If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Did you have problems with DC going to bed on their own as they got older? Just wondering if I decided to not try CIO again for a while (DS is almost 10 months), will I be rocking him to sleep as a teenager? Any advise/thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I don't know b/c I never rocked my DS to sleep.

But I will say that we were "CIO Failures" at 8 months old and were not successful until 12 months.

Our issue was slightly different, but it did end up working for us as he got older

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I rocked dd to sleep until 12 months 9I could NOT do CIO before then). Once she hit the year mark, she resisted my rocking so I began just putting her in the crib. she cries sometimes, but for no more than 10 minutes or so and usually she just talks herself to sleep

she is and always was a GREAT sleeper, I would not worry

rock your dc all you want

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

hey there!

I never had to do CIO. ever since DS was 2 weeks old we sent the bedtime at 9pm. and now by 8:30 he's begging to go to bed. so every night at 9pm he gets the usual routine which is a wipe down (of his skin and parts) and bedtime story and then bottle. there are times I put him down drowsy and he knows what to do. DS will sleep from 9pm to 7:30am.

we were always lucky when it came to DS sleeping in the night... however he gives me a rough time during the day!

can someone answer what would warrant the CIO method? i really don't know.. thanks!

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Posted by Mikismom

I rocked dd to sleep until 12 months 9I could NOT do CIO before then). Once she hit the year mark, she resisted my rocking so I began just putting her in the crib. she cries sometimes, but for no more than 10 minutes or so and usually she just talks herself to sleep

she is and always was a GREAT sleeper, I would not worry

rock your dc all you want

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

i rocked DD#1 to sleep for what seemed like F-O-R-E-V-E-R...she was a colicky infant so i just did whatever it took to keep me sane... i let my DD cry, but never did an official CIO transition.

when she was ready, just as with everything else, she went to sleep on her own. when she got older, the night she turned to me and said "good night, bye bye mommy" i almost .

now at 2 1/2 if we could only figure out how to get her to STAY in her bed all night it would be great

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

No I didn't do CIO - but if my daughter wakes at night I do let her cry for a short time b.c she often goes down back down on her own.

I used to BF her to sleep - then would BF and she would fall asleep on our bed and we would transfer her. We then moved to putting her in awake and DH would turn on her baby einstein turtle and would sit with her for a few minutes - eventually we worked it so we could just put her in the crib with the turtle and say good night - a very rare occasion she will stand back up and cry for 1 minute then lay down and go out - but most nights she just goes right out. That worked for us. Everyone has something different - and I think each baby is different so what works for one might not work for another.

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I never did CIO and I never had a problem with him falling asleep.


Now, don't ask me about him actually staying asleep

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I consider ourselves CIO failures.

We could never do it. Our first cried so much that he threw up - all of the time. We couldn't do it. We would pat him until he was asleep. Then when we stopped, he'd be ok for a little bit until he woke up.

He got used to sleeping next to someone so much that we used to joke that if they made a toy that was shaped like a body & was warm, it would be ideal.

My feeling on CIO is the earlier the better. There is a reason why our second child went right to bed. We learned our lesson on not rocking to sleep & not sleeping with her in our arms. She's a snuggler but in the end, needs her space now.

You won't be rocking to him to sleep as a teenager but only because his friends will tease him. I do think we made the first sleepovers (outside of family) tougher for him as he transitioned into sleeping on his own.

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

We never did CIO. We started the sleeping on your own at 10 months. He was not ready before.

The 1st night we tried (no rocking or falling in our bed 1st), I put DS in his bed and STAYED with him in his bedroom. I dimmed the light to very low and folded laundry (in almost black!!). I did not want to be away from him so he would be scared and I did not want to just pay attention to him. He cried a bit on and off but I talked to him regularly. I would come and touch his hair also once in while why doing the folding. I never left the room until he felt asleep. I did that for 1 week. Staying with him in this room until he fell asleep but again not holding him and being busy doing something in his room.

After 1 week, I left once for just a few seconds to get a new garbage bag and came back to change the garbage bag with his dirty diapers. Again for a few days, I just left to either get some hangers, a garbage bag.

After that, I started leaving 2 times, then 3 times.

For a total of 3 weeks.

Afterthat he fell asleep on his own. He is a routine child, so I say/do the same thing when I tell him goodnight.

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

we did do cio and it worked for us when my ds was about 1 and he used to put himself to sleep (would sometimes cry and sometimes take 1/2 hour.) but then he got a bad virus and wouldn't go to sleep on his own anymore. i couldn't do cio anymore b/c he started to vomit when he cried...so what i do know at 19 months is rock and sing goodnight for 1 minute then in his crib and lightly touch his back (either till he falls asleep or just a few seconds depending on his mood.) not ideal at this age but he does put himself to sleep and i'm not rocking.

gl!

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I rocked my son to sleep every night until he was 20 months old. He is 5 now and I miss those days

We eventually transitioned to me sitting next to him in his bed reading stories till he fell asleep, then me sitting on a chair in his room. by the time he was 3, I was tucking him in, telling him a story, and leaving him to fall asleep on his own.

Never did CIO with my younger two either.

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Posted by pmpkn087

I never did CIO and I never had a problem with him falling asleep.


Now, don't ask me about him actually staying asleep

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I'm not a BTDT mom (my DD is only 3 weeks ), but my sister did not do CIO with either of her boys, who are now 7 and 4.

I think the only issue with rocking to sleep is that it becomes very comfortable and familiar, and is a very hard routine to break. My sister rocked her 2nd son to sleep until he was 3 1/2...he'd refuse to sleep any other way.

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

Ladies thank you so very much for your replies. We are - OK actually it's me - CIO failures and I am not on board with trying it again any time soon and was wondering if I was harmin my son in the longterm by not forcing him to go to sleep on his own. THANK YOU for sharing your stories with me!!!

Re: If you are a mom who did NOT do CIO...

I didn't do CIO with my dc's. My girls (who are 8 and 5 now) slept on their own at about 2..they are actually fantastic sleepers...the kind that you have to beg to get up in the morning. My son is 3 and sleeps in his own room but still every once in awhile will come into our room. I actually miss the nights cuddled up with my kiddos. I say do whatever works for you and your family.