crying it out

[ldinsmore]

My 9 mo. old wakes twice a night, between 10 and 11 and again around 2. Should i let him cry it out both times or should i decrease one feeding at a time?

[lholland]

They say by 6 months a baby doesn't need nighttime feedings. If he's waking up then it's out of habit. So you can cut both feedings without it affecting him (physically that is). I've never been in that exact situation but I did go through something similar. I would probably start by slowly decreasing the amount you're feeding him for both feedings. If he usually gets 4 ounces, cut it down to 3 ounces for a few days, then 2, etc. Once you've gotten the feedings out of the way, then you can tackle the "waking up" aspect. He has to learn to self soothe and fall asleep on his own. There are several different methods that you can find - crying it out, gradual, etc. that are online and in books. I used the CIO method with my daughter. Basically, I laid her down and left for 4 minutes. When I returned, I'd give her the pacifier, made sure that she had her blanket (she loves it) and spoke quietly, then left. I'd then double the time to 8 minutes and repeat. We had a couple of tough nights but once she learned how to sleep on her own, it has been wonderfull ever since! The toughest part was not picking her up and not giving in! I've seen a lot of information on how to get your child to sleep - if the crying it out method doesn't seem to be working, there are several other ways that may work for you. Good luck!

[MommaC]

Do whatever you're comfortable with. One at a time or both. Crying it out works fastest, but if you just can't deal with it (I was surprised how HARD it was for me emotionally to hear my OWN baby cry), Dr. Marc Weissbluth describes two other methods in his book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". Good luck to you!

[ra11en]

We helped out DD cut out her night time feeding habit by switching her to juice. We chose V8 fusion - no sugar. At 9mo, your son is only waking out of habit, not physical need so whatever route you choose to take will be okay on him physically.

Once we had our DD over on juice, her night time wakings pretty much ceased. After a few weeks of juice, anytime she woke up we only gave her water. He needs your help to learn to self sooth and fall asleep on his own. He is waking up because his body is used to him being fed at certain times, not because his body needs it. It will be harder on you than on him to break him of the habit! :)

[ericaS_214]

I had the same exact problem, but I recently started to sleep train my son.. and it has worked wonders. He no longer wakes in the middle of the night.. which he used to sometimes 2-3 times for a bottle or to be rocked back to sleep but since I started letting him cry it out, that no loner happens... even when I put him down for a nap he will fall asleep within 5 min. & this might not be the same for everyone, but I couldnt go back in the room to calm him down because it would just set him off even more.. but if he went on for more that 20-30 min I would go in & give him a 4 oz bottle and hten he would fall asleep.



hope this helps...