Gradual retreat: some questions

[Cbell]

I've fallen into attempting to use the GR method with my DS 14 mo who wakes between 2-4times a night. He need to be bottle fed or boobed back to sleep each time and obviously this is killing our joy.

I use RG at bedtime and as long as I stay by the cot with my hand in him he will fall asleep in about 30 mins.

What next? I understand that for bedtime I need to begin 'retreating' but what about the night wakings? What do I do, how shoul I respond, how long might this method take?

Many thanks for all the help

[fflonkl]

I did the same for night waking, so no boob but stayed in the room till DD fell asleep again. It wasn’t easy, and there were some nights at the start when I had to resort to bf to sleep as she got more and more distressed. Also she could take up to 90 minutes to go back to sleep. Most nights though it was a combination of shush, pick up put down or just simply being in the room waiting for her to sleep.

However she was sleeping through by night 3, and doing it consistently (4-5 nights per week) after about two weeks. By week 4 she was more or less sleeping through, with the odd night waking once or twice in a fortnight.

There's a very good thread on here about GR - it was very long but really informative. I'll see if I can dig it up.

[fflonkl]

OK found it:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/sleep/1394888-What-worked-for-us-Hope-this-helps

This thread was a life saver for me! Hope you find it useful. Good luck!