blessedmom
06-14-2008, 08:14 PM
Okay so I'm the first to admit I fought the cry it out method with all I had. I had done my research and believed it would create more harm than good. I had read the admonishments on message boards about how crying it out was a form of abuse. I had heard my child cry and knew it was the worst sound and the world and tried everything if only to make it stop. Cue the record scratching. My son was a miraculous sleeper in that he technically "slept" through the night and would usually go 6 hours until waking. However, he was NEVER the kind to surrender silently into sleep. He either had to be walked to sleep in a sling or breastfeed. Then for some strange reason at a around 4 months he stopped. He would wake as soon as we put him in the crib and would scream until he nursed to sleep. I searched and searched for a solution. I bought books, read them, and applied the techniques with no lasting positive result. My doctor as well as people on here said to let him cry it out and while it wouldn't be pleasant it would work. I vowed not to do it and to keep on with trying to transition him without letting him cry. Everything that we tried usually worked for a few nights and then he would fight it with a vengence around night 2 and we would have to go back to nursing. I have loved nursing him and enjoyed co-sleeping. To those who have done this you know it is something that words can't do justice. However, he recently had begun fighting even nursing to sleep (he's nearly 8 months). He started crying and fussing (not to mention kicking and biting me). I began to wonder as options were running out, what is the big difference between him crying every night for hours as oppossed to hopefully just two nights? If the "research" is correct and crying does lead to problems... isn't letting him do what he was doing just as bad. Still, I fought it and thought at least when he cried with me he felt secure and wasn't abandoned or alone. Okay so then it started getting worse, more crying and more frequent wakings- it was getting to the point that he would wake as soon as I unlatched him and wouldn't fully go to sleep until I turned in for the night. In addition, he's growing more mobile every day. With our kingsized bed that sits 28 in off the ground... I started to worry he would one day fall out, despite the safety precautions we'd taken with bed rails. My husband has been for the cry out for a while and I promised him that if our last attempt didn't work (we bought an arms reach cosleeper to try to transition him to sleeping alone), I would allow him to cry it out. I was sooooo happy when we used the cosleeper. He miraculously slept in it for two nights (although he'd only fall asleep, he'd end up by me) and even took his naps in there. However, sometime around day three he would no longer sleep there. So after a few weeks of trying to get him back in it... I reluctantly agreed. The night of I cried during his bath worried about what damage we were about to do to him. My son is the kind who cries and then starts crying just because he's crying. After putting a square of blanket that I had in my shirt in his crib, holding him tight, and making sure my husband would pick him up if he started hyperventalating, I left the house for a walk--- I wouldn't be able to handle that!!!
After walking for over an hour (and crying about as long) I called my husband to see how he was doing. No answer. He soon called back. Strange, no wailing in the background. He said he didn't want to call and jinx it but that the baby went to sleep in 10 mins, woke up about 15 mins later, cried for less than 20 and went back to sleep. That night he woke 3 times and went right back to sleep. The next night it was even better and today he took his naps with only crying for less than 20 seconds! Tonight is night three and for the first time since he was born I am not dreading sleep tonight! Although now is the time when he usually starts fighting a new sleep routine, so I'll probably be back on here complaining soon- hahaha.
So for those of you going through the struggle of whether to or not to and who have tried EVERYTHING else as did we, you might rest a little easier knowing it may work for you.
After walking for over an hour (and crying about as long) I called my husband to see how he was doing. No answer. He soon called back. Strange, no wailing in the background. He said he didn't want to call and jinx it but that the baby went to sleep in 10 mins, woke up about 15 mins later, cried for less than 20 and went back to sleep. That night he woke 3 times and went right back to sleep. The next night it was even better and today he took his naps with only crying for less than 20 seconds! Tonight is night three and for the first time since he was born I am not dreading sleep tonight! Although now is the time when he usually starts fighting a new sleep routine, so I'll probably be back on here complaining soon- hahaha.
So for those of you going through the struggle of whether to or not to and who have tried EVERYTHING else as did we, you might rest a little easier knowing it may work for you.