So my doctor says I have to start putting the baby in his crib at night and letting him cry it out…

My son turned 2 on the 15th. I've been breaking him from nursing and I let him cry at night when he wakes and its been a week and he still wakes up. @brookemmoore

You don't have to do the cry it out. That method isn't for everybody. I didn't do it and there's plenty other moms who haven't. If you want to, go for it, no judgment here.

I did limit my daughter from night feedings because she was waking up out of habit, not from hunger. I would give her her bedtime sippy with milk and then have another with water in it. When she woke in the night, I'd give her the water. She would take a sip, throw t and go back to sleep. Every time she awoke, that's what I did. Two nights later, she wouldn't wake anymore for milk or a sippy cup.

My opinion......i think it's cruel. Leaving a baby in a dark/dim room alone crying for what could be hours until they cry themselves to sleep is just messed up. Babies need comfort and security. My 7 and 5 yr olds just left my bed last yr and they moved to their room with no problem. They're independent and not spoiled. I just don't think it's right. Look at how many adults cant sleep unless their partner is in bed with them. Why is that ok but young children or babies are expected to deal with being alone?

With that said...if your heart says no then don't do it

@arivera64, Agreed! To each their own but I can't do it. And I've done tons of research on this topic. Having said that, many of my dearest friends have done CIO and their babies are just fine. I just can't! My baby still doesn't sleep well in our room or our bed most nights though 😭😭🤣🤣

Right @kenitra i mean some babies will give up after 10 to 15min. But if your baby is still crying his/her little lungs out after 15min its time to try something else in my opinion.

I let him cry for maybe 10 minutes, try to soothe him, give him a little more formula and his binky and blankey and put him down again, if he starts crying again I take him back into the living room because clearly he's not tired and I let him play some more

@arivera64, agreed !!! I will never do that to any of my kids. One of the drs in my ped office said she should be in her own room

I am in a similar situation, my daughter is 9 months - waking up numerous times at night for a bottle (she never really took a paci) the thing is a lot of time she's finishing the bottle, so in my opinion if baby is finishing the bottle he or she is hungry and should be fed.

If you think he's waking for comfort (which I notice one specific time my daughter wakes is comfort time) you can transition to water - if you don't want to go straight to water of formula feeding you can just add less powder until he's getting nothing but water.

Best of luck mama!

I just don't know what to do. If I don't do something, I'm going to kill myself or someone else by accident. I am only getting about 4 hours of sleep at night and I have to be up at 4am to drive 45 minutes to work. I'm dozing at the wheel y'all! I can't control it. I'm so tired. Something has to give

@brookemmoore, I hear ya! There are days I have chosen not to drive because I felt I would be a danger to others. A great night of sleep for us is only waking 2-3 times per night 😳

@arivera64, I just started trying to get him to like a comfort object yesterday. I have some small muslin security blankets I got as a gift to see if he will take to them after a few weeks. It's supposed to help with not needing Mom or dad every time he wakes. We will see!

If I keep skipping out on work because I'm too tired to drive, I'll end up fired. We can't afford that as I am the primary provider for my family. It's a lose-lose situation

@kenitra good idea.

@brookemmoore Does your SO help at night? If he's home and not helping while you're the main provider....he's gotta step it up. Safety is important! Are there other ways you can get to work on really bad days like the bus etc?

@arivera64, my hubby and I work separate shifts. He works nights and I work days. This is so that we don't have to use a daycare. He does his part when he's home, no doubt. It's just we are rarely home at the same time unfortunately. We live in the country so no there's definitely no buses or cabs or anything around us. I wish lol!

Awww that's really rough. I can tell you one thing tho....i can almost guarantee CIO will not help because if your heart feels bad about it, you wont be able to sleep knowing he's up alone crying.

Have you tried a nightime routine of any sort like a bath and story. Sing a little song when he wakes up....

@arivera64, good point! I definitely won't sleep while he's crying. 😩 I've definitely tried baths and singing and feeding him right before bed. I think I'll try the water trick someone else mentioned and see how that goes.

Good luck mama. I feel for you. My fitbit tracks my sleep. I got 2hrs 34min the other night. Luckily i don't work. I've been there though

Our Dr told us the same thing at 6 months and recommended a book to read.. I could not do it. He HATES sleeping in his crib, and I don't blame him. Who would prefer it over cuddles!?! We did try getting him to sleep first then laying him in it. NOPE, He'd wake up and scream. I'm not a fan of the CIO method, but I did try it one time. He panicked. He didn't do the hey I want you cry, it was the I'm terrified and in pain cry so I got him in less than 2 minutes. It's just not for us. But if he's waking up that often just try walking with him or something other than a bottle to get him to sleep.

@raquely, that's exactly what my doctor says

There are other gentler ways of sleep and crib training than cry it out. I do agree with your dr as far as him not needing night feedings anymore and sleeping longer stretches than 2-3 hours. Research online there r many ways to sleep train other than cry it out.