To give up on controlled crying after just one night

[1Veryhungrycaterpillar]

My six month old has reverted to waking between 3 and 5 times a night and I am like the walking dead and need energy as he is one of three DCs. Last night my DH said that I had to try leaving him to cry it out which I couldn't bear but compromised on controlled crying instead. It was horrendous and I hated every minute of it but should I persevere, does it work? Or should I just put him in bed with me to get some sleep? Ididn't have a problem with the other two hence me being clueless Help!

Just wanted to say that I think you're getting a hard time from some posters, OP. How on earth someone people think that having a go at you is going to help when you are exhausted and at the end of your tether is absolutely beyond me

Hope you find a way to get you through this. I think the suggestion someone made above about maybe camping out in your baby's room so you are nearer him is a good one - we've done this before, as co-sleeping doesn't work for us, and it seemed to work quite well, though I had to master sleeping on the floor with one hand up in the cot!

Thanks Thurlow, I used to do that with my first. I feel bad on DH now he really is lovely and just thought it'd be worth trying and we've agreed it's not for us for the time being

We did cc at 6.5 months. Dd was waking every 45 mins, she was not hungry every 45 mins. She was waking out of habit and found it impossible to resettle without bfing for 30-40 seconds. Then would wake 45 mins later. I was on the verge of a breakdown from sleep deprivation. Some nights it would take hours to get her to resettle with her sobbing and exhausted fighting the boob.

She wasnt ill or teething either.

1st night left to cry for 1 min, then nappy check, cuddle, 1 min repeat. After 8 mins (me going in 8 times to cuddle and reassure) she fell asleep.
2nd night took 4 mins
3rd night no crying

She sttn 7-7 ever since (with the exception of illness and teething).

Last night he only woke up once and. I think my 4 year felt that might be a bit odd for me so she kindly woke up to fill in for him!

How do they do that Veryhungry - it's incredible, isn't it!

Sixth sense!

Are you feeding him each time? Is he in the same room as you?

I often think it must be hard for babies - it's a like us waking up and smelling a bacon sandwich next to us - I'd definitely wake four times in the night for one!

He's in a nursery just off from my bedroom, I think that's why he won't take a bottle from me, he just sits there with the teat in his mouth looking bemused. Anyway things seem to be on the up, thanks for the support x

Good point cats. My DH keeps putting the breadmaker on at 11pm and leaving the kitchen door open. I wake around 3am dreaming of toast

Glad things are improving VHCaterpillar Nearly the weekend and DH can hopefully give you some time to sleep too

Well I have a 15 month old who wakes up pretty much every hour, refuse to sleep train and I co-sleep, so I'm probably not the best person to pass on advice.

With that caveat, I would just say that the 9 month sleep regression is A BITCH and a lot of people seem to find that any sleep training done before that ceasses to work and they have to go through the whole ordeal again.

Hope that's not the case for you, but worth keeping in mind that it's often not a silver bullet. Good luck OP

Thanks Oscar I think that's definitely the road I'm going to go down, CC was just too hard for me for now. Thats so hard, fresh bread is an irresistible smell

I would just say that you have to do what you can cope with at the time - BUT it's better to persevere because you might end up with a toddler who won't sleep without you/keeps waking up to come into your bed (like mine when she was little) and then it's an even harder job to keep putting them back in their bed several times a night and getting hardly any sleep.

Ladame I'm not sure it works like that tbh. I think boundaries are important, but denying them of something they need at a certain age isn't great.

Actually Ladame I disagree; we did CC with DD1 when she was about 18mo, to break the habit of her coming into bed with us in the middle of the night, every night, and I think it was easier at that age because you can explain to them what you expect. A baby doesn't understand why you're not picking it up and gets upset; a toddler might not like it either, but at least they sort of understand.

I see your point Ladame but because I can't rule out teething etc I'm going to leave CC for now

OK, I take on board all that you have said. My dd as a baby was a great sleeper, my toddler wasn't, they are not all the same, they are tiny persons with their own personalities. I am a great believer in doing what you think is best for your own child at the time. We don't get an instruction book!! My 'toddler' is now nineteen and at uni Being a mum is tricky, but you'll get through it xx

Thanks Ladame