How will the cry it out method affect my 8 month old?

Question

My 8 month old still wakes up 3 to 6 times a night. We are going crazy but I am afraid of damaging her in any way using the cry it out method. I am at the end of my rope. I've tried routines, massage nothing seems to work. I tried the cry it out for one night and it was a nightmare, my husband and I ended up in an argument while I was also crying seeing my baby so distressed. should I try anything else before doing the CIO full blown?

Answer 1

I think the cry it out method is the only way to go and the best way to help your child have healthy sleep habits. While it's not fun to listen to your child crying, it has no negative affects. It has a wonderfully positive effect on their overall sleep health. When babies rely on their parents to fall asleep, for a bottle, rocking, or verbal comfort, they do not learn how to self soothe on the their own and when they do wake in the night they have no idea how to go back to sleep without help. Think about it when was the last time you as an adult slept the entire night without waking to roll over or because you were too hot, or you heard a strange noise? After you get settled again, you can easily get back to sleep on your own. Babies need to learn how to do this, they WILL wake in the middle of the night, but if they know how to deal with it, they will not require a bottle or whatever habit they have created to soothe themselves back to sleep. I was a fool when my daughter was born, I rocked her to sleep until she was 9 months old. I loved it, there was something romantic about it and it was sweet, but now I know better. Next child will be put in the bed drowsy but still awake. We did the cry it out thing at 9 months of age for my daughter and it took 3 nights. First night she cried about 20 minutes, night 2 was about 10, night 3 was 5 minutes and hasn't cried to sleep since, she's now 4 years old. I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It's an excellent book about how important sleep is for young babies and children. Good luck, I know it's hard, but it's really the best thing for all of you.

Answer 2

They will cry the most the first night, just expect it. They should cry a little less the second night and less on the third night. By the fourth or fifth night, they should be sleeping through the night. However, it does not work for every child. It worked fine for two of mine. However, on the other one, I tried it at 15 months and it did not work. After two weeks, he was crying even more than before. Instead of waking up once or twice, he was waking up every hour and crying. I was exhausted. I quit letting him cry it out and he went back to waking up once or twice. Several months later he was ready to sleep through the night.

Answer 3

The "crying it out" method is debatable--as you mentioned, it's not only the baby who's affected. Babies cry because they want/need attention, and it's good for them to know that someone will respond when they do. On the other hand, parents need to sleep. At eight months, i'd suggest you give the child a certain amount of time crying to see if they'll give up and go back to sleep (say, fifteen minutes at first), and if they don't to get up and to attend to their needs. Gradually increase the time (say to twenty minutes after the first two weeks, thirty after a month) and see how it goes.

Answer 4

I have an 11 and 10 yr old. I used the cio method with them starting from about 5mths on. If everything was okay (feed, changed, not ill) and they were just "crying for no reason" I let them cry. They are normal boys. But in the end it's your decision.

Answer 5

I think that's a good age to start. Maybe a little too late even. I started my son at 5 months. He's been a good sleeper ever since. It took a few nights but I need atleast 6 hours of sleep to keep my sanity... so I figured it was either my child have a psycho mom or he could cry for 15 minutes and have a nice mommy in the morning. Just do it honey. It might take about a week to get it down, but you have to stick to your guns....

Answer 6

Science Says: Excessive Crying Could Be Harmful to Babies
http://askdrsears.com/html/10/handout2.asp

SHUTDOWN SYNDROME
http://askdrsears.com/html/10/t131200.asp

Ask yourself why you are doing this, do you REALLY have a problem with your daughter's sleep habits or do you think it is a problem because everyone keeps telling you she should be sleeping through the night. If it is working for you to have her up, and changing it isn't working then what are you driving yourself nuts for? My son is 13 months and he is still up at least 5 times a night, but we cosleep and I don't really mind. Also last time I tried a no cry sleep solution I ended up so sleep deprived I almost hurt him.

You can try the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, it works for a lot of people. But even she will tell you not to bother unless it is something you really want.

SLEEP-TRAINING – NOT FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS
http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T070700.asp

Answer 7

I know how hard it is to let your baby cry. I used the Ferber method on my 5 month old and it really wokred. It was very hard for 2 nights. I cried right along with her but on the 3rd night she only cried once for around 5 minutes. Now she is 7 yrs old and is a very happy, well-adjusted kid. And she is a GREAT sleeper. Good luck.

Answer 8

The most important thing is to be consistent. It is so hard to listen to your baby cry and it may not be right for you or your baby.

Read The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg - she is absolutely fabulous!!

Answer 9

Maybe your baby isn't getting enough to eat. I've never had any problems with my daughter because since she had reflux I had to put rice cereal in her bottle. It seemed that she was full every night and would never wake up. You might want to try the cereal thing. I would just put a formula scoop of cereal in a 4 oz bottle and she would be fine. You can try that and maybe it will work.

Answer 10

your going to get tons of response to this b/c everyone has their differant views! me personally i wouldn't do it my 6 almost 7 mo. old still sleeps with me and nurses during the night several times..but hes also not up crying, but i personally couldn't do it. Don't do something your not comfortable with...maybe he teething or something else is wrong..gas or something.