How long it take your littlt one to sleep?

Question

My little one is just over 5 months and is still waking 3-5 times a night. She is not hungry or dirty. As soon as I give her the pacifier, she is back to sleep. I am going to try the waiting thing tonight. I will start with 5 min. then 10 and so on. Has this worked for anyone and if so, how long did it take?

Answer 1

Just to let you know, CIO or controlled comforting is not advised for infants under 6 months of age. If your daughter just wants her paci, just give it to her. Children under 6 months usually wake for a reason, not "just because".

Answer 2

Why not just give her the pacifier if she goes right back to sleep? No harm in that..... There IS harm in controlled crying, cry it out, etc. etc. My son wakes more than that and wants to play, doesn't take a pacifier. I'm not complaining, but I'd be grateful for such a simple fix.  

Answer 3

i withdrew night feeds at 10mos, took her into our bed, gave her a paci and cuddled her to sleep, she stayed with us till morning.

now 2mos later, i have started putting her to bed awake and withdrawing her bottle to bed. she goes to bed, i say night night, mummy loves you, kisses cuddles, i put on her lullaby light. i go out the room, start tidying toys, she whines for 20-30sec, i go back in say its ok, mummy is here its just bedtime. stroke her face a few times then back out. all is silent, i go in 5min later and she is sound asleep.

it took 15min the 1st night, 10min the 2nd, 7min the 3rd and tonight is the 4th night.

no tears, no crying it out, no controlled crying. just my daughter happy to go to bed, knowing she is safe and mummy is there is she needs me.

Answer 4

Yes you are definitely on the right track. My son slept in the bassinet in my room until he was 6 months and he'd do the same thing. When my hubby came back from Iraq I started putting him in his room so the hub wouldn't wake him up. We did the Ferber Method for 3 days and it was all good. This first night he cried for like 12 mins and it just decreased from there. They do need to learn to self sooth and it's not a terrible thing. I read that the best thing you can do for your child is let them learn how to comfort themselves. You're not always going to be there or get up every time in the middle of the night. The other thing that helped was I bought one of those Fisher Price things that goes in the crib and plays music. Every once in a while in the middle of the night I'll hear it on. I'll know he's awake but at least he has something other then me to help him back to la la land. Good luck!

Answer 5

I think you're taking the right steps to get your baby to teach herself to go to sleep. The method you're talking about is called "controlled crying" and most parents report it takes up to a week to work but a lot of the time it works much quicker than this. At the moment you're baby has made an association with the pacifier and thinks she needs it to sleep so taking it away is a good idea otherwise you'll end up having to constantly go back in to put it back in her mouth when she can't find it in the night. Some parents can't deal with the controlled crying technique but personally I think it's the kindest thing you can do for your baby because you're teaching your baby to sleep on her own which will allow her to get more sleep which can only be good for her! Good luck and know that your perseverence will pay off, trust me!

It is important however to make sure all her needs have been met (not hungry, clean bottom etc) before you leave her to cry for short periods. Some people don't recommend using the controlled crying technique until after 6 months but a lot of experts believe it's OK after 3 months provided all needs have been met first. I did it with my baby after 3 months and it was very successful.