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Sleep training doesnt work...

3 replies

Welikebeingcosy · 18/08/2020 21:29

Hey everyone I have a 14.5 month old and am a single mum and wanted to give up breastfeeding her to sleep so I have tried a few times to let her cry it out to sleep. I've tried replacing the breast for bedtime with bottles, water, dummies, blanket, a cuddly toy etc but she just throws all of these out of the cot.
Anyway, when I tried the crying it out method I went strong for a few weeks with it, but it never worked. She would still cry for an hour at a time before going to sleep, sometimes up to 2 hours and then waking multiple times through the night and crying for the same length of time.

Um so after a few weeks it seemed pointless as she wasnt having breast, but her sleeping hadnt improved like everyone says it does after a week or so. When I say no improvement, I mean like not even an extra hour of sleeping or even crying for a shorter period one day. She is relentless.

Anyway, I gave up and went back to breastfeeding her to sleep but recently she has started to bite so hard that I've had to give up and she is currently screaming her head off next to me and wont be comforted in any way. I've even tried holding her and walking with her but she put her hands to my throat and wrestled to try to reach my breast.

Has anyone had this experience and if so, what did you do?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Welikebeingcosy · 18/08/2020 21:32

Just to add, I've tried putting my finger in to stop the biting and told her no and it only encouraged her to bite more often. I've tried every suggested method in the entirety of parenting history, to get her to sleep without breast, but nothing works other than letting her scream for hours on end until she exhausts herself. That includes all naps. Hence why I had to give up after a few weeks because it didnt seem normal.

OP posts:
FATEdestiny · 19/08/2020 11:40

Have you tried going in to her at intervals of every few minutes?

missyB1 · 19/08/2020 11:46

DO you mean controlled crying? That is different to cry it out. It’s a structured method and involves going in briefly to offer quiet verbal reassurance every couple of minutes at first, then gradually increasing the length of time you leave them.

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