What do people suggest for a "no cry" method for getting babies (ours is 7 months) to sleep through the night?

Question

-she naps during the day without being fed, but is breast-fed at night
-she used to sleep through the night up until 6 months
- she is put in her crib drowsy, but awake
- we aren't interested in doing the Ferber Method and are looking for alternatives - co-sleeping would be nice to avoid too

Answer 1

My daughter was the same way; sleeping through the night until about 6 1/2 months. This happened because she reached some developmental milestones and wanted to practise her new skills not sleep. The Wake To Sleep method may work for you, it might be worth it to give it a try.

First night keep a journal of what time she wakes up in the night.
The next night set your alarm clock for 1/2 hour before the time she usually wakes up.
Go into her room and gently rouse her out of deep sleep but not really wake her up. Sometimes moving a blanket or rubbing her back or belly works. If you see her move slightly or sigh you will know she has been taken out of deep sleep but not "awake". Leave the room before she fully wakes up and let her go back to sleep on her own. She should just drift back off. This resets her sleeping pattern. Do this for 3 nights, then keep pushing it forward every 3 nights. If you go in at 3 am the first 3 nights, push it forward to 4 am the next 3 nights and so on. It's not a quick solution but it should work. She should eventually not wake up in the middle of the night anymore. Do this soon though, because she will be too old for this method by about 11 months.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I believe a little crying is ok. It's sometimes tough to bear and you might feel guilty - but that feeling goes away pretty quickly when you know nothing is wrong with her. Believe me it took a while, but after trying everything I could think of and reaching the point of sheer exhaustion I finally realized/accepted that crying in and of itself isn't going to hurt her. You will know the difference between a tired fuss and a something-is-really-wrong cry.
My thought is the earlier a baby learns to get herself to sleep the better. I refuse to be a parent that crawls into bed with her 2 year old every night to get them to go to sleep. No way!!!
I put my 4 month old to bed bathed, with a full belly and a dry bum. I'll take her in her room, holding and swaying her. I make sure she sees that I've shut off the light/darkened the room. Then I stand next to her crib for a few minutes, still swaying her. I quiety tell her it is bedtime. She is usually looking around the room so I stand so that she is looking at her crib. I tell her I love her and say goodnight as I'm putting her down.
Usually she will fidget and fuss a bit...with her, this either means she may have a burp or she is just plain overtired/overstimulated and needs to cry it out. Or she's simply getting comfortable.
I give her ten minutes at a time. I'll go in and rub her back (do NOT pick her up) and speak very quietly to her to soothe her and let her know I'm there. She'll usually conk out within about twenty minutes or so. She never reaches the point of crying really hard.
I think the key is to be as consistent as possible and stick with it. If you try a new method/routine for her bedtime, make sure you give it time. I try to do the exact same routine every night, at the same time, in the same order. She throws a little wrench in once in a while but overall it's working pretty well so far. I realize this could change as she grows but I will stick with the basics regardless.
Good luck to you and I wish you all restful sleep!

Answer 3

I too had the problem of putting my baby to sleep and tried the Ferber method...it just didn't work!

A friend recommended a book by Elizabeth Pantley called the "No Cry Sleep Solution". You can check it out, it worked great for us. I know the last thing a sleepless parent wants is to have to read something but it worked miracles.

Goodluck!!

Answer 4

You can thumbs down me, but I think a little crying is ok. They are testing the waters, and they need to get used to soothing themselves sooner than later. With our first child, we started putting her to bed and letting her "cry it out" when she was six months old. My husband and I sat in the hallway until she fell asleep. But within just 4 days she was crying less and less every night and by the end of week one, it was lasting only 2-5 minutes. Now she is almost 3 yrs old and goes to sleep great. I know people don't like the cry it out method, but it may be worth a try. Also-when you are a parent you know the difference between the "there is something really wrong cry" and the "I don't want to sleep cry" we never let her cry when it was the former. Good luck to you.

Answer 5

well sice you may not like to feed your baby formular you could pump your milk into a bottle and put some cereal in there so she could be full,or when night time comes turn down the lights so she could no the difference between night and day and also try not to play with her to much at night.try laying her on her stomach if you're not yet doing that,don't be scared of SIDS she's past that stage.maybe you can try giving her a bath before bed not to late thou,try rocking her to sleep and then put her down when she is.........well thats all i could think of for now, hope i helped.good luck and give her a BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG hug for me. i have a 3month old and he sleeps through the night and more,lol but i hope he don't break out of it.

Answer 6

MMM. She maybe teething and need the comfort. Or maybe more aware of her surroundings, and now the imagination of monsters under the bed is kicking in. Try playing soft comforting music, let it sing her to sleep.
Try pointing the head of the crib towards the north star, old wive's tale but I hear it does work sometimes.

Answer 7

She's a baby, she doesn't care WHAT method YOU use if she feels the need to cry she is going to.