Controlled crying...I'm stuck, help

[Yamyoid]

Have been doing cc with 9 month old dd. First did it a few weeks ago and it worked well until she got a heavy cold a few nights in. I ended up back where we started as I couldn't let her cry when ill.

I'm now one week in to the 2nd attempt and she's ill again. Again, I don't want to leave her crying when ill but I don't want the awful experience of cc to have been for nothing. As soon as she realises she can be fed back to sleep, she's back to waking every two hours. She won't be comforted with rocking, patting or a drink of water.

I really don't know what approach to take tonight. I really need to get her sleeping sorted but am I going to have to admit defeat?

I think if she's ill you should get her to sleep the quickest/easiest way TBH.

Have you read 'the no cry sleep solution'? Many good ideas.

Cuddle her. Feed her. She's not well and she needs you!

She's ill, and no one sleeps well when they're ill. Adult eating patterns are all over the place when poorly, you can't expect a baby to regulate themselves when they're under the weather.

She's ill, and she needs you.

awful experience of cc - that should tell you all you need to know

^^

This.

Pretty sure even those who advocate cc don't think it works in babies this young?

Poor you, poor her. I know how awful sleep deprivation is but I personally found that any attempt to not feed/soothe etc led to more noise/disruption/tireder me. I just subscribe to doing whatever it takes for the most people to get the most sleep - be that co-sleeping, feeding, bed hopping etc. It's worked for us in that both mine sleep pretty well now at 18 months and 3, except for illness.

At 9 months she has no other way of communicating her needs to you, and no way of understanding why/how she feels ill and needs you to manage it and make it better for her.

Thanks for the replies. As it happened, she slept until now but, yes,you have confirmed what I know really, that the only option is to give her what she wants.

I used the word awful but cc did work very quickly to get her from waking every 2 hours and hardly eating any solids to sleeping eight hours and regaining an appetite. I just don't think I can do it a third time, hence my concern.

I think illness is absolutely the reality of babies and toddlers sleep being put backwards.... And awful reason for having to 'retrain'. I've just had to do controlled crying with my 17 month old (one evening thank goodess and no more) after lots and lots of illness. So this carries on for a long time I am afraid.

Maybe you can find a middle ground at this age? I used to rock my dd's cot rather than leave her. That helped her sleep faster than being alone but stopped her hourly waking, which feeding to sleep led to. Does that make sense.

Am truly sympathetic. In my experience you either do sleep training over and over until they are old enough to be reasoned with or just put up with being exhausted - or a bit of both!

Isn't there a big old developmental leap at 8/9mo that cocks up their sleep anyway? DS2 is this age and seems to be buy waking himself up by practicing his new moves in his sleep as he can't 'switch off'. I'd wait for this, as well as the illness to pass until you try sleep training again. Maybe something a little gentler before 1yo?