need help deciding which sleep training method to choose

[Bex09]

Your nights sound much better hun, well done. Hard work but it does pay off doesn't it? We are getting some Sttn but then 1 or 2 NW other nights. Things have been a bit off since C was ill, I don't think she is fully better really and she is teething again! She is still falling asleep on her own though, has done ever since I first walked out! Keep expecting it to go wrong.

If A is OT are you having trouble with his routine? What do you think is making him OT? That will make it more difficult for him to settle. What A is doing is exactly what C always did and the only thing that finally worked was WO. Have you tried leaving him to it?

[babyrose]

A slept for 12 hrs last night and had a good sleep today. he went to sleep really easy so im hoping he just needed a catch up. if i ever leave him in his cot to go get or do anything he screams the house down! even if im down stair just getting his milk and talking to him, im not sure if WO would work.

thats great C is still falling asleep by herself! i think as long as you stick to what you are doing it wont go wrong.

[Bex09]

I hope you are right hun. It just seems to have been way too easy yk? So I am convinced that something will go wrong! C took a 3 hr nap today that I had to wake her from and she was still tired!!! She is def still not well, hoping for a good STTN.

That is fab about A doing 12 hrs last night. Did he not wake at all then? Things are obviously working. We WILL have independent STTN toddlers before you know it! It has only taken 14 months hey?!  Ha ha.

[babyrose]

 I hope so!! he did wake a 3 times, but settled really quickly. i usually pick him up out the cot and PU down rub his back but i just PU in the cot and lay him on his front and rubbed his back for 2 secs

im sure C will be fine, as long as ure consistant. she must have been tired after not being well plus the teething aswell.what a wee shame.

[babyrose]

A is sleeping longer at night though til at least 3 or 4, which is a lot better!!

[babyrose]

hi, how are things going with you? still going well here, still not been in beside us, not sure how long its been though. is C still teething? is she feeling any better?

[KiusMum]

Hi babyrose, bex09, Linda and Vikki,

Sorry to bum on your thread babyrose, however my situation is so similar to yours, couldnt help posting for some advice. My LO is 16 mnths old and has alwasy been rocked, patted n walked to sleep. Hes never STTN. 2 mnths back , I started doing GW to eliminate the props gradually. At that time, he was still breastfeeding into the night, and coming into our bed for NWs. I initially tackled the breastfeeding and then the coming into bed, while doing step 1 of GW. However, he was teething and also sick sometimes so never had his last meal of the day properly, so ended up giving him a bottle of milk at times during his NWs. The situation now after 2 months is , I have still not been able to make it past step 1 somehow, just like you bex09, if I put him in bed very sleepy bt nt asleep, he ends up getting up and playing around and thinks its a game. I have tried patting him constantly or bouncing the mattress but it doesnt help. If I leave the room, he will cry. I normally end up getting frustrated after half an hour of this and will resort going back to rocking till asleep or ext. asleep and then patting in cot till hes asleep. On bad days, I dont have success with this even. To add to this, during his NWs, he now almost always wants a bottle of milk and will refuse to go back to sleep without it. The average NW will last for about 40 mins to 1 hr, where he gets up, has his bottle of milk and is then patted and walked back to sleep using step 1 or sometimes I resort to sleeping with him on the double bed in his room. Co-sleeping is not very common though and happens only in really desperate situations. I really want him to learn sleepign independently as well as wean the bottle during the night.

babyrose, bex09, could you please outline your steps for GW in detail , so that I know if I am doing something wrong. Vikki do you think I need to tackle the bottle first before GW?? Sorry for rambling here ladies, all advice greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

~Angela

[babyrose]

hi angela   we used to rock A to sleep then sit for 5 mins then put him down sound asleep. then when we started GW we would rock to sleep then as soon as he fell asleep in our arms put him down.
step 2 i think went rock til sleepy then rubbed his back and sing til sleeping but stayed in room for 5 mins.

step 3 he strated wriggling at this point so we just put him in the cot and rubbed his back and sing til sleeping thats where we are for now.

i HTH, i think tackling the bottle first, maybe just try stick with how you are putting lo to sleep everytime they wake, it may take some time for lo to accept there will be no milk but they do get used to it. what do you think?

[Bex09]

Hi Babyrose, we have had a bit of regression! Not sure why but C has been refusing BT and then can't settle on her own, so had to go back to holding for one night and hand on her back a couple of times. She went down totally independently both times yesterday so fingers crossed we are back on track though. I think she is still teething... loads of white bumps on her side gums.

Hi Angela, I will come back on later and go through what I did but got to go now sorry. Will post later I promise.

[babyrose]

hi, im sure things will get back on track, maybe teething bothering C? A has been like this aswell i think OT still it takes ages for him to fall asleep and end up going past b/time. im hoping things will settle down soon enough.

[KiusMum]

Thanks for your reply babyrose, ya i think i need to tackle the milk as well..for your step 3, when he started wriggling in your arms and you put him down, what would we he do in the cot?? and how long do you need to rub his back and sing till hes sleeping??

I am asking because Kiyaan wriggles as well after a while and I do put him in the cot, however he will just crawl around in the cot and then start playing with his soft toys or just looking at me and talking and if I allow him to continue, he just loses his sleepy state altogether..

its fine bex09, will wait for your post . Thanku once again.

[babyrose]

When we first got to stage 3 i just put him in the cot and he was fine just sang and rubbed his back. but now he is OT i have to help him more hold him and put him down, but sometimes he just crawls about chatting pulling at the cot with being OT   it takes about 20 mins or so. maybe this would help if you helped settle him a bit more b4 placing him in?

i think when A does finally get through his OT stage im going to have to work out a plan to GW rubbing his back. HTH

[KiusMum]

Thanks babyrose for the detailed reply. Kiyaan does the same when hes put down , he will chat and crawl around for a while and then mebbe stand up and ask to be taken. it varies , whats constant is he almost never falls asleep, when hes put down drowsy but awake, I have tried to rub his back , pat his back , his bum, bounce the mattres, sometimes it seems to work but then most of the times its agitating him more than helping him..i feel ..anywas any training is off now ..as hes got very bad cough n cold and hes teething as well, so i m hving very long NW..last night he was up from 2.30 - 4.50 and i changed his diaper, gave him his teething meds twice, milk , water and nothing seemd to really help him..i was almost in tears due to sleep deprivation..just hoping this illness phase passes away soon.

[babyrose]

oh that sounds awful we had a bad night last night, A woke up at 12 screaming as if he had a bad dream, finally got him to sleep some hrs later and then he woke up at 5 and refused to go back in his cot. we ended up taking him in beside us 

maybe wait til K  is feeling better and things have settled down? are you on step 3or just beginning?

[KiusMum]

today at day care , K started crying towards the end and pulling his ears and was ext. restless. Hes normally very happy and playing so this was unusual. He was crying when I reached to pick him up and I went straight to the doc. Instinct told me it was probably his teeth but found out that he had throat infection as well as ear infection in both the ears    The doc prescribed him antibiotics and some nasal spray.
Hes slept at around 9 pm tonight with all the meds, and I m hoping it will be a peaceful night.

So I am no step right now babyrose..  however when I started 2 months back I had success with step 1 and was tryign for step 2 but couldnt move ahead. My step 2 was somewhat similar to your step 3 though, maybe I need to introduce a step in between.. 
However, I am waiting now for the sickness to abate to start any sleep training.

Hope A gets better soon so you can start step 3