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Crying It Out (CIO) Questions to those who have done it.

Amy - posted on 02/02/2010 ( 2 moms have responded )

23

15

So we're thinking about doing CIO for my 7 month old son who is currently sleeping with us on our bed and drinking avg 10 oz at night, waking up 4-5 times.. I have some questions on CIO:



1) How long does it take? How many days?



2) Did baby behave differently after the first day, ie. distant and not smile at you?



I tried this at 4 months for 1 time for a day and gave up, and he reacted that way just for the morning.



3) How long to let him cry? And how long will they typically cry?



4) How long is baby sleeping now?



5) He is going through separation anxiety stage, is this a good time to do this? He is also very stubborn.



6) Does it work if the crib is in your bedroom or does the baby need to be in his own room?



Thanks!

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2 Comments

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Carolee - posted on 02/02/2010

21,950

17

The length of how long it takes really depends on the child. My son has always been really stubborn, so it took a while. After the first time, though (and every time after), he is always happy to see me. He's more independant, but he doesn't love me any less.



Usually, you want to check on him every 20 minutes. When you check on him, just rub his arm or leg or back or tummy to let him know that you're there and you still care. My son took about three hours (with me checking on him) to fall asleep at first. That time gets less and less.



My son actually ASKS to go to bed when he's tired now. If we refuse (because it's too early), we risk a pretty huge fit! He takes a nap every day for about 1-2 hours. He sleeps from around 8pm to 8-9am every night.



The most important things you can do while doing this are:

be strong... it hurts your heart like hell to hear you child cry.

be consistant... if you give in, you'll only have a bigger fight the next time you try.

make sure to cuddle in the mornings... it's really just an excuse to cuddle more.



Good luck.

Nicole - posted on 02/02/2010

51

11

I used the Ferber method (the Solve your child's sleep problem book). You put baby in their crib drowzy but awake. If they cry, you go back in, console them for a mintue or two then leave for 5 minutes. If they cry, you wait 10 minutes, console them, then wait 15, etc etc.

We started training by reducing the amount of formula we gave my son by 1 ounce a night over 2 weeks. (At 7 months old, most babies can go around 8 hours without food.) It really helped because at 9 months we started that, then by 11 months (we had to stop training for a few weeks due to teething) he was sleeping through the night.

I'd say when you start training, the next day give as many hugs and kisses as possible. Some kids may become clingy initially. Plenty of reassurance at other times of the day should help. My son is stubborn too and there are times, (2 days ago) when we put him in the crib, and he screamed for a half hour. But he finally gave up and fell asleep. My son also regressed a little a few months ago when he was sick on and off for several weeks. He just got used to mommy comforting him while he was sick so he stopped holding his own bottle and suddenly started waking at night again. Once he realized he was not going to get that kind of attention since he was over his cold, he started sleeping thru the night again.

I think the ferber book discussed how to do this if baby sleeps with the parents. I would say you need to do this in strategic steps. Get baby used to their own room/crib first (he may not sleep thru the night), then once he's used to that, start reducing the formula, then start the sleep training.

Good luck!!!

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