Please tell me CC works...

[rr16]

Hi there. I'm on day 2 of using CC with my 9mo DS. I've followed the rules to the letter but... Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? He is just so bl**dy stubborn it's taking ages for him to drop off to sleep on his own. My resolve is waning today. Will it be worth it and how long can this take? Many thanks for your advice xXX

Is it recommended under a year anyhow? I would check the SIDS website.

My sympathies - ime this is a difficult age for sleep

"the anti cc bridgade"

Someone asked if it worked. So that means some will say yes, some say no.

If you feel CC was right for you, then there's no need to be defensive about it and start talking about brigades.

Can I ask? Are you supposed to let them settle before leaving again? I always gave up because my son would be hysterical and unconsolable by about 15 minutes in (this would be after popping in every 2, 3, 4 mins and holding his hand till he stopped crying). When I caved and picked him up he would take a long time to stop crying.

I wouldn't leave a baby of this age to cry for longer than a couple of minutes, and I am not part of any 'brigade'.

It worked for my 2 older ones (took 3 nights, and they cried at most 20 mins) we tried to go in and pat but that just seemed to wind them up even more.

Did it at about 8 months for both and they still sleep well at 3 and 5. (friends who didnt do cc still complain about their 5 year olds waking them up)

DD is now 6 months and I have been trying to put her to sleep with her eyes open, do a solid routine,never take her downstairs if she wakes just cuddle and put her back down awake, and when she wakes in the night, dont feed her immediately, just see if she will grumble and go back to sleep (sometimes works sometimes not)

cc made me a far better parent and my dc are the most secure lovely kids you'll meet.

Hi, It DOES work. I have felt your pain. Am on anti deps due to the sleep deprivation and anxiety over my DDs sleep. She is 9 months old and had never slept throught the night. She would wake every 2 hrs after 11pm.

I did controlled two weeks ago.

Started on a Friday night so DP could do it with me. I never thought I would be strong enough to do it but I did.

Here is what we did:
I give DD the bottle in my arms in the nursery with only the nightlight on. Nice cuddle and whisper sleepy time soon and do a shocking rendition of twinkle twinkle little star!!

I put her down and stroke her hair and say sleepy time and give her a kiss.

DD is very sucky (had a dummy before leaving hosp, on midwife's advice)
I give her the dummy and it falls out when crying but have 3 in there on dummy clips for her to find.

We went in every 5 mins..10 mins max if she was quieting down. She did get a little worked up again but got better very quick. Every single time DP and I say "SHH SHH Sleepytime"

Just be prepared in case he is sick. DD was on the first two nights.

I changed her and the bed and just started again.

1st night cried for an hour EVERY wake up. Get lots of coffee/mags/tv in bed whatever.
2nd night similar but not quite as bad.

By 4th night was 20 mins and less wake ups.

By 7th night, no crying when put down.

When she wakes she just whimpers and goes back to sleep.

Keep a diary and record how many times went in and times she wakes and falls asleep. This way you can see your progress

Just remember he will give it his best shot to get you to settle him. Stick with it and keep the end goal in sight.

Although the first 2 nights were awful, the end result is you and DS will be better off.

I never thought I would be the type of person to do CC but it was my last resort and now I am glad we did it.
Hope this is useful. Sorry for long post.

I tried cc for about an hour. By that time, my dd was so deeply distressed I swore I would never leave her to cry again.

Instead, I decided to combat the sleep deprivation issue this way: I put her down in her own room to sleep. If she woke before I go to bed I would settle her again in her room. If she woke after I was in bed, I brought her into my bed for the rest of the night. We all slept much better and suffered no more sleep deprivation. This was from about 9 months.

By the time she was 2 she had learned to sleep through the night all by herself, without any intervention from us. She still sometimes wakes at around 6 and climbs in with us for the last hour or so. Personally, I love the extra cuddles.

I chose the path of least resistance and it worked.

It depends on the baby. It seems to work with most, but not all.
Especially babies who are "stress-increasers" when they cry - it doesn't necessarily work for them.

The nine-month sleep regression is a tough time to do sleep-training, but that doesn't mean it won't work - witness LBH above.

My sister has 4 DCS and she did CC with all of them between 9mo and 15mo, depending on the child. It worked quickly with three of them. It never worked with one, who remained a night-waker until he was 4.

CC is seldom a technique anyone undertakes lightly - wouldn't we all rather we had a baby who slept like an angel from early on and didn't need loads of extra resettling etc. overnight?

