Am I starting bad habits?

My DD goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00...sometimes earlier. Sometimes she will wake up crying/whimpering around 12:30. I give her the paci and she will fall back to sleep immediately. Then she wakes up anywhere between 2:30-4:00 crying. I always assume that she's hungry at this point because her last meal was 6 at night.

When I feed her, she goes right back to sleep no problem. The whole process takes about 20 min. She always wakes up around this time crying no matter how much she's eaten during the day. She always acts hungry but won't always finish the bottle.

Should I be letting her CIO at this point? She knows how to put the paci in her mouth too. I am so nervous to cry it out...I thought I would be tougher than this. My DD will be 6 mo. in a few weeks.

Please... I'd love to hear from all sides- supporters and non-supporters of CIO.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

IMO - I would let her CIO... "they" say that most babies (may not be true for breast fed babies) can go through the night without eating around 4-5 months. Can you offer her a larger bottle before bed? How many ounces does she take now?

My DD has been STTN since about 9 weeks. There are occassions that she wakes up in the middle of the night and I do not go in for the most part (it depends on if she is sleep crying, and I can see that on the monitor). I do not feed her because I know that she can go the night without a bottle, she's been doing it for 3.5 months now. If I started that now, she would expect a bottle.

I did read that you can wean that bottle, but offering a small amount of water (I would check with your ped first on that), and eventually they will not want that bottle, because it won't be worth it to them to wake up for water.

Last night - or rather yesterday EARLY morning, DD woke up screaming because she rolled onto her tummy (it's a new thing for her), I just went in, rolled her back, and rubbed her tummy for a couple of minutes, she went right back to sleep.

Last night, DD fell asleep on her tummy and woke numerous times during the night, but we let her CIO and she stuck her fingers in her mouth and went back to sleep.

And before I get flamed for letting my 5 month old CIO, when I say CIO, I mean I let her cry for no more than 3 minutes or so. That's usually it all it takes for her.

Message edited 7/14/2009 10:15:00 AM.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

I should let her cry for a few minutes at least. I usually go right in.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

My daughter was like this (didn't have the paci starting at 6 mos., but did the night feeding thing) and took a few ounces typically around 3:30am, then went right back to sleep. I'm not a CIO fan. When she was ready she stopped asking for that bottle. One night, at 8 months old, she rolled over and slept the whole night (11 hours) and that was that from then on. Sometimes it makes me nuts b/c I want her to do things on my schedule/timeframe, but I know she will do them when she is ready. That's just my opinion and I know CIO has worked well for others. I say, listen to your mommy instinct b/c it usually knows best.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

I think it's time to start- she just wants you in there. But I would consult with your Ped to see what their advice is.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

i did CIo at 5 months with DS and it worked really well. it's not for everyone but if you think you can do it, i would try it. it sounds to me like she is not really hungry and is waking up out of habit.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

I would not let my 5 month old CIO.
I don't let my 2.5 yr old CIO.

If they are just asking for hugs and milk, I just gave in. It did not seem like a huge request. Different strokes for different folks. My kid was never a set napper or someone who I can lay down and say good night to.

I would not have changed anything and will do the same with #2. I think crying yourself to sleep is sad.

only posting because you asked normally I keep my trap shut on this topic.

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

What if you put her to bed a little later? I put my boys to bed at 8:30 and they STTN

Re: Am I starting bad habits?

I am doing cio now (4months) it is starting to work.

I would try the cio