new years resolution: to get my 18mth old sleeping through!! CC starting tonight any tips?

[outinthesticksmummy]

Hi there

Hoping for some support really. I am starting CC with my 18mth old dd tonight and am dreading it - she had a tummy bug just before christmas and hasn't been settling to sleep or staying asleep ever since. Last night she wake at 1 am and didn't settle til half 3!! so something has to give.

Have been told to go in after 5 mins then 10 then 15 but not leave her longer than 15mins - my only concern is that she gets very angry when we go in then leave her, if we keep popping in every 15 mins - won't this just get her more worked up???

Goes to be between 7 - 7.30 have been putting a couple of noddy books in her cot and leaving hall light on last few nights and that seems to be helping her settle- good or bad????? any ideas?

Hope someone out there has some useful tips, or does anyone fancy joining me and swapping notes???

My DD is very strong willed, i just need to make sure my will is stronger tonight

TIA

Myermay - sorry, forgot to add, that we took dd's dummy off her at the same time as starting cc. Sounds a bit harsh now looking back, but we figured that we may as well get it all done at once.

Well shes settled herself again tonight, have to admit it has been easier than i thought - although prior to xmas she had been sleeping okay. That first night was hell though!! even though she only cried for an hour ( felt like forever!!) but i had done a lot of reading up and klnew of lots of success stories.

Not too sure about the dummy thing, could never get her to take one as a baby she just spat it out. I would probably bite the bullet and go the whole hog, might seem a tad cruel to have to do things twice??? nit sure what others think??? I found that i picked a specific night and just went for it, had my pen and paper beside me and wrote down exactly what times i went in etc, so that i could remeber and check back in nights to come.

Mabel, was interested to see you had taken the sides of the cot before moving into a bed, am considering doing this in a few weeks, once shes got this sleeping thing sussed, how di you go about it?? Madam seems to be getting too big for her little cot - wish i had bought a cotbed instead.

Good luck

outinthesticksmummy,your message has renewed my determination to get dd2 sleeping through again.DD1 responded well to cc,but dd2 has a different temperment altogether & gets furious & screams in anger rather than because she is upset.We are on night no3 tonight & we've had 2 screaming fits since 7pm.I'm hoping it will get better after tonight.

We have very thin walls & my neighbours must be as sleep deprived as we are,but somehow,dd1 who shares a room with her sister,sleeps through it all.

I hope you have another good night tonight,.

outinthesticksmummy - we literally just took the side off his cot, (left the one on that was against the wall), he was still in a gro-bag at this point, but left him in it at 1st, then decided that it might be dangerous if he climbed out! Put some pillows on the floor in case he fell out, but he has only got out once and fallen out once. Even now, in his proper toddler bed, which he's been in for 6 months, he still doesn't get out. He just shouts if he wants us!

when you say only took an hour or 2 etc,do you mean without going in to them or do you mean sat with them ?i ordered a cotbed so hopefully be here soon,i dont want to start anything then change sleeping arrangements.lastnight ds woke a couple of times cried out and fell back to sleep within 2 minutes!thats never happened before!but then he woke lots more wanting feeding and cuddles.

Kittypants - i went in every 5 then 10 then 15 then 20 mins etc, said night night lay her down and left, even though she was continuosly crying, just kept going in. Suppose it depends on temperament, if i was to stay in her room she'd get even more irate and just want to play!!

Mirage - think 3rd night is the key!! keep it up, DD was an anger cry also 9stubborn little monkey!)

Mabel thanks for the advice, took madam out of her grobag just as i started this as she was getting a bit snug, also knew i wanted to change to a bed soon, am going to get a toddler duvet and take a side off soon i think, prob put a gate on her door way though??

She went to bed completley wide awake and hyper tonight after having a 2 hour nap after lunch and has gone straight off to sleep - gobsmacked!! big big change from this time last week, when we were stuffing her full of medised in a vain attempt to get sleep

happy sleeping everyone x

thanks.ds went to bed half awake tonight no fuss so getting better without any cc(dont speak to soon) also has already woke once and put himself to sleep!cried for 2 minutes,i was getting ready to go up and he went back to sleep!hes in a travel cot at the moment so wonder what he'll be like when comfy cotbed arrives!
what happens on 3rd night?is it worst night?

oh no, dd has come down with a sickness bug just as we had cracked this sleeping thing!!!! hope we don't end up back at square one, shouldn't be so difficult to correct this time ?????? i hope

oh no hope your lo is better soon!

