Crying It Out Really Does Work…Mental Notes For Mama

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All of my four little men had/have painful reflux for the first year of life. Mason still does. He has been a bit more of a challenge with sleeping. He of course needed to be elevated 30 degrees to help his reflux symptoms just like the other monkeys in the house. The challenge was he would only sleep for longer periods of time on his belly. As you know, that’s not recommended per the majority of pediatricians. We had a special RES-Q wedge that was specifically made for babies with reflux. Thank goodness it had a side for tummy time. It was the only thing I felt comfortable lying him on. So what was the problem?

His reflux was finally completely under control. He got sick and more mobile within weeks of each other. He started waking up more frequently at night. Once he was feeling better his sleeping was a still a mess. The RES-Q wedge wasn’t working anymore because he kept trying to roll over to his belly and didn’t like it. He was finally flat in the crib for the first time in 7 months. Two months later he was still waking up several times a night. When I say several I mean 5-6 times a night. I exhausted every other option I could think of to try to get him to sleep better. I was so tired I started to bring him in bed with us just to get some rest. *Gasp* We always said we would NEVER have the kids in our bed unless they were sick.

I knew crying it out was probably going to be the next step. But this time, I was apprehensive. I didn’t feel comfortable letting him cry it out on his belly to begin with but whenever he cried it inevitably flared up his reflux. But his reflux was doing well. I just didn’t want to do it to my last little one. There is something about your last baby. I cant explain it. Things just pull at my heart more these days, knowing he is my last.Last Thursday the sleep deprivation was at it’s max. The exhaustion and frustration set in. I knew he was dry, he was fed, and he wasn’t sick. He needed to get to sleep on his own. I finally let him cry it out. I sat down on the couch with a glass of wine and watched Modern Family with my hubby. I wasn’t having fun partying it up by any means. The wine was for my nerves and the TV was a distraction. I could still very well hear him and it pulls at my heart terrible. He cried for one straight hour. Gosh, babies are persistent. (For the record, I had already tried the whole go in after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc. I just made things worse for him in my experience. I did check on him after he stopped crying to make sure he was perfectly fine.

I HATED every minute of hearing him cry. BUT…the end justifies the means. He slept until 7:45am the next morning without a peep out of him. I woke up at 5am and jumped out of bed to check on him. He was sleeping peacefully. The second and third night he only cried for about 20 and 10 minutes. Last night he was silent from the start. WOOHOO!!! Not only that but the length of his naps have improved greatly. He was only sleeping 40 minutes and now he is sleeping for 1 1/2 hours at a time. Mama and baby are officially sleeping better. The sleeping challenge has been met and defeated!

So in conclusion mamas..once again…Crying it out really does work. It has for me every time.

** I do understand that the CIO Method isn’t for everyone. This is a method used to get older infants/toddlers to learn how to self-soothe themselves to sleep. I chose to use this method between the ages of 6-10months with my boys after trying many other methods.
All of my children are 100% fine. They have learned to get themselves to sleep and have very healthy sleep habits now. They are actually the best nappers/sleepers out of just about everyone I know. They were not/have not been neglected/harmed physically or mentally in any way due to using the CIO Method.

Mental Notes For Mama is a series where I share something I’ve learned and certainly don’t want to forget. It may be something new, funny, serious, or a tip I thought would be good to share with the rest the mamas out there. Because as always, we all are doing our best to survive the chaos of everyday life in the trenches of motherhood.

Comments

Kiersten says:

January 23, 2012 at 8:52 am

Hey there! I was just reading ur blog this am (kudos btw-it is very cool anyway, I was reading ur post about crying it out & I completely agree w that method. I had not been diligent w any of my girls as far as sleeping in their own beds when they were younger & have truly paid the price as they’ve gotten older. They are not good sleepers AT ALL. Although it is not an excuse, for my younger 2 I was split from their dad, had a huge California king bed & just felt more comfortable with them close. Also, and this is the case for my 2 yr old now, I was breastfeeding & it was simply easier for me to roll over & feed them. Plus my 2 yr old REFUSED to take a bottle (with breastmilk or anything). So excuses aside , my daughter is now 2 and frankly needs to get out of our bed! At one point she was in her own crib & she was fine with it. She cried it out the first couple of nights but it really wasn’t that bad. Then she got really sick & has been in our bed ever since I’m trying crying it out, but the problem is she has to share a room with her sister who is in first grade & needs her sleep. The last time we tried this it was the beginning of summer so school wasnt an issue. Im at my wits end & I was wondering if you had any suggestions?

Ghena says:

February 28, 2012 at 4:53 am

You have to control crying because it’s bad on your health. Pamper yourself and go out with friends.
Ghena recently posted..puffy eyes from crying