Does sleep training cause long term damage?

[Needsleepnow87]

I’m thinking of doing some interval sleep training (DS is 9 months)...but I’m worried that it will cause long term emotional damage.

Does sleep training negatively effect your bond with baby or cause issues later on in life?

I’m talking about for older babies (nearly 1), not newborns!

@SnippitySnappity you give me hope when you say your second is much easier! I'm expecting no 2 (v early days) and am really hoping for a better time where sleep is concerned (whilst also preparing for the worst!). We waited until our first was completely settled before even contemplating trying for a second as I would not have been able to handle sleepless nights with the level of sickness and exhaustion I'm currently dealing with (and work thrown into the mix too)

@Schwanengesang good luck with it. Main advice I will give is be consistent. I thought I was being consistent before sleep training and I did my best but I was anything but. If you have a good health visitor (or equivalent in your country) then definitely use them. Unfortunately, I've received shockingly poor (and often outdated) advice from more than one health visitor (which in once case was very quickly retracted when she found out what my profession is ). Those who have a good one are very lucky.

@riddles26 - yes, a completely different and lovely little personality altogether - we did still have to do sleep training but she's nowhere near as affected when she doesn't get enough sleep, and needs at least 2 hours a night less than her sister. It was strange for me to have a child who's really not very cranky at all when she's a bit tired or sick, I now understand why some people do let their kids stay up late and roll with it and she does sometimes just fall asleep when tired, as I mistakenly thought DD1 would. DD2 is a dream to put to sleep, I really do give her a kiss and tell her that her teddies want to go to sleep and off she goes.

I agree with you about HV - I happened to hit a good group where I am, but I've had so many friends who've had awful experiences!

that's one of the nicest thing we've found about parenting - we've got 2 girls, and there are some similarities but they're mostly completely their own people, and very defined and different preferences from the moment they were born.

Thanks @NameChange30, @riddles26 and @SnippitySnappity - first two nights have gone really well. Though my adherence to real gradual retreat needs improvement.

I think we'll give it a week, then if some improvement, move to the next stage of gradual retreat.
If no improvement, then I think CC, given that it's more likely to work quickly.

How is it going @Schwanengesang ? Hope sleep is improving for you both

Thanks @riddles26 - got way better very quickly- 7pm bed and wakeups 1.30, 4.30, 6.30 - but now we both have a cold so back to cluster feeding & crying all night long. Hoping we can sort it again soon as I feel like death...

Hi I have been reading this thread with much interest as I am contemplating gradual retreat for my eight month old.

Just wondering how you are progressing Schwan?

@PlanetMJ We're back to 7pm bed and wakeups 1.30, 4.30, 6.30 after a few really bad nights. The difference is amazing.