gerber cry it out method?

Question

my baby is 4 1/2 months old, and our dr says we should start the "gerber cry it out method"

right now she wont sleep in the crib only the car seat, and only when we rock her to sleep.

the dr says it's important that she sleeps in the crib and puts her self to sleep.

can anyone talk about their experience with it.
provide tips, guidance, suggestions, etc.

IMPORTANT: we have decided with our dr to try this method, so please no lectures, on how this is bad for the baby. im not here for that, im here for feedback from people who have tried this

thanks!

Answer 1

I think you are talking about the Ferber Method--get the book, http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0671620991

Read more info here-- http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babysleep/7755.html

Answer 2

My son is the same age, and I'm having similar difficulties. My "story" is a little different, but I'll tell you and hopefully it will help. I use to nurse my baby to sleep and then put him in his crib and he'd sleep until 5 am on his own. After he woke up I'd feed him again, he'd be up for about 30 mins. and then go back to sleep for a few more hours. Then at about 4 mos everything changed, he fusses a LOT before I can get him to sleep, wakes up when I put him down, and also gets up several times during the night to eat. He won't nap at all on his own. I personally dont' believe in the cry it out method, nor do I believe that you can spoil a baby at this age. This is what I'm doing: I was TOTALLY AGAINST co sleeping at first, but NOW I'm finding it to be great. If you put a baby bed rail on YOUR bed, he can sleep with his head above your pillow and body along the rail, so he won't get suffocated with blankets (it's so warm right now that we don't use them anyway). I've heard a lot of negative things about it, but you know Canada and the USA are the only two countries in the world that no longer co-sleep with our babies. It comforts the baby and gives more rest to the parents. And you CAN break the trend when baby gets older. Anyway, if he's fussy at night and you are breastfeeding, you can fall asleep while he nurses and if he wakes up just let him nurse and you can fall asleep again. I think it's a trend that will stop.... in fact, I think I already see a light at the end of the tunnel for our baby. For nap time, I still hold him. But that's becasue we've had so much going on. What I was doing was putting him down to play, giving him a Nuk and a blanket (not at night, just in the day when I can keep an eye on him) and he'd fall asleep, even just for five or ten minutes, SOMETIMES. Then when he woke up I'd feed him and hold him while he napped. As time progressed, he would sleep longer and longer on his own, until he was only sleeping in my arms once a day. Personally, I don't think there's a guidebook to parenting. There's so much stress on getting yoru baby on a schedule by 3 mos and all this stuff, but as I'm a full-time Mom and have the availability to do this, I'm okay with it. My house is a mess and it's out of control, but my baby is happy. I just posted a question on how to get over this clingyness long enough to get stuff done, but if there's no answer, then it's my house that's going to suffer, not the baby, and I'm sure you feel the same way. It sounds like you are a sweet and devoted mommy, and I know you'll figure out what works best for you and your baby. God bless!

Answer 3

Ferber method is very controversal.. But people need to understand that every baby's and family's needs are different.. This method works for some babies and does no good to others.. You need to look at your childs temper and figure it out.. I don't let my son cry b/c he's very hard headed and hot tempered.. I know if i didn't go to him, he'd keep going for hours and hours and get too worked up, so i just avoid it, and it's worked for us. I look at this method as a last resort. Why don't you try rocking her to sleep, but putting her in her crib, then make that rocking time shorter and shorter, but if that doesnt work, go ahead with the ferber method..

Some babies cry for 15 minutes and go to sleep and you don't hear from them untill morning.. Others cry for hours, then fall asleep in their own vomit b/c of the hysterical crying... Some will develop ugly thoughts towards their crib and never want to be near it.. some will never cry again and settle down.. so you have to try and see how your baby does.. Purchase the book and try it. If your instict is teling you this method isn't for your family, stop doing it.. No book can overcome a motherly instict..

Answer 4

The Ferber method is a very personal choice. You can't let others decide that for you. You have to try it and see how it works for you. I cannot do the Ferber method because I feel it sends our children a message that we'll be there for them all day, but not at night. They cry when they need something, especially at 4 months old. I think the person who gave her testimony about what her mother told her she did and she would panic... I believe that's what happens. The baby cries until it basically gives up on their caregiver responding to them. This is a trust issue. There have been studies on the Ferber method and it's not good for the baby. Check out Dr. Sears web site at askdrsears.com. You have to do some research on the pros and cons. Your pediatrician cannot decide for you what to do in this aspect, you have to decide for yourself. Try it and see how you feel, but have another method ready if it doesn't work for you. Don't feel guilty if you decide it doesn't work for you. I know you only wanted feedback from people who have tried it, I did with my first and it sucked. I like attachment parenting better. Good luck.

