Meggy... same thing happened to me and it was traumatizing. As you probably know, BW doesn't support CIO and when I wish I had found the forum sooner to help find and receive support on gentler sleep training. Emphasis on the support because the books are great until your LO doesn't do anything it says or nothing it says to do is working.
As for your situation, you've already tackled half the battle with not nursing to sleep for naps, dropping to 3 naps, and following a great EASY routine.
Below are links to help you choose a method you feel comfortable with to help LO learn how to sleep independently. Whatever the method, be absolutely consistent for several days. There tends to be a sleep training regression on the 3rd and 5th day, so anticipating it can help. Gentle sleep training doesn't mean there aren't tears, (except no tear methods) but it does mean that you are 100% present to help support baby. And if you and your partner aren't prepared quite yet, many people wait until 6 months to do a formal start.
When can I stop feeding at night?Shush-pat - How toAnd this is what I started with and modified to wean night feedings and promote IS... here is the link but the basic outline of the steps is further down the page so I copied and pasted that for you here:
Gentle Removal PlanPantley's Gentle Removal Plan looks something like this (this example shows a bf baby, but the plan is the same whether baby is bf, using a bottle or paci)
baby is awake and nursing vigorously
baby's eyes close and his sucking rate slows
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots (moving his mouth open towards you)
try holding the chin, but he'll have none of that!
you put him back to the breast
count: 1thousand, 2thousand,... ten thousand*
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots
you try stalling, but no dice
you put him back to the breast
count :1thousand, 2 thousand,... ten thousand
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots
you put him back to the breast
count: one thousand, tow thousand,... ten thousand
you gently remove your nipple
baby moves a little, and you gently hold his mouth closed (betsy says- my baby won't let me do this, so i place her on my shoulder and rub her back)
baby doesn't resist, he is nearly out
you place baby in bed
he goes to sleep
* the counting is really more for you, to give you a gauge to measure your time and a way to keep yourself calm during your repeated attempts. you can be flexible as you figure out what time spacing works best for you and your baby
REPEAT THIS PROCESS EVERY NIGHT UNTIL BABY LEARNS SHE CAN FALL ASLEEP W/OUT THE PROP. IF YOUR BABY IS A "GOOD NAPPER" YOU CAN USE THE TECHNIQUE FOR NAP TIMES TOO.
IF NOT A GOOD NAPPER, DON'T TROUBLE YOURSELF W/ TRYING TOO HARD TO USE THE REMOVAL TECHNIQUE DURING THE DAY. REMEMBER THAT GOOD NAPS MEAN BETTER NIGHTTIME SLEEP- AND BETTER NIGHTTIME SLEEP MEANS BETTER NAPS. IT'S A CIRCLE. ONCE YOU GET YOUR BABY SLEEPING BETTER AT NIGHT, YOU CAN THEN WORK ON THE NAP TIME SLEEP- ALTHOUGH ONCE YOU SOLVE THE NIGHTTIME ASSOCIATION, THE NAP TIME SLEEP MAY RESOLVE ITSELF.
THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME TO USE THE PANTLEY'S GENTLE REMOVAL PLAN IS THE FIRST FALLING ASLEEP OF THE NIGHT. OFTEN THE WAY YOUR BABY FALLS ASLEEP WILL AFFECT THE REST OF HIS AWAKENINGS FOR THE NIGHT. I SUSPECT THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE SLEEP-ASSOCIATION AFFECT... IT SEEMS THAT THE WAY IN WHICH YOUR BABY FALLS ASLEEP FOR THE NIGHT IS HOW HE EXPECTS TO REMAIN ALL NIGHT LONG.
BECAUSE WE WANT NO CRYING, THIS IS NOT A 1-DAY SOLUTION. BUT WITHIN 10 DAYS AS YOU GENTLY BREAK THIS STRONG SLEEP ASSOCIATION, YOU SHOULD SEE A MAJOR REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF YOUR BABY'S NIGHT WAKINGS...."
