Feber method 14 month old - needing some encouraging stories

[Firsttmum]

Hi everyone.

My partner got to his breaking point at the start of the week and wanted to start letting our LO cry it out which I wasn’t a fan of so we compromised with the Ferber method.

Before this she was bed sharing and was sleeping pretty well however would toss and turn and keep us awake.

We’re on day 5 of Ferber. The first few days she only cried for 3 minutes before dropping off but now she’s cottoned on to the fact this is our new routine and gets herself in such a state before bed. She’s been crying for about 45 minutes for the last few days and has been sick because of it. Once she’s asleep she usually sleeps through but last night she woke up at 3am and cried for another hour before going back to sleep.

I feel like such a horrible mum doing it and feel like her sleep is getting worse. I know it’s early days and understand she can’t rely on me being next to her every night. I really need some encouraging stories because I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Sounds like extinction burst - it gets worse momentarily before it gets better again. So hang on in there and stay consistent. It will be worth it - you will both be happier.

We did Ferber method with my DS but he was only 6mo. It only took about 5 days but it did get better then got worse for a day before getting better again. It’s a huge change for you little one, and she’s older so understands more, so will take some getting used to. I do think I’d find it much harder with an older baby.
The sleep training helped us loads and he is so happy to get in his bed, get himself to sleep and mostly sleeps all night (he’s 16mo now). But he does know we’ll still go to him if and when he wakes and cries. I’m so glad we did it. Especially when I’m hearing about loads of his friends buddies who are the same age and taking an hour or two to be rocked/fed to sleep and still waking every couple hours. We’re all so much better for a full nights sleep and for having a bit of child-free time in the evenings with my partner.

Hi! Thanks for your responses.

Just an update. She only cries for a minute or so before going down and is sleeping through! To be honest I was starting to think Ferber wasn’t for us but we finally have our evenings back now. One of the best things we did for her sleep!