Controlled Crying Help ASAP!

[xmummiex]

Hey Ladies,

Firstly please don't think i've taken this discion lightly, it was our last option. I'm in need of quit a bit of help, well a lot. My daughter is 8 months and breastfeed. She has always slept with me from day one and always woke up at 10 for a feed at 2.30 for a feed.

I've been trying to get her in her cot for a while and nothing has worked. After speaking to my health visitor she told me i should do controlled crying. This will be our 3rd day of doing it and its going quite well. First night it was hell. She cried for 2 hours but eventurally went to sleep. Last night she cried at her day time naps for 40mins then bedtime no crying at all. I gave her a feed at 8 as i felt she might be hungry because she hadn't taken much milk through the day.

My questions are. If Mya in her day time naps wakes up about 30 mins later should i get her up or leave her to cry for long? In the night when she wakes about an hour after i leave her don't i? What do i do about night feeds though? As she is sleeping in our room but in a cot i don't think we can really do the CC. My OH works aswell so she can't really be screaming in the night. Or should i move the cot into the living room in the night when i do her dreamfeed and just CC then.

Advice quick would be welcome as her 3rd night is coming up.
xxx

Hi, well done you, you seem to be coping with a lot of change at the moment!!
Not 100% sure on the 'rules' of cc but thought I would share what I do.
I have set sleep times for my dd. (let's take 1-2.30 as an example)
Dd gets put down awake if she cries I leave her 5 mins before going in and silently settling and replacing dummy and walking out of the room again. If dd wakes earlier than 2.30 crying I do the same until she is back to sleep, if she wakes chatting gurgling giggling etc. Then I get her up.
Not sure what to suggest with night waking as I am one of the lucky few who has a dd who sleeps through the night!
Keep going though, I have really noticed a difference through doing this and gives much more structure to my day!
Good luck

Thank you for your advice :) I deffently know its for the best. My daughter is in a much better mood and i think it's better for me aswell. Just need to get it right. x

Hi xmummiex we've been doing CC for two weeks now. My DD is two - and it is working, she now only moans when we put her to bed.
When DD wakes up we do the CC, for example go in after five minutes, then ten minutes then 20 minutes, then every 20 minutes until she goes to sleep. To be honest she hasn't been waking at night since doing the CC. I reckon it's worth keeping at it because our DD is so much better tempered and loving during the day.
I think it's important to keep going in and settling them though, that way they know you are there for them but that they have to sleep.

Thankyou. As i said it's deffently working with her so i am going to keep at it. The only thing i don't know about is the night time situation. We only live in a one bedroom and her cot is in the room with us. I give her a dream feed at 10 and i was thinking is it a better idea to move the cot into the lounge at this point? It's a travel cot, so isn't a hassle to move. Both rooms are pitch black so i'm sure she wouldn't notice the rooms have change. It's just i think if she stays with us then she'll see me and get more wound up.

P.s. There's no way me & my OH could sleep in the lounge (only have a corner sofa).

It sounds like with a bit of tweeking you will be able to sort this. Firtsly with day naps- if she only has 30 mins, I would leave her as per night time- she has come into a light sleep phase and woken herself up, she needs to learn to get back off-3o mins isn't enough sleep for a long afternon nap, unless you are happy with lots of little power naps. Pop into her if she is really going for it- but only to stroke head and settle-
At night she really shouldn't need 2 feeds, at this age, as she is weaned by now she doesn't NEED to be fed- rather she is in the habit of being fed.
If I were you I would totally drop one feed- cold turkey.Although it may not make sense, I would drop the dream feed. She may sleep longer than you expect then give her a full feed when she wakes, but only 1 feed Once you have got through this initial upset ( she may wake several times but don't feed her again ) the next few days she is likely to increase her day time intake of food and milk- 'stuff her up' you want her to increase her day time appetite, so her nightime on diminishes. Once you start noticing she either A, wakes later and later for this feed or B decreases this feed, it is your cue to decrease this single night feed. ( if she shown no signs, after 1 week- then follow step 2 anyway!) Over the next 3-5 days decrease the amount you feed by 100 mills every day. OR by the the amount of minutes if breastfeeding, so that after 5-7 days she is only taking 100mls, or having 5 mins on the breast, at this point you know she is waking only from habit, and not at all from hunger- and then you can continue with cc in the knowlege she isn't really hungry.
Just read your bedroom arrangements .It may make more sense to move her into the living room, will certanly be easier- so in that case , dream feed her so she settles for that first move into the living room and don't feed again, then gradually decrease the amount she drinks at the dream feed.

Thankyou containher. I will deffently be doing that tonight. :)