Best sleep training method

[Yamyoid]

DD is getting worse and worse with sleeping. She cries herself to sleep at nap time while I rock her. She doesn't nap for long enough. She feeds to sleep at bedtime for about 2 hours, which is driving me crazy. She wakes through the night and I feed her back to sleep.

I have an older DS so want to keep crying to a minimum. Anyone particularly recommend a sleep training method? She's only 6 months old so I feel she's too young for CC although I'm starting to be tempted .

She is very young still - although I have been through many years of sleep deprivation so understand how you feel. I would buy/borrow the book 'Teach your Child to Sleep' by THe Millpond Clinic. It goes through loads of different options and gives factual information about sleep and routines. I found it wonderful although am still too sleep deprived to follow through with DS3!

Oh yeah by the way we followed the gradual withdrawl / gradual retreat method and it worked a treat for DS1 who had appalling sleep patterns but we did not do it until he was nearly a year.

Thanks, I'll look for the Millpond Clinic book.

Although I think that the only real solution is to grin and bear it for now [hgrin]

Try and do as little as possible during the day as well so you can cope with the sleepless nights. I work at a much slower pace because my sleep deprived brain is just not up to it! Children's sleep changes so much when they are little but a few gentle changes might help.

I did CC at 5 months old for bed time and naps. Took 4 days to work. He now sleeps 7pm-7am.

I do think he was a little bit too young, but I have severe PND and psychotic episodes so sleep is VERY important for me to function properly.

I would stick him in his cot, turn on the lullaby machine, give him his teddy and leave. I'd check after 3 minutes, then 5, then 7 minutes, then 10 minutes. If he was still crying after being left for 10 minutes, I would take him out, and restart the bedtime routine. Each 'check' involved a cuddle, a kiss and giving him his teddy and dummy back.