Starting CIO tonight- advice?

My mom ( our live in grandma/babysitter) is gone for the week and DH and I have had enough with DD sleeping with us in our bed and refusing to sleep AT ALL now in her crib.

We are going to start night 1 of CIO with the progression of time ( 3 min, 5, 7 etc)


Any advice from moms who have done it OR those who have tried something else?

DH is worried because he read that the longterm effects of CIO are not known so he think we will be emotionally damaging DD - will we???

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

how old is your DD?
you are NOT causing her any problems there are no studies that show that CIO damages your child.
i did it w/ DD and she is to this day a great sleeper. she isn't damaged, doesn't hate us, etc...

the only advice i can give is: be consistent and stick with it if you want results.
and drown out the crying with either the tv, white noise b/c if you listen you will never go through with it!
it will be unpleasant but in the long run it could be totally worth it!
good luck!

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

advice...BE CONSISTENT..its probably one of the harder things youll have to do, but youll get through it, and so will your baby..
my ds was much harder to do then my dd..pretty much because my dd wasnt really a crier, shed go for about 40 minutes and fall asleep..hardly a challenge lol but it was rough to listen to none the less..
be prepared though, because my ds on the other hand was 7 or 8 months old when we did it, and he cried for 3 hours STRAIGHT..i wanted to die the first 2 nites..but i PROMISE you, by the 3rd nite, if youre consistent YOU WILL see a huge improvement..he was STTN again by 4 days of CIO..with the last 2 days just waking for about a half hour or so.
GOOD LUCK!!
fm me if you have any questions!!

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

My advice is to be consistent and strong. I really think it is worse for us then it is for our DC. We did CIO with DD and now at 19 months she sleeps wonderfully.

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

I agree with PP... consistency is the KEY to CIO.

You really have to stick to your guns no matter how tempted you are to run to DC and scoop them up in your arms. Don't do it.

I also don't know how old DC is, but I personally would not start until they are at least 6 months. I know others have done it sooner, but most doctors will tell you to wait until at least 6 months.

And no, there will be no long term damage to your child from CIO. In fact, they may cry tonight and the next couple of nights, but in the morning they don't even remember... it's amazing! It really hurts us more than it does them.

And here are some ... you will find that this is such a great thing you are doing both for DC and youselves. SO worth it!

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Posted by jerseypanda

I agree with PP... consistency is the KEY to CIO.

You really have to stick to your guns no matter how tempted you are to run to DC and scoop them up in your arms. Don't do it.

I also don't know how old DC is, but I personally would not start until they are at least 6 months. I know others have done it sooner, but most doctors will tell you to wait until at least 6 months.

And no, there will be no long term damage to your child from CIO. In fact, they may cry tonight and the next couple of nights, but in the morning they don't even remember... it's amazing! It really hurts us more than it does them.

And here are some ... you will find that this is such a great thing you are doing both for DC and youselves. SO worth it!

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Thanks you all for the support and words of advice.
DD is 8.5 months old- We have had sleep problems with her for 2 months now after she used to STTN since 2 months old.

We are starting a routine- 5:30 dinner, playtime, 7:30 bath, calm down time/ read aloud and then going to put her into the crib when she gets sleepy.

Hearing how much it has worked and changed your DC's sleeptime is giving me great courage !

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

A question- How do I know what works best- shut the door and don't go in or go in in the minute increments?


DD seems to have attachment issues- does not ever want to be left alone! Which might work better?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

I just did this last week. My boys are 9 months old and I could not go through one more night of broken sleep. They were up in my room. We moved them into their own room and did not go in when they cried. My boys used to wake up all night long and cry for no reason. They were so use to my dh or I going to them right away that they lacked self soothing skills. It has been a week now and they pretty much sleep from 6:30-6:30. I had to do extinction b/c the first night I went in and made it worse. My one son cried himself to sleep after 40 min. but my other son woke up and cried on and off for almost 2 hrs. My boys will sometimes wake during the night but they cry for a second and put themselves right back to sleep. I think they still wake out of habit. My doctor said it would take a little longer b/c they were older. All I know is I wish I would have done it much sooner. It's a lesson learned for next time. Good Luck!!

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

1.5 hours later and she's out.

that was better than I thought and way worse than I expected! The sounds coming out of her wrenched my gut!

Hopefully tomorrow night will be better.


Should I expect her to STTN? what do we do if she wakes up at 11 like she usually does- just do it all over again?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

Re: Starting CIO tonight- advice?

i agree with everyone else. be strong and consistent!

we did CIO with DS when he was around the same age. It was hard for us, but it was the best thing for him. he NEEDEd to sleep... he was a much happier baby once he was finally able to STTN.