonight and has been sleeping for 4 hours straight! I think he can sense when I am at my wits end! LOL

Janice - posted on 02/07/2012

This isn't self soothing, but it's a pacifier idea that was a help for me when my twins were babies. They loved being swaddled, so I would make sure their pacifier was tucked in behind their blanket when I swaddled them. That way it stayed right there instead of falling out of their mouth and to the side to be lost in the night (it wasn't crammed there, just supported there). Even when they turned their head to the side, the pacifier would flip to the side, so when they woke, all they had to do was flip their head back to center and the pacifier usually would to. They could usually find it themselves at night so it saved me lots of getting up. I used lightweight blankets and just swaddled arms in the summer time, too. Of course, this won't do any good if he doesn't like swaddling...

Sarah - posted on 02/07/2012

Just a note, my daughter did not have a pacifier AT ALL, and was capable of sleeping through the night consistently by 6 months. We never let her cry for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time; that is not cool. It helped that we had a video monitor so we could see her AND hear her. That way, when she was doing her whiney-cry, we could see that when she cried, at times she would let out a cry, look at the door expectantly and stop crying for a moment, and then cry again. THAT is when letting them cry for longer is called for.



Additionally, my daughter did not get any teeth until 13 months (same as me). I knew that she wasn't teething or in distress on the nights I let her cry the longest. That's another important distinction.

Sarah - posted on 02/07/2012

My husband and I would allow our daughter to cry for 5 minutes first, go and comfort her, then wait 10 minutes, comfort her, then let her cry for 15 minutes, and comfort her, and so on. After doing this for a couple of nights, she did not cry very long, as she knew that we would always be there to comfort her. It took two nights, but not so long in the scheme of things.You HAVE to be consistent and ON TIME with this method, so if you're not good at watching the clock, you might want to just do the cry it out method.

Jennifer - posted on 02/07/2012

A 6 month old is crying for a reason. If he's in his own room he may want the comfort of a parent. Have you thought about bringing him into bed with you? Nighttime wakings are much easier if you don't have to get up.



Dr. Jay Gordon has some good advise on this. http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleepp...

Stifler's - posted on 02/07/2012

I did the going in at longer intervals CIO with Logan. I just can't do it with Renae I've gone soft. I think he cried a lot more and we know if she cries something is really wrong.

Toni - posted on 02/07/2012

I wouldn't even consider sleep training if your child is sick or teething, they need your comfort more than ever during these times and if he is teething you may well find when the tooth comes (or when it stops moving if it doesn't break through) that his sleeping goes back to normal.



When he is happy if you decide that CIO is the way to go, make sure you don't just leave him crying, if he shows any signs of distress go to him, and do not leave him crying for more than half an hour without going to him, without soothing him.



I myself used a very gentle version of controlled crying with my son, and it worked brilliantly. We started with five minute blasts but as soon as his 'cry' changed from being a whingy cry to his distress cry we went to him, the longest my son fussed for before going to sleep was about 20 mins. I have no regrets because he wanted to be left alone to sleep he likes sleeping alone. My daughter on the other hand will never be left to cry, it distresses her if I go to the toilet when it's bed time so it would be awful to leave her crying, I'm planning on using a gentle method involving laying with her and rubbing her back, I would regret CIO with my daughter I know I would...different children, different needs.



It breaks my heart when people talk about how they just left their kid screaming for three hours or how they lock them in their rooms...that isn't CIO!

Stifler's - posted on 02/07/2012

I regret letting my son cry too.

Lynzi - posted on 02/06/2012

I also wanted to put out there that my son was sleeping just fine and in the month of December, he slept from 7:30pm-5am for a week straight. I know he is capable of not depending on his pacy...I think maybe he is teething, thats why idk if i should try the method yet...

Lynzi - posted on 02/06/2012

Why do you regret letting her cry? Just curious...

Christy - posted on 02/06/2012

I would leave him with the pacifier until he's 1. And on another note, babies cry for a reason, and of course none of us really know "why." In this case if he wants the pacifier, give it to him and if he cries more then get him and hold him if you can. They are only this age once, I totally regret letting my youngest cry in her crib and not comforting her. She's almost 4 now. Sorry went off on a tangent there.