Answer 5

I think you mean the ferber cry it out method. I used this with all of my older three children and it worked great! Lay the baby down, hugs and kisses, and say night night. Leave the room. After 10 minutes go back in and lay her down but do NOT pick her up. Keep repeating this until she goes to sleep. Your first week will be trying and you will want to give in but if you don't it is so worth it. My kids are happy normal toddlers and mom is happy and not so tired I can't function. I really think it is great in the long run to. Switching to toddler beds has been no big deal. I really think this is the bes method out there! Hope this is what you were looking for.

Answer 6

Personally I won't use that method EVER again. I was told to do that with my son and I forced it for over two months. The only thing it got me was an over exhausted family a baby that didn't trust me and mounds of laundry because my poor little boy would get so worked up that he puked at least once a night. He'd fall asleep 3 HOURS after I put him down wake up 20 minutes later and start screaming and choking again.
If it works with your daughter then I'm thrilled for you. I do believe it's sending the wrong message to her though. My son at about 9 months old let me know in his own way that he was ready to sleep on his own away from my bedside.

Answer 7

I know how you feel but I will give a helpful answer I hope as I had exact same problem. Firstly I hate the term cry-it-out suggesting you are just leaving baby to exhaust him/herself to sleep. I like to think its more like training/teaching baby to sleep. I stuck to the 6min rule and some people also found this wrong, however it worked and I felt better about it. Firstly I set-up the room in the best possible way for her to sleep e.g darkened, wrapped, warm etc etc. Then I made sure she was sleepy and I told her it was sleepy time. I let her cry for 6min and then I went back in and told her it was okay. If necessary I picked her up but I tried not to. Then I walked back out and repeated this process but not too much as to me it can look like your 'teasing; the baby. Overtime this worked and she goes down for every sleep now with minimal fuss. She still cries but its always less than 6min and its more for her to release herself to sleep. Its a different cry as well, a protest cry rather than a 'comfort cry'. I wouldnt totally abandon her until she sleeps but gradually let her learn that you wont be in the room until she sleeps. We originally started with us in the room, however I found this didnt work because the way i look at it "would you sleep if someone was patting you?"
Im sure you will get heaps of advice but I was exactly the same as you and it really is hard work, but just remember that a habit takes roughly 3days to break and she only knows how to fall asleep in the props you have taught her. If you need more advice my email is [e-mail] and Ill show you what I used. You dont want to get yourself in that system where your bub needs you to sleep because you will be exhausted and then you wont be the best mum you could be. I hope this sort of helped as someone told me the same thing and Im glad they did.

Answer 8

I thought that this was the way to do it. Its wahat my X Dr said to do as well as my mom and grandma and friends. But it didnt work and my stress levels went through the roof trying to deal with it. I looked around as you are and discovered a better way. I created a safe family bed situation and after about 2 years I began moving them to slumber in their own toddler beds. ( I can honestly saw that I owned a crib for about 1 month; never again) I NEVER had a problem with them staying there or having issues sleeping or even falling asleep. Its a security issue with babies. Not to mention the ease of midnight feedings and worrisome "are they breathing scares" you can save a ton of money by not buying all the cribs, gadgets, guismos, and savoy tech equipment needed for separate rooms. Now they are 6-8-10 and I still let them cuddle with us when they need us. They all have been excellent sleepers. I thoroughly believe this is why.

Answer 9

I dont that problem with my son he only ever wanted to sleep in his car seat. so I just put one of those wedge things in his crib to kinda prop up the mattress and that did the trick. I was never able to do the cry out method, it just broke my heart lol. I couldnt do it. Good luck to you though

Answer 10

I've tried it for a little bit too. I always sat in the room and sung to him while he cried. It hurt me to think he'd think I wasn't there for him, so I sat beside him and sung him lullabies.

I've had friends who let their baby sleep in their car seat, while the car seat was in the crib. Eventually they grow out of it and don't like the lack of room (by the time they start wriggling.) Then they'd be happy to sleep in the crib by themselves.

My baby didn't want to sleep in his crib, or car seat - so he sleeps in his crib which is pushed up to my bed level now like a co sleeper. I tend to pick him up for a midnight feed and feed him in my bed, without waking up. Works for me! In essence, do what works for you. If the 'cry it out' method works for you, do it.

Otherwise, just keep on finding more alternatives :) Theres plenty out there

Answer 11

when you do try this and if it works let me know how well it worked and what you did.

I'm going to try this also on my 5month old soon to be 6 month old i was up at 3am this morning after getting him to sleep reading about it. he does cry him self to sleep sometimes.




******** i just tried this tonight and within 10 mins my son was sleeping . if it works for the next 3 days then the method works.
but im not to sure on it know he went to sleep by 9pm and woke crying at 11:30pm and again at 3am