CC and being sick (ds, not us)

[VictorianDaddy]

We have a 5mo ds who has for the last 2 weeks taken a clear dislike to settling himself. Normal causes of upset have been ruled out (he is generally happy and energetic throughout the day).

He's on solids 3 times a day - mainly fruit & veg or porridge - and has dropped his night feeds (usually).

When he was first weaned off the night feeds, he was sleeping well and settled easily on waking with use of a dummy (not ideal but it worked). For the last week or so he has refused to settle in the night until he is cuddled back into a deep sleep - any attempt before then and he's awake and crying before his head touches the cot. Sometimes when he's picked up he starts laughing so he's clearly not in any other kind of distress! This can eat up several hours of the night...

A few weeks ago before we had heard of CC, we inadvertently tried it when we decided to leave him to cry for a bit, confident that there was nothing else wrong with him. He did cry for a bit and then was sick. After we'd sorted all that out and put him back down he slept well, and it also seemed to have a positive effect on the following nights. I'm hoping this was the crying and not the sick.

Anyway, tonight we thought 'sod it, he's going to have to learn that he can't be picked up whenever he wants in the middle of the night, because daddy will lose his job and mummy will lose her sanity'.

So we went for CC. Put him down awake. He cried of course. Went in after 5 mins. Shut up when he saw me. Started again when he realised I wasn't going to pick him up. Left him for another 10 mins. Went back in and found he had been sick across a large proportion of Nottinghamshire.

So now the questions:
Is 5mo too early, and if so, is there a 'CC-lite' that might actually work? We have purchased many a publication and the advice they mostly give would only seem to apply to perfect babies who don't need the sodding advice.

Regardless of the above - how could CC be followed if dc is sick well before showing any sign of giving up and going to sleep?

I may be a hard-faced git with a heart of stone but even I wouldn't leave him in that all night!

If you are a CC veteran who can help or constructively criticise we'd love to hear from you.
If you are in the CC-is-barbaric camp, then wander off and harrass someone else, I won't be having that debate with you.

Sorry if I sound a bit on edge...

[Marne]

Hi,
We had the same problem with dd1 as a baby (and a toddler), i think she was around 6 months when she first did it, she then mastered the art of doing it during the day when i wouldn't pick her up. We gave up with CC, i think its pretty impossable when the child vomits and makes it stressful for you. What worked for us in the end was sitting with her and each night moving thurther away (so first night sit by the cot, next night a foot away, until you are by the door and then outside the door), it took a while but we got there in the end without the vomit.

[isthismadness]

Yes 5 months is too for cc. Even the bloke who "invented" it said it's for use in over 1s.
He may be hungry. Fruit and veg contain far less calories per g than milk so he may be filling up on too much purée and reducing his milk too early. Fruit/veg purees are just for taste really and you should increase the quantities when he is having normal meals with protein and carbs.
Could you try evening cluster feeding if you are bf
Or a bottle at 10 or something?
Worth reading" why love matters" by the way...

[nethunsreject]

5mths is too young. Even Ferber recommends 6mths plus.

Agree that gradual extinction is much better, especially at this age when seperation anxiety is kicking in.

Some people use pick up put down and rate it too.

Must say I used no forms of 'training' with either of mine. Ds1 slept easily and all night from 4mths, ds2 is 1 and is up every 2 hrs - go figure!

If he is being sick, it is definitely not the way to go! But you know this already.

[isthismadness]

Pick up/put down or gradual retreat much kinder option

[nethunsreject]

Oh, sorry, yep, Ferber said a year.

[Trillian42]

I think too young too. Pick up, put down or shush pat is much better. DD was also sick the first night of PUPD but thankfully not again.