Good luck.

IT'S WORKING!!! IT'S DEFINATELY WORKING!!!
Hardest thing I've ever done but the results speak for themselves
Thank you for all your support xXx

The Sleepytot method says you go in as often as you feel you need to. I like that one best because you can reassure them when they're upset. I don't like to hear a baby crying and not go to reassure it that all is ok. I have done this with my DCs and it's worked.

here's a link:

www.sleepytot.com/blog/?p=215

Well done you!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a nightmare but it works.

Keep the end goal in sight.

On DDs first night she cried in total for over 5 hrs and slept for only 7. She also threw up the first two nights. Which did make us question whether we were doing the right thing.

Now she wakes at 4am and on Friday night screamed till I got her at 6.45am

But last night she woke at 4am and fell back asleep till 5.30am..

So it gets better. And as harsh as it is, it does them good in the long run.

If I wasnt on anti deps and due back to work in Jan eith a 5.30am alarm call I would have carried on muddling through leaning over the cot and co sleeping. Which is fine for some but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. A lot of people think it is wrong but they maybe in a situation where no pressure.

I never thought I would have had to do it. But my relationship with DP and being put on anti deps forced the issue.

Sorry for the long post..had a couple of glasses!!

Keep up the good work and if you need any support feel free to PM me.

rr16 so how was it? Did it work? I'm thinking about cc myself.

have been attempting (failing) at pupdcc This is 2nd night, with aim of 7pm bedtime both time.

Night 1 we caved with my dd (who is almost 7 mos).

Last night she cried to point of choking before my dh went in. She was then bounced to sleep, stirred 9pm, then at midnight, and then when she woke at 3am I was too knackered and brought her to our bed. we co slept/dreamfed and she woke at 730am.

This eve, fed at 630pm, burped began to show tired signs at 7pm, was put down no prob for 10 mins, but then she cried 2 x 10 mins of pupd, then last 10 mins cried so hard/sounded like she was gagging so I picked her up, calmed her down and then she projectiled the whole contents of her tummy all over us both. After a wipe down and change she was wide awake played 1 hour+ then grizzled and I have just bfed her to sleep.

She does have congestion at the moment, could this be the reason for choking/gagging? Any suggestions? This feels really counter intuitive but I'd like to get 5 hours sleep somehow.

good for you and your family rr

sumarie - i think it's best to leave any training until they are 100% fit as they need you when they are unwell

SUMARIE Dont freak out. My DD threw up the 1st two nights, and cried for over an hour each time.

They are just giving it their best shot.

We did almost crack and wondered if we were doing the right thing. We decided it would be more cruel to give in as all the fuss and vomit would have been for nothing.

DD also had a cold and was teething. There will always be a reason to put it off. Remember the end goal and they sleep better in the end. Hang in there. (10 days in and DD is still waking at 4am but last night was an improvement. She fell back asleep till 5.45am whereas previously screamed till 6.45am.

She is very strong willed. Always has been but she doesnt love me any less.

I used to think CC was cruel and unnecessary but it was my last resort as everything else had failed and she was waking every two hours.

I am starting to think that CC might be my only option. DS is 15months old and has always been a bad sleeper.

He settles fine at 7pm, goes down awake and sends himself to sleep.

But then he wakes between 4-5am and will not settle. He used to co-sleep, but he won't now as just wants to climb over us/head butt us/play etc.

I have adjusted his daytime naps and it hasn't made any difference.

I am so unbelievably tired, I don't know what else to try. I hate the idea of leaving him to cry, but don't know what else I can try

LittlebearH, thank you! We decided to persevere and we're getting slow signs its working. We're doing more pupd and very short controlled crying just to see. Last night because we were a bit behind schedule we had a bath at 630pm, feed at 7/burped, listening to bedtime music lying on our bed, and when she started to rub eyes, I moved her to cot, pupd was about 20 mins with sshh (but this time avoided controlled crying) and finally put her in when she was "mmmmummmm"-ing to herself but not asleep. She went down at 8pm all by herself. she grizzled once at Midnight and clearly wouldn't go down so gave feed, repeated pupd. I had to do a quick pupd at 1:30 and 430am but that is the first time I had to do that without bfeeding! Woke up at 7:45 playing, had feed, played for ages and went down for nap with only 2 very short pupd and sshh's. she went down mmmmummm-ing and was out by herself in mins.