Can I join in? Dd2 is 14m and goes to bed like a dream but wakes every night around 3/4am. Up until now we were giving her a bottle when she woke and she went straight back off to sleep again so although it wasn't exactly training her to get back to sleep on her own it worked and we were getting a good night on the whole. We have tried cc and a couple of other methods from time to time to try to stop the pattern but she was waking dd1 (5) and upsetting her sleep. This is maybe our biggest problem at the moment.

Dd2 has now started waking twice now and is obviously not hungry so I decided we needed to crack the waking once and for all as the bottle of milk was no longer working. We tried cc last night when she woke at 4 but it was a nightmare. She did fall aslepp every so often but soon woke again and screamed the place down. It broke my heart - and my eardrums. Dh and dd1 went up to the loft room to sleep in the end! At 10 to 6 I cracked and gave her some milk as I guessed she WAS actually hungry by then and she slept another 3 hours.

Is cc really the answer? I'm not sure what the baby whisperer way is but she does calm down when I pick her up and then put down again. ARgghhhh! Any further advice from those going through it at the moment? Thanks in advance and sorry if I'm hijacking

Hi there

your not hijacking at all, sounds like your LO has definatly cottoned onto the milk thing and its become a habit, we did this a few times as well, and like you it stopped working in time. It must be more difficult for you having another LO in the house to think about!! At 14mths i wouldn't have thought she actually needed milk in the night. I reckon your best option is to pick a weekend or sometime when DH and other DC don't need their sleep so badly and do the contorlled crying, first time can be horrible but just keep going in and out every 5 then 10 then 15 mins if she falls asleep then wakes up again start at the 5 mins again and work up, by the time the 3rd night comes round things should've started to click. I think Pick Up Put Down (babywhisperer) is for younger children?? not sure, i tried it a few times and it just overstimulated her, think the walk in walk out method is for older children. Have you been onto the sleep forum on babywhisperer website?? sorry haven't figured out links yet

Also does your DD have a good dinner?? maybe try giving some supper just before bed, we sometimes give a bowl of cheerios if she hasn't eaten especiallly well. How warm is your house, maybe she's getting cold?? (all things we've tried and ticked off before starting Controlled crying) i now put her in vest, pjs, cardigan and socks cos she moves about so much in her sleep she kicks off all the covers have just dropped the grobag as it was too restrictive!

Fingers crossed for a better night, let us know how you get on xx

Thanks a lot. The room is plenty warm and she's also in a sleeping bag. The HV suggested cereal at bedtime as well when I told her about the waking a few months back. HOwever, she wasn't really interested after a few nights and just pushed it away so we topped up her bedtime milk instead. She has got some teeth coming through but she's not miserable enough for that to be it most nights, iyswim! Whenever we go in she'll calm down so she obviously just wants the company. We will give it another go again tonight. Dh is taking dd1 up to the attic with him when he goes to bed and I'll persevere with the cc again. It's really tough on dd1 though, she's been knackered today, but I don't think it'll be cracked for a few nights at least so we're facing some knackeredness on the school nights too (and for me and dh going to work too!) Groan!

Onwards and upwards though... thanks for your thoughts. Hope you have a good night too

hows it going everyone?? any sleep yet?

DD appears to be much improved and hasn't affected our sleep too much, only up once and very easilt settled again. Am off work with her today though as grandma doesn't want to catch anything!!! starts nursery on 31st - can't wait!!

no,no sleep but havent started yet.although saturday night he slept 7 hours without waking which is result!waiting on arrival of cotbed before starting.hope youre lo is feeling better soon!

bad night.cot still not arrived.ds went to bed at 7pm as usual but up all night from 10pm onwards.usually its 1am onwards.trying to get him to nap but not working.had enough.