Starting CC - success stories please!

[weelittlething]

Just starting CC tonight after a few weeks of terrible nights (1 hour bedtimes and two hourly wakings, each taking around 20 mins to settle) and a history of bad sleeping in general.

This decision was really difficult for us, and I feel absolutely awful, so would really love to hear how it's worked for some people!

Hi how old is your little one? Just interested coz I'm having a hard time too and keep thinking about cc

3 nights for us and went from taking hours to settle and a few wake ups to 12 hours sleep. Not as bad doing it as I thought it would be..

Again, 3 nights did it for us -horrible for the first two but it worked really well and dd has been a good sleeper ever since ( she was about 18 months when we did it, and us now 4 1/2).

We did this with both our DS.

DS1 was about 16 months old and had had a dummy until that point so we decided to get rid of it at the same time - he was using to settle at night so it didn't seem compatible with CC and self-settling. We followed the rules from a book (somebody Green iir) - put him down awake, leave for 2 mins, go in to settle but put down the moment he calmed, leave slightly longer, repeat etc. etc. The first night it took about an hour of to-ing and fro-ing, the second night a few minutes and the third night we out him down awake and he self-settled with NO crying. He also didn't wake up in the night at all and has remained a great sleeper ever since (he's now 11!). Despite this being 10 years ago I remember it vividly because it literally changed our lives - we'd had over a year of very little sleep and not more than an hour or two at a stretch.

A few years later we did the same with DS2. He was slightly younger (13 months or so) and again we took the opportunity to get rid of the dummy. DS2 wasn't as poor a sleeper as DS1 had been but was still wasn't great. CC worked even quicker this time - a few minutes the first night (again, not just leaving to cry but religiously following the leave/settle/leave routine) and perfection by night 2.

Good luck.

3 nights to go from 20min wakes and two hour bedtimes to sleeping 12-13hrs through the night. First night was crying for 45mins, 2nd night 20mins, third night 7mins. The middle of the night wakes were the hardest as we were so knackered and will power wasn't so high. It was so worth it though! Is now an amazing sleeper and even teeth (inc molars) haven't put her off her stride so far!

3 night here too Really tough, but so worth it, for him and us.

It was a long time ago now with DC1, but it took perhaps four nights. And I felt like a human again, not the Zombie Mother from Hell. It is hard to resist the screaming and weeping and little reaching hands when your milk is running, but I was being driven out of my wits by never getting more than a few hours at a stretch.

DC has been a very keen sleeper ever since (now late teens and still A1 at lying in).

We have done this twice with 2 children, worked very quickly, 3/4 nights. How old is your DC?

Did it with both dcs at 6 months old. It's amazing how quickly it works and it really felt like the baby wass just ready and waiting to be told to sleep through.

DS1: Night 1 - cried on and off 25 mins, night 2- 15 mins, night 3 - no crying, PEACE!!
DS2: Night 1 - 45 mins, night 2 20 mins, nights 3 and 4 about 5 mins, night 5 PEACE!!!

Changed all our lives massively for the better. When I worried about being a cruel mum I added up the amount of night-time crying on a pre CC fortnight, compared to the amount on the CC fortnight. They actually cried more and slept less pre-CC than during and after CC. So it's actually cruel not to.

Thanks everyone - really reassuring to hear good things as it's so horrible hearing her cry!

She's 7 months old but we felt it was time as she refuses milk in the night, so wasn't waking for feeds, just long cuddles and hand-holding.

She does use a dummy though, do you think we should be phasing it out at the same time? So far after the waiting when we go settle her we just pop the dummy back in.

We did it when DD was 17 weeks. We did CC at naptimes and at bedtimes and she slept through (bar a dream feed) the first night - having been waking 6/7 times a night before that.

It wasn't a complete fix - she still wakes a lot as a toddler, but it's due to teething/cold and generally being a very light sleeper, rather than being due to habit. And it's never gone back to 6/7 times a night!

Re the dummy - I'd say lose it now - if she still needs the dummy to get back to sleep then she's still going to cry till you come and put it back in. CC is intended to teach her to go back to sleep without any intervention by you.

Unless she can find her own dummy and put it back in - but I'm guessing not at 7 months!

First night has been awful! She did really well after initial bedtime and slept (bar dream feed) from 7.30pm - 3am, but then woke up and just continued crying on and off (with us going in and settling) till we got her up at six!

She seems to have come to associate milk with sleep and now won't sleep without it and also won't take milk if she's not sleepy!

I feel like we've completely ruined her chances at this succeeding because we didn't break the association early on. Am I just being defeatist? Will it still work if we persevere?

Just to add though, she clearly wasn't actually hungry because when she got up at six she wouldn't have any milk at all.

It should still work. I had the world's most stubborn 6-month old when we did CC, who had always been BF back to sleep at night.