Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Original poster

Controlled Crying at 6 MO HELP!

13 replies

DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 21:42

Would it be too horribly cruel to do CC at 6 mo? My dd's sleep has totally degenerated since she was the perfect sleeper at 3 mos. I can't let it go on like this as she shares a room with my oldest dd, and every time she wakes up, she wakes #1 up. She woke up every 45 minutes last night, up until 12AM when I took both her and her big sister into bed with me (Much to the annoyance of DH). Help me please, I am desperate. I need to do something! Oh, on cue--there she is crying again!

OP posts:
ArtichokeTagine · 13/05/2007 21:47

I did it at 7 months. I felt terrible about it but I could not get DD to sleep without the breast. I was lucky. It took one night of 21mins crying and then a few nights of one or two mins. Since then she has settled herself and as soon as she learnt to settle she stopped waking at night. Not sure I could have done it if she had cried for longer though.

PeachesMcLean · 13/05/2007 21:51

If you believe she's waking and demanding your presence out of habit, then it may be time to put a lid on it. 6 months does seem very young (though I am a fan of CC and did it when DS was 10 or 11 months.)

did she sleep fine as soon as she was in your bed? How does she sleep during the day?

Original poster
DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 21:51

So how did you do it? Did you just stroke her and leave?

OP posts:
ruddynorah · 13/05/2007 21:52

what have you tried up to now? 6 months is very young. have you read 'the no cry sleep solution'?'

Original poster
DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 21:54

She's ok when she is in bed with me, still wakes up, but def. not as often. Maybe once after midnight. She sleeps well in the day--three naps. BUT ONLY if she is sleeping in a sling on me. I feel as if I've "ruined" her!

OP posts:
Original poster
DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 21:55

yes, tried No-Sleep. But honestly, she really wants my presence to sleep. See my nap post.

OP posts:
ArtichokeTagine · 13/05/2007 21:56

I went in at increasing intervals (2 mins, 4, 6...). I only went in if she was screaming as opposed to winding down. Each time I stroked her head and told her it would be OK then left. If she had flipped onto her tummy then I turned her back. I never picked her up.

Good luck if you decide to do it. It is hard and I was convinced it was wrong for a long time. However it worked for us when we desperatley needed a solution.

PeachesMcLean · 13/05/2007 22:02

To be honest, I'd feel that if she won't sleep without you during the day, she won't do it at night. You've got more chance of convincing her to go to sleep by herself in her own cot during day time (ie, when you're not so frantic, you're less worried about your own and your other daughter's sleep). I'd concentrate on the daytime sleeping then you can tackle the night time.

You haven't ruined her. Routines can be changed and she won't remember any of this. I however do remember my mother complaining that I didn't sleep through the night till I was five. Doesn't bother me as such but I know I was evil

SoMuchToBits · 13/05/2007 22:07

I did it at about 3 months, and it worked very quickly, and ds (now aged 6) still sleeps very well, unless he is ill.

We did it by first making sure he was clean, dry and had been fed. Then put him to bed, say goodnight, and leavethe room. We then went back initially every couple of minutes or so, then gradually increasing the interval. When we went back in we would pat him and talk gently, just briefly saying "time for sleep now" or something equivalent. The first night it took about half an hour before he fel asleep, the second night about twenty minutes, the third about ten minutes, and the fourth night he went practicaly straight to sleep. I was worried he would then wake up again after about half an hour or so, but he didn't.

Prior to trying cc, I had never been able to put him down awake - he always needed to be fed to sleep. We still didn't find it easy, but it did work, and it worked quickly. We have never regretted it, as ds is such a good sleeper, and also seems to be a well-adjusted confident boy, who loves us to bits.

Original poster
DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 22:12

I was afraid you;d say that Peaches. But I don't know what else to so about the day. #1 is nearly three and still at home with me, so the whole schedule for #2 is really difficult to establish.

OP posts:
PeachesMcLean · 13/05/2007 22:19

Ah, I see your point. To be fair, I speak in ignorant bliss as the mother of an only child Easy to be an expert in those circumstances.

I can see it is much more restrictive to be insisting on naps in #2's cot. Does #1 still sleep during the day, by any chance?

Original poster
DSMEZ · 13/05/2007 22:39

Sign...#1 gave up napping at about 2 and half...

OP posts:
chocolatte · 14/05/2007 09:20

hi dsmez. i agree praches that if at all poss try to do days first. i also only have 1 and cant imagine how difficult this is with 2 LOs so good luck! We had a similar problem in that dd wouldnt go to sleep without bf at all day or night. We sorted out the day at about 4 months and for a while (until teething and/or moving to own room) the nights were much better. I also felt that I had ruined her so can sympathise! But it was actually very quick to sort out the days. We did shh/pat baby whisperer and picked her up when she really screamed. Can you get someone to look after #1 for a few days at naptime? Or would she help by shhhing? When I was babysitting my friends 3yr old and trying to get mine to nap the little darling insisted on coming in with me to help. (although I realise this was novelty and there was no sibling issues!